Appropriately, on Endangered Species Day, the Endangered Wolf Center announced its schedule for reopening to the public.
The Center will officially reopen its public events with a Grand Reopening Wine & Cheese Wolf Howl at 7 p.m. Saturday, May 31.
Daytime PredaTours resume the following day, June 1, with the 1 p.m. tour. After that, the Center will resume its regular schedule for daytime public tours. (Private tours already are being offered.)
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The Center hasn’t had tours since April 13 because of puppy season, which is basically a two-month period during which the wolves might have produced offspring. Although the Center had one pair of breeding Mexican wolves and two pairs of breeding red wolves this season, no pups were born.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service designated May 16 as Endangered Species Day, a day “to recognize the national conservation effort to protect our nation’s endangered species and their habitats.”
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The Endangered Wolf Center houses five endangered species, including two of the most endangered wolves in the world: The Mexican wolf and the red wolf. The Center also has maned wolves, native to South America; African painted dogs, native to sub-Sahara Africa; and swift foxes, which are no longer endangered in the United States but are in Canada.
A full description of the Center’s daytime tours and evening events, along with a calendar, is on its website at http://www.endangeredwolfcenter.org/
The Grand Reopening Wine & Cheese Wolf Howl for adults only on May 31 will again feature a variety of wines from Mount Pleasant Winery in Augusta, Mo. Guests also will enjoy cheese, dessert and Chauvin Coffee. After sampling the food and drink, guests will walk to near the wolf enclosures for the howl part of the evening. The host will howl over to the wolves, and the animals usually answer back. Guests also will get a chance to show off their own very best howls. The cost is $22 per person, ages 21 and up. Space is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis. Reservations are required and easily made by calling 636-938-5900.
PredaTours offer visitors an opportunity to see all five species of canids that live at the Center. The 1 ½-hour walking tour is offered at 9:30 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, and at 1 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. The cost for a PredaTour is $14 for adults and $12 for children ages 4 to 14. Reservations are required and easily made by calling 636-938-5900.
Private tours can be arranged Wednesdays through Sundays. The minimum cost is $80 for up to four people, with a charge of $20 for each additional person. Call 636-938-5900 to schedule a private tour.
There are no public or private tours on Mondays and Tuesdays, which are reserved as “quiet” days for the animals.
No daytime tours or evening events will be offered on June 13-15 because of the Center’s charity Polo benefit, which will be from 3 to 4 p.m. Saturday June 14 at the Blue Herron Polo Club in Defiance, Mo. Details about the Polo event are available at http://www.endangeredwolfcenter.org/take-a-tour/events/polo-event/