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.
With the addition of pups, rescues, and Species Survival Plan wolves, we provided care for a howling chorus of 62 wolves and wolfdogs plus two lively coyotes. A record number of animals – 64 – reside at Wolf Haven.
Wolf Haven International is now home to a record 65 wolves, wolf dogs and coyotes thanks to the addition of two new wolves, Mariah and Hodari.
Ever wonder what it’s like to live in Tumwater, Washington? JBLM (Joint Base Lewis-McChord) in 10 did, too. So we jumped in the car and took a trip to the petite, pioneering city to give you the inside scoop on what makes it unique. Although Wolf Haven isn’t in Tumwater itself, it’s the next town over and was included in the video!
Wolf Haven International invites you to participate in one of our popular wolf photography visits. Photo visits are held during colder months, when the wolves are wearing their winter coats and are more active. The program begins at 8:00 am with a continental breakfast and brief presentation. The group will take photographs in the wolf sanctuary from 9 am – noon.
Third-graders at Columbia River Gorge Elementary School were able to lay their storybook perceptions of the “big, bad wolf” to rest this week, after experiencing Wolfways, an educational presentation about wolves in the wild, on Monday, Dec. 4.
In Wolf Nation Brenda Peterson (ΦBK, University of California-Davis,1972) provides a passionate advocacy for the protection and preservation of the wild wolf population. Her photographic essay, “Wolf Haven: Sanctuary and the Future of Wolves in North America”2016), might well serve as a companion to this work.
Take a walk on the wild side at Wolf Haven International, a wolf sanctuary that has rescued and housed 200 displaced, captive-born animals in its 35-year history.