They are not indigenous, they are not pets, and most of the ones we care for should never have been here at all.
The wolves at our sanctuary are Grey Timber Wolves and the wolf dogs bred from them. Their natural range never reached the southern tip of Africa, so every wolf in South Africa lives here in captivity.
The story of how they arrived is a strange one. It's believed the South African Defence Force imported wolves from North America in the 1970s, hoping to crossbreed them with German Shepherds for a powerful crowd-control dog. Those projects failed, and the wolves ended up in zoos and private hands. Every wolf in the country today is South African bred, descended from that original North American line.
A wolf cub is easy to fall in love with and impossible to keep. They grow into powerful wild animals with needs no home can meet. When the novelty passes, or the animal outgrows its owner, it needs somewhere to go, and there are very few places that can take it.
That is why we are here. We give these animals a permanent home, and we tell the truth about them so fewer end up needing one.
Visitors never enter the enclosures. You see the wolves up close on a guided tour, from the safe side of the fence.
We do not breed. Every space we have goes to an animal that needs rescuing, not one we created.
A non-native animal raised in captivity cannot be set free here. Our care is for life.
