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When visiting Ontario, a must stop destination is the Haliburton Forest Nature Reserve.  Located just 3 hours north of Toronto, this incredible nature setting is a place to see all year round.  Summers can be spent hiking and camping. Or stay at one of their eco-friendly lodges and take a canopy tour. Try your hand a winter camping in the colder months or snowmobiling on its many trails.  This alone is enough of a reason to visit, but it is its inhabitants that make it worth the trip alone.

Treat yourself to a rare view of a pack of wolves that live on a 15 acre reserve.  The Haliburtan Forest is 70,000 acres of protected forest and its inhabitant.  This pack of wolves has 15 km all to themselves free to live out their lives with as little human interaction as possible. There are wild packs of wolves Haliburton as well, but this pack are descendants from two captive wolves dating back to 1977.  

The wolves are from photographer Jim Wuepper. He bought and raised two wolf cubs which eventually grew into a small pack. Not being able to take care of them any longer, the pack was transferred to Haliburton Forest in 1992, where their descendants have lived on in a natural environment.

The wolf centre is open year round and it is different with each visit. In the summer watch the wolves sun tan or in the winter watch them with their thick coats roll and play in the snow.  It is not guaranteed that you will see wolves on each visit. They are free to roam anywhere they choose on the 15 acres, hover the viewing area is located at a place where the wolves like to relax. The viewing platform is a glass enclosure where you are asked to speak quietly.  The wolves are kept from human interaction to give them as normal lives as possible.

Every few days the wolves are fed and you can watch this from the platform as well.  See the staff bring out beaver or deer for the wolves to feast upon.  The animals are road kill or brought in by local hunters and never fear, they are never fed live animals. However, the wolves tear them apart as if they were fresh kill.

You will learn a great deal about the hierarchy of the pack, ask as many questions as you like.  The Alpha Male runs the clan along with his chosen Alpha female.  They are followed by the Beta male which is second in command and then the rest fill out the list until the poor Omega wolf.  It is difficult as a human to watch the Omega.  It is the weakest of the pack and it is severely bullied by the other wolves.  It is the last to eat and it stays to itself while the rest of the pack sleeps and plays together.

The sanctuary does not intervene as this is the way of the wolf and it is not for we humans to decide how they should live.  Eventually, the Omega will be killed by the pack or it will go off by itself to die, sometimes they become so sick that they need to be euthanized by staff veterinarians. It is difficult to witness, but to take the omega away will only make room for another Omega to be chosen and it would disrupt the whole system of a wolf pack. Eventually, one of the younger Beta Males and Females will overtake the Alpha’s and the cycle will continue.

The centre is trying to educate the public about wolves as well.  People have hunted wolves for decades out of fear and yet there is now concrete evidence of a healthy wolf killing a human being.  In folklore the notion of the big bad wold has been perpetuated, but in actual fact, the wolf is more afraid of a human than we are of them. They avoid us at all costs. If there ever has been attacks it has usually been from a rabid wolf or a hybrid wolf dog mix.

It is only $9.00 to visit the Wolf Centre.  It is worth it to take a day or two and stay up in Central Ontario. It is a beautiful location consisting of 60 lakes and thousands of acres of forest.  It is a wild country where moose and bears roam freely and you will see otters, deer, porcupine, grouse and great blue herons and many more.  Stay in rustic cabins, pitch a tent or find a nearby resort.  You can find something for everyone in Ontario.