I'm not sure if any of you have been on this wolf walk&talk program since I see some of you are from Ma. This one is located in Gardner, Ma.: http://www.wolftalk.net
We went on a nice long walk in the woods with a young wolf named Denahee. It was a lot of fun and educational.
They do offer photo group sessions with more time and more photo ops , but the day I went was just a family outing, so we went with a group of about 6.
It was very enjoyable to walk with and observe Denahee. He was a bit illusive, but would appear in the open occasionally to "pose"
Half way through the walk we came to a pine grove where we all sat so Denahee would feel comfortable. He was then brought around and introduced to each of us.

Cool concept and nice shots. I'll bet the entire experience was very educational as well as enjoyable.

Jim

Thank you, it was definitely enjoyable.
Here is Denahee being introduced at the pine grove. This is the only time he came this close to any of us, other than suddenly appearing from nowhere to poke somebody from behind a couple times while on the walk. LOL!! He was quite good at that!

Here is Mike, who runs the program, handling introductions:

Hi Loueen,

I have never gone to a wolf preserve before. Can you talk more about the preserve? How big is it, what is the envrionment like, etc.?

Thanks
James

Both places I've been to in Ma. are fairly small with the wolf pack kept in a large chain link enclosure. The environment is probably not a lot different than a zoo other than they are the only animals there, and there is an educational presentation. We were able to observe them fairly close up in the normal visitor tour and presentation.
I'm not sure how these compare to an actual preserve.
Both of these orgs do offer private photography sessions for a fee, which I haven't done.

I personally didn't care for the facility in Ipswich. I thought it was too small and too open. There was a lack of natural cover. It reminded me more of a large dog pen. Plus, the double chain link fence between us and the wolves did not offer a good photo op either. Here is their link.
http://www.wolfhollowipswich.org/
And here is my attempt to photograph "beaver for lunch" through double chain link fence :



Not too bad considering....I guess.

The walk with the one wolf at WolfTalk was very enjoyable. There were acres of land behind the facility where we walked, and the opportunity to interact with a wolf was very unique. The enclosure for the pack was large and in a wooded area with plenty of trees, and even had a den. We could also view them from a high spot, so no fence issue.

There is one in IL which does photographer tours and allows some real interaction with the wolves. A friend of mine has a photo of her getting a "wolf kiss" from there.

There is one in FL that I've been wanting to go to. They are a bit more strict about what you can and can't do, but you are in the enclosure with them.

There is a site in South Salem New York, that sounds interesting

http://www.nywolf.org/typo3/index.php

I live near the Ipswich, MA one, but never had a desire to go, Loueen... I figured it was just as you described. I will, however, look into the Gardener,MA one. Nice photos and thanks for the tip on where to go!

This is the one that friends of mine have visited in NJ.

http://lakotawolf.com/

Hey, Jim, is this the one in Florida you were referring to: Wolf Encounter ?

Jim