When Wolf Haven International was first established in Tenino in 1982, it operated under a philosophy that, while standard for the times, put the interests of humans over the interests of the animals in the sanctuary’s care.
Shortly after current Sanctuary Director Pamela Maciel Cabañas started working at Wolf Haven about 12 years ago, then-Sanctuary Director Wendy Spencer and then-Executive Director Diane Gallegos and other sanctuary staff decided a shift toward an animal-first philosophy was overdue.
As part of that shift, Wolf Haven International sought accreditation from the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries (GFAS), a global leader in accreditation programs for animal sanctuaries that assesses facilities against a robust set of operational and animal care standards.
“She (Gallegos) really encouraged the animal care department and Wendy to get certified by GFAS because their standards are so high, and it’s so like this philosophy of ‘hands off, the animals come first, not people, entertainment, all of those things,” Maciel said Thursday. “We did have to adjust a few things to meet those standards, but others we already naturally were doing, so it was just a perfect thing for us to keep pushing.”
Wolf Haven International received GFAS accreditation in 2015, making it the first, and so far only, wolf sanctuary in the world with the accreditation.
Nine years later, GFAS selected Wolf Haven International out of 200 GFAS-certified sanctuaries worldwide to receive the 2024 Outstanding Wildlife Sanctuary Award.
“This year’s award recipients truly embody and put into practice the GFAS philosophy of vision, dedication, and excellence in animal care,” GFAS Executive Director Valerie Taylor stated in a news release. “Part of the GFAS mission is to recognize sanctuaries and rescue centers and raise awareness of their work, and the 2024 Award recipients serve as exemplary models of many important characteristics attributed to true sanctuaries, demonstrating professionalism, collaborative spirit and leadership, all for the animals.”
Wolf Haven’s animal care staff formally accepted the award during a virtual rewards ceremony on Friday, Oct. 25.
“All of us at Wolf Haven are honored and humbled to receive the GFAS Outstanding Wildlife Sanctuary Award,” Wolf Haven International Executive Director Geoff Willard stated in a news release. “The award is a great recognition of many years of hard work by our staff, board, volunteers, and other supporters, and especially the amazing work done day-in, day-out by our animal care team to maintain (and surpass) GFAS standards for care.”
Wolf Haven International has rescued and provided lifetime homes to over 355 animals in the last 42 years at its primary location in Tenino and its satellite sanctuary in Bridger, Montana.
The Tenino sanctuary is currently home to 42 wolves and wolfdogs, while the Montana facility is home to 16.
Visitors have the opportunity to see a few of the animals along a public visitor route, but most are kept out of the public eye for their comfort.
“The animals on the public visitor route are the animals in the sanctuary that are the most comfortable with people, and we have visits every weekend, so they’re used to people coming in,” said Wolf Haven International Communications Specialist Emily Evans. “The animals that you won’t see, they’re the most uncomfortable with people. The only people they ever see are animal care staff, and a lot of them, even the animal care staff just see them through the trail cam.”
All of the wolves and wolfdogs, even those on the public visitor route, have large enough enclosures and enough hiding spaces within those enclosures that they can retreat from the public eye whenever they wish.
“The reality is, as much as it’s not entertaining for people, the reality is they would much rather not have us around. That’s why we give them the space to make their own choices,” Maciel said. “That’s part of the evolution Wolf Haven has had since it was founded … Over the years, we have just evolved … to just listen more to what the animals really want and what we think could work, and so we will continue learning forever.”
Wolf Haven International specializes in caring for rescued wolves and high-content wolfdogs, or wolfdogs that are genetically at least 65% wolf.
“We are rescuing animals from often bad situations,” Maciel said. “Often people might get them as a puppy, thinking that it could be really fun to have a wolf or a wolfdog, and it often doesn’t work out right because they don’t make good pets, especially once they reach puberty and adulthood.”
Many of the wolves and wolfdogs relocated to Wolf Haven were relinquished from private owners, while others came from zoos, roadside attractions or other tragic circumstances.
“They end up either coming to a sanctuary like ours, or they might end up being euthanized. So we are really rescuing these animals from a really bad outcome and then providing them with a forever home and a good sanctuary for the rest of their lives,” Maciel said. “They receive a really nice life here and great medical care and enrichment.”
The sanctuary also cares for endangered species of wolves, specifically Mexican gray wolves and American Red wolves.
Wolf Haven has participated in the Mexican Wolf SAFE program since 1994 and the American Red Wolf SAFE program since 2003, helping to ensure the continued health and survival of these critically endangered wolf species.
Three Mexican gray wolf families from Wolf Haven have been released into the wild in the United States and Mexico, and two American Red wolves born at the sanctuary have been released into North Carolina.
The organization’s most recent American Red wolf release in partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service resulted in that wolf, whose house name is Finch, joining a wild pack and producing a litter of pups, helping to increase the known wild population by approximately 30%.
“We are considered to be one of the best as far as having animals that can be born in captivity but retain their wild characteristics so they can actually go out and thrive in the wild like Finch did,” Willard said Thursday, calling Finch’s story “the perfect success.”
Wolf Haven hopes to expand its American Red wolf enclosure in 2025 to accommodate the need for more enclosures.
Wolf Haven is working on reworkings its community outreach programs, having recently canceled some programs that the wolves were growing uncomfortable with and adding new programs that accommodate the wolves’ needs while still allowing the community to witness and learn about the animals.
One program Wolf Haven hopes to establish in the upcoming years is an ADA-accessible Treehouse Education Center, which will be built about 17-feet off the ground in a grove of Douglas fir trees on site.
The hope for that facility is to give community visitors and school groups a place to observe the wolves and their habitats from a distance, Willard said.
Wolf Haven is also planning to ramp up its community outreach and education efforts about wolf-related issues, including the dangers of owning and breeding wolfdogs, and wild wolf packs’ ongoing spread into Southwestern Washington.
For more information about Wolf Haven International and its ongoing conservation efforts or to schedule a sanctuary visit, visit https://wolfhaven.org/.