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Last night as we were checking into a hotel south of Seattle, we overheard the reception clerk talking about a nearby wildlife refuge that sounded like it was worth a visit. So this morning we headed to Wolf Haven sanctuary. This facility serves as a refuge for wolves that have been held by private pet owners or zoos who can no longer house them. The facility is also involved in a captive breeding and release program for two species of wolves that are critically endangered in the US and South America.
We were taken on a guided tour of some of the rescued wolves by a volunteer who gave a really interesting and informative discussion as we met each of the wolves. It was amazing, and a little sad, to hear that some of these animals had been kept as pets or even kept with the intention to train them for the movies! These wild animals are not suitable for domestic pets and can't be trained like regular dogs. Our guide also talked about the role that wolves plays in their ecosystem. By hunting other animals, Wolves stop animal populations exploding and having a negative impact on other flora and fauna. It seems that by re-introducing Wolves back into the wild, they will be having a really positive impact on the environment.
The Wolves were really beautiful, and we were really lucky to hear them all start howling a couple of times during the tour. It's a really eery sound, and not one I would like to hear in the middle of the night!
From there we got back in the car and headed south through Washington and into Oregon. The drive was very pretty, the roads were bordered on both sides by very green forests and farm land. We saw flocks of sheep for the first time on our travels. It was also nice to see the sky clear and feel the weather warm as we headed further south.
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