Wolf kisses and howling dreams

TIDEWATER, Ore. -- Once his tongue touched my lips I felt calm, no longer afraid to lean in closer.

Then two more wolves crowded the chain link fence separating human from animal, eager to kiss me too.

At the White Wolf Sanctuary in Tidewater, Ore., touching a creature that is meant to roam free in an Arctic terrain is strange and wonderful.

Ten wolves have found an unlikely home in Oregon, a state that has hosted more controversial issues surrounding wolves than actual wolves. Only recently have wild howls echoed in Eastern Oregon’s forests. This summer several howls led wildlife biologists to determine that at least two adults and two pups had moved into the state. It is unknown if the pack will stay.

For now your best chances of safely seeing a wolf is at the White Wolf Sanctuary. The sanctuary cares for abandoned, unwanted or injured white Arctic wolves.

A visit to the sanctuary begins up a rough road, where upon exiting the car several wolves eagerly whine for attention. They will have to wait.

Visitors must also wait to get up close with the wolves, but for good reason. Lois Tulleners White, owner of the sanctuary, begins each tour by educating visitors on the positive aspects of wolves returning to Yellowstone Park.

“Now the wolf is back in Yellowstone, the beaver is back, the trees are back because the elk are hunted and not overgrazing, hanging out with their beer and remote at waterways,” she says. “Now the elk go and drops seeds in their feces in the forest.”

During the talk, Tulleners White has to stop for a moment because the wolves begin to howl. It is a cacophony of primordial sounds that one can only imagine hearing in the forests of Oregon.

All at once it is silent again.

“If you howl they’ll howl right back,” says Tulleners White, as the educational talk continues.

Tulleners White’s goals for White Wolf Sanctuary are to have the best conditions available for rescued wolves and wolves in the wild.

At the sanctuary, Tulleners White has given the wolves 40 acres to run about. She still finds it heartbreaking to see them fenced in. 

“It is a reminder that what once was wild no longer is wild,” she says as she leads the tour to the first wolf enclosure.
 
White approaches first and kneels down, letting the wolves lick her face. The wolves press their white fur against the fence. One wolf raises her front paw as her ears perk up and flatten down against her head as she becomes more excited.

Danielle Towne, a first time visitor, gets a chance to press her face against the fence. Two wolves quickly bound over to get some action.

“My heart was racing. I never expected that I would get that close to a wolf,” says Towne. “Getting kissed was very endearing. All my fears washed away,”

After visiting each wolf, we are ready to leave. As I look out the car window one last time, one wolf stands by the fence watching as the cars pull away. His bright yellow eyes linger for a moment in my direction, but then he quickly turns away and faces the small stretch of wilderness that has become his home.
 
For more information on tours at the White Wolf Sanctuary contact Lois Tulleners White at (541) 528-3588.

Cali Bagby works as a freelance print and photojournalist in Eugene, Oregon. Her work has been published in the Washington Post and the Eugene Weekly. Bagby graduated from the School of Journalism and Communications at the University of Oregon.