Wolf Camp Story
In 2002 Jerry and Cindy went on a vacation to see family in the northern Idaho. While there they drove past a place called Wolf People. Wolf People is an organization founded in 1993 to educate people about wolves. They have a gift shop, and at their home they had 14 more wolves on about 50 acres of land. As Jerry and Cindy walked through the gift shop they started to believe this was exactly what the Black Hills needed. After a discussion with the owners they were offered a franchise of Wolf People.
When they got back to the Black Hills they asked their daughter Kelli if she would like to raise full blood wolves. Her response was YES. So they went looking for a spot to start this new adventure. They found a shop on Main St. in Keystone, SD. So of course this adventure was meant to be.
The Wolf People shop was in Keystone for three years. We had nature theme items, clothes and photos of the wolves in Idaho. The gift shop generated enough money to start looking for land to bring wolves to the Black Hills.
In February of 2005 we were able purchase 19 acres located a 24600 Iron Mountain Road. The property was lived on but not maintained. The family cleaned up and remodeled. Jerry and Cindy were able to completely move in by the summer.
We remodeled one of the out buildings into our current gift shop, and closed down the shop on Main St. in Keystone. The wolf pen was build right behind that building. We got all the approvals from USDA and SDSA to legally own exotic animals.
Wakan Tanka was born April 27th 2005. He is a 7th generation born in captivity Timber Wolf.
Akia was born May 11th 2005. She is a 7th generation born in captivity, Arctic Wolf.
May 18th Kelli picked up her new babies. Because wolves do not open their eyes until they are a week old Kelli was the first human Akia saw. Wakan being three weeks old was already playing like a cub would.
The wolves were bottle fed, and burped just like real babies until they were 7 weeks old. Kelli used cotton balls to teach them how to clean themselves. After the bottle came cooked meat, hamburger, chicken, steaks, ribs and small bones. She then began to mix the cooked meat with raw meat. By the age of 14 weeks they were eating completely raw food. As adults they eat almost eight pounds of meat every other day. A wolf will “stash” food if they are not hungry.
They get all the shots a dog would get as is it ages. Our veterinarian is Dr. Sharron from Custer. They were both fixed at two years old. They have had no serious health issues.
A wolf has the same life expectancy as a large dog, 13 to 16 years. Prone to the same health issue, hip dysplasia, liver and kidney failure, blindness and hearing loss.
We hope to give them the best life we can.
In 2002 Jerry and Cindy went on a vacation to see family in the northern Idaho. While there they drove past a place called Wolf People. Wolf People is an organization founded in 1993 to educate people about wolves. They have a gift shop, and at their home they had 14 more wolves on about 50 acres of land. As Jerry and Cindy walked through the gift shop they started to believe this was exactly what the Black Hills needed. After a discussion with the owners they were offered a franchise of Wolf People.
When they got back to the Black Hills they asked their daughter Kelli if she would like to raise full blood wolves. Her response was YES. So they went looking for a spot to start this new adventure. They found a shop on Main St. in Keystone, SD. So of course this adventure was meant to be.
The Wolf People shop was in Keystone for three years. We had nature theme items, clothes and photos of the wolves in Idaho. The gift shop generated enough money to start looking for land to bring wolves to the Black Hills.
In February of 2005 we were able purchase 19 acres located a 24600 Iron Mountain Road. The property was lived on but not maintained. The family cleaned up and remodeled. Jerry and Cindy were able to completely move in by the summer.
We remodeled one of the out buildings into our current gift shop, and closed down the shop on Main St. in Keystone. The wolf pen was build right behind that building. We got all the approvals from USDA and SDSA to legally own exotic animals.
Wakan Tanka was born April 27th 2005. He is a 7th generation born in captivity Timber Wolf.
Akia was born May 11th 2005. She is a 7th generation born in captivity, Arctic Wolf.
May 18th Kelli picked up her new babies. Because wolves do not open their eyes until they are a week old Kelli was the first human Akia saw. Wakan being three weeks old was already playing like a cub would.
The wolves were bottle fed, and burped just like real babies until they were 7 weeks old. Kelli used cotton balls to teach them how to clean themselves. After the bottle came cooked meat, hamburger, chicken, steaks, ribs and small bones. She then began to mix the cooked meat with raw meat. By the age of 14 weeks they were eating completely raw food. As adults they eat almost eight pounds of meat every other day. A wolf will “stash” food if they are not hungry.
They get all the shots a dog would get as is it ages. Our veterinarian is Dr. Sharron from Custer. They were both fixed at two years old. They have had no serious health issues.
A wolf has the same life expectancy as a large dog, 13 to 16 years. Prone to the same health issue, hip dysplasia, liver and kidney failure, blindness and hearing loss.
We hope to give them the best life we can.