Lakota Wolf Preserve

On By nationalparkswithtIn New Jersey

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Welcome back to National Parks and other public lands with T! 

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Jim Stein and Becky Mace began rescuing wolves and founded the Lakota Wolf Preserve in Colombia, New Jersey in the late 1990s.

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They have raised all the wolves that form the preserve’s four different packs.  There are British Columbian, Timber and Arctic wolves roaming the 10-acre wooded preserve.

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I visited the preserve with Take a Hike NJ for a group tour. We checked in at the Camp Taylor Campground and then began the half-mile hike up to the preserve.

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There is a shuttle available, but since we are a hiking group, we figured we could manage the walk.

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Once we got to the top, Jim told us about the wolves that lived there while he threw them some treats so we could see them.

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At one point, he and Becky howled and the packs all answered the call, which you can hear on the video below.

After visiting the wolves, we moved over to the bobcat enclosure where Becky talked about the bobcat and the lynx who live there.

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They are rescues from various situations. Sienna, the juvenile bobcat stole the show

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Then finally we stopped at the fox enclosure. There are two foxes here, but we didn’t linger long. They’d recently been traumatized by some boy scouts and were shy of the crowd.

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Location: 89 Mt Pleasant Rd, Columbia, NJ 07832

Designation: Wildlife Refuge

Date of my visit: 2/2/2020

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37 thoughts on “Lakota Wolf Preserve”

  9. Heh. Played the wolf howls over the big speakers and you should see the look on Max the Maltese’s face. It was either “listen to the call of my people” or “get me out of here NOW!”

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  10. Anonymous

    What a great sanctuary; such beautiful animals. I’d love to see it, if only. I did see wolves many years back in The Bronx zoo. But, so lovely to see them in the preserve (we say reserve in New Zealand). Vivienne

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  11. As far as I can remember, I’ve never seen animals like these. So first – thank you!
    The wolves look almost majestic. Now it is clearer to me why they kept fascinating people throughout time.
    Loved the cat you singled out 🙂

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  12. Wonderful photos; thank you! I live where wolves have re-established themselves but are still under threat from those who fear and misunderstand their place in the ecosystem. I count myself lucky to have had a close yet benign and lovely encounter with one several years ago in the national forest nearby, and hope to have more in the future. I love their howls. Nothing to fear if you give them space and respect.

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