Pace Paw Print

Media Credit: Ashley Studley Atka the Wolf came over to Pace for The Wolf Still Wanders event.

In celebration of Earth Month, Professor Angelo Spillo, the Director of the Environmental Center, has coordinated a series of events to take place during the month long celebration.

On April 9, NATURE organized an event known as "The Wolf Still Wanders," and Atka the Wolf came to the Willcox gym from the Wolf Conservation Center in South Salem to give some deeper insight on the highly misunderstood wolf.

Josh Lewis, a volunteer at the Wolf Conservation Center, spoke to a large crowd of people about the misconceptions people have of wolves. With the help of a slide show, Lewis explained that wolves get an unjustified bad reputation because of the media, with stories such as Little Red Riding Hood and the Three Little Pigs and movies like Beauty and the Beast.

"Wolves in the wild generally don't want anything to do with people," he said.

Lewis went on to discuss the basics of wolves, such as their state at birth, what they eat, and how long they usually live for.

After about a half hour of the presentation, Atka came out with a trainer. At six years old and 86 pounds, the large grey wolf walked around the gym, taking in all of the spectators as they in turn awed at his large paws.

Lewis then discussed that they have considered re-releasing Atka into the wild, but that it is a "long process with a lot of politics involved."

Atka currently resides at the conservation center, in a two acre enclosure with other wolves. The Highway department brings road-killed deer to the center for the wolves, and each of a certain type are fed evenly, while the Red and Mexican wolves must fight for their food, the more natural way.

Lewis ended the presentation by discussing how a wolf would probably run away if you came across one out in the wild. But if confronted, Lewis advised the crowd to stay strong. "I would probably act a lot bigger than I am," he laughed.

Spillo was pleased with the event. "[It] went well. Great turnout, almost 90 people came, lots of students and people from the community," he said.

For more information on the Wolf Conservation Center and volunteer opportunities, visit NYwolf.org.

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