Sundance, Our Most Elderly Wolf!

 

She has lived her life (quite long for a wolf, more than 15 years) in an enclosure here at the Sanctuary. The enclosure is several acres – it has woods and a small meadow, and a pond. If you visit, you may not see her – she often, when humans she does not know approach, slips away back amongst the trees and simply vanishes from sight. You will be greeted by Silver, her companion – a coy/dog who loves everyone in the world.

 

Back in August, 1993, the Kingston newspaper described the Wayside Zoo were Sundance was held: having told about the tiny cages where the smaller animals were forced to live, it describes the wolf pup cage – and one of the pups was Sundance.

 

“A wire cage approximately eight feet long,
four feet high and four feet wide, houses six
terrified wolf pups. Because there is no barrier
to keep the people away from the cage, the pups
race terrified to a corner and pile on top of each
other whenever a person comes close. The pups
desperately need a private enclosure into which
they can retreat and feel safer.”

What happened to the other pups I do not know; Shirley Morin, my friend from Trenton, (who rehabilitates, successfully, dozens of birds every year) phoned and didn’t ask, but simply stated, “I just bought a wolf pup. Can someone come down and pick it up?” So one of our volunteers went down to the zoo to pick up the pup, and came back with two wolves. He had found Trina, living in a small round cage on the roof top of an apartment building, with no shelter, no place to hide – and almost ankle deep in shit. She and Sundance lived here together until about three years ago, when Trina died of cancer.

 

As they grow older, wolves often change colour. When Sundance came, she was a soft golden colour – then that faded to white, with a trace of gray on her back – now she is a white wolf. We are not certain exactly what kind of wolf she is: the papers, which were sent with her, are remarkable for their inventiveness. She had an ancestor who was an Arctic wolf, but that was crossed for a friend who had a zoo and a wolf he wanted to breed – unidentified. A gray wolf was in the line. Finally, Sundance is identified as a Russian Wolf. Whatever! Over the years she has taught many children that wolves are wise and shy and beautiful. At night, she sings with the other wolves along the hillside enclosures. And, as I said, she allows Silver to do the PR work.

 

Watching them, listening to them, one wishes that they could be free – no wolf was ever meant to be a pet, was ever meant to be a captive.

 

The zoo, which bred her, has been closed down.