Lexi, photo by Anice Bommerscheim
Lexi was born in 2003 and spent the beginning of her young life tethered to an 8-foot-long drag chain with about 30 other wolves and wolfdogs. People paid $5 to see them at a now-defunct tourist attraction in Alaska before she was rescued.
THE TROUBLE WITH WOLVES takes an up-close look at one of the most heated and controversial wildlife conservation debates of our time.
Experience Olympia Names Thurston County’s Top 12 Things to Do. Wolf Haven International is a hands-off facility meaning there is no socialization between humans and the incredible wolves in their south Thurston County refuge. Founded on the idea that animals, like humans, deserve to be appreciated for who and what they are, the sanctuary assures they are treated …
Wolf Haven Volunteer of the Quarter – Tashina Kimble
By Dan Monn, Animal Care, Gift Shop and Volunteer Assistant
Wolf Haven International
Tashina is one of our homegrown volunteers; she was born in Klamath Falls, Oregon and raised not far from here, in Yelm, Washington. She has been a volunteer at Wolf Haven International for six years, but interested in wildlife conservation for much longer. Tashina is a recent graduate of Evergreen, and now has her eyes set on an advanced degree as she continues toward her goal of working in wildlife outreach and education.
Tashina began volunteering at Wolf Haven as a senior in high school. She wanted her senior project to be related to wildlife and she found us! She worked with Erik from our animal care team to come up with a project, and has been contributing as a volunteer ever since. Now Tashina guides visits, and does a lot of outreach work for Wolf Haven. She spent time here as an intern while studying at The Evergreen State College, and the work Tashina did then has helped shape the way we convey Wolf Haven’s values and mission to the public.
In fact, Tashina’s favorite part of volunteering is spending time with the public and sharing her passion for the individual animals and wildlife conservation. One of her favorite moments was getting to see Lorenzo, (now deceased) a Mexican gray wolf, get an elk leg. Animal care staff does not usually feed the wolves during public visits, plus elk legs are a rare treat. Another favorite moment occurred during a group howl as she was leading visitors through the sanctuary. To be present during a howl is a special moment for anyone, but it was especially so for a guest who was moved to tears. Sharing that moment is something Tashina says she’ll remember for a long time.
Prescribed burning began in Thurston County on July 12 at Glacial Heritage near Rochester. Those operations then expanded to include the Tenalquot Prairie area through Aug. 1 when smoke from around the region shut down the operation for two weeks. Once the smoke cleared, operations resumed on 14 acres at Wolf Haven near Tenino.
The capital of Washington, this modest-sized city offers vibrant culture, a charming downtown and a range of outdoor activities for residents. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge, Tumwater Falls Park and Wolf Haven International are just three of many natural attractions, and Puget Sound provides fantastic views, boating opportunities and great seafood.
Rocco joins in a howl
Today we pay tribute to Rocco, a male gray wolf who passed away in December. With his tawny coat and amber eyes, Rocco was stunning. Rocco and his sister, Natasha, came to live at Wolf Haven in 2005, after spending their first two years of life in private ownership.
Aside from a recurring skin issue during the rainy season, Rocco appeared to be a healthy and well-adjusted wolf, and celebrated his 14th birthday last spring. By then, he was living with his fourth companion, a female gray wolf named Sitka Rose, (having outlived his previous three enclosure mates).
Rocco’s first official “adoption” photo, 2005. (Julie Lawrence photo)
When animal care staff conducted the walk-through on Friday December 8, Rocco didn’t come to the fence for treats like he normally did. Instead, he paced, seemed disoriented and had a noticeable head tilt. All symptoms were consistent with either post seizure or stroke. Animal care tried to offer him a meatball with medication, but he was not interested in food (very atypical for him). Given his condition and age, a seizure or stroke is not uncommon and we have observed it many times before in our senior residents. Because it would have been severely detrimental to catch him up (he is not tractable so it would have been stressful for him), the decision was made to let him be and monitor him closely. Even had we brought him into the clinic, there would not have been anything we could have done other than just wait and see- either he was going to rebound or he wasn’t. Whatever the outcome, we wanted it to be as peaceful and as least stressful as possible for him and his long-time friend, Sitka.
After spending the remaining morning and part of the afternoon pacing his enclosure, Rocco finally settled and lay down. When we checked on him just before dusk, Rocco was sleeping in the back of his enclosure. When he couldn’t be seen during the following morning walk-through, animal care staff went into the enclosure to search for him. Rocco was found in his den, tucked into a very deep chamber; he had passed sometime during the night. He looked very peaceful in that private space he had chosen as his last refuge.
Rocco’s final adoption photo, 2017. ( Julie Lawrence photo)
Rocco is survived by his beautiful and playful friend Sitka who will surely miss him, as will all of us at Wolf Haven. We thank you for your support in providing a lifetime, loving home for Rocco and his three companions through all these years.
May your journey continue in peace, sweet Rocco.