Should they be in our wild, too?
Magpie was one of 3 Timber Wolves who paid us a visit, live, on Saturday morning. Check the video!
Timber Wolves Magpie, a 9 year old female, Abe, a five year old male and Zeab, an 18-month old (bigger than the other 2!) were our guests on Weekend Today in CNY on Saturday morning. They were on leashes, brought here by Kent Weber and his wife Tracy, who run Mission: Wolf from their Colorado ranch. They arrived at our studios in a converted bus (with wolves in the 'Greyhound' style as the logo) and brought the three inside--with instructions that the wolves see us as 'funny looking wolves.'
We had them on the interview set several minutes before going live, to let them acclimate, and the three were active, sniffing and putting their faces in mine (I was told that's how they check you out--if you turn away it's a wolf insult). First impression: they're huge! The almost-black 18month old, who's still growing, is easily twice the size of a German Shepherd. He was also the most active, and at one point the almost white Magpie started growling at him. Kent tells us that she, the dominant of the group, was telling the youngster to behave!
The point of traveling the country to show off the wolves, is to make people aware of their role in our eco-systems, and how they should be re-introduced (they were hunted out of NY a hundred years ago, though there are reports that they're re-populating the Adirondacks). Weber says the wolves would control our excess deer and growing coyote populations. The other message: that wolves are not dogs, and do not make good housepets. The three he brought to show included an abandoned pet--that can never go back to the wild.
Mission: Wolf visited us on its way to Beaver Lake Nature Center, where they're doing in-person presentations, but since those are sold out, we're glad to bring you the preview---DO check the video!
