We are gifted with a diverse wildlife. From the biggest to the ones who stay under the earth’s surface, we’ve enormous creatures. We’ve more than 2 million species, so, there is no way that you’ll know all of them but some species are much more popular than the rest. Like everyone knows about lions, snakes, dogs, eagles, wolves, cats, seals, whales, sharks, etc. The list goes a long way. Some of them have the tendency of being loving towards humans rest are wild and usually end up hurting humans because that’s their tendency.
The first ones are good but what if you have an encounter with the latter type of animals when you are all alone. Just imagine, in the middle of the woods, you are all alone, taking a regular walk where you walked a bit deeper in the jungle than you usually do and now you stand right there in front of an animal that is looking at you through the bushes. What would you do? Can you actually do anything at all?
One fine day, when the weather was freezing cold and the earth’s surface was covered with snow, Danielle after getting free from her work decided to go for a walk with one of his friends. They were enjoying the chilling atmosphere and their minds were at immense peace. This was nothing new for them as it was almost a part of their daily routine to get some fresh air but that day wasn’t like any other days. Someone was closely keeping an eye on them through the bushes. The humans didn’t realize it until that someone got a company and the two started approaching towards them.
Wolves are the chasers who aren’t as fast as a cheetah but fast enough to chase their prey down with a speed of 45km/h (28mph). If you ever encounter a wolf, assuming that you’re a mighty and tough person who can fight a wolf than you should know that wolves never attack alone, they hunt in a group of 5 to 10 wolves which means there’s no way out unless they just had their food or you don’t look like tasty to them. If that’s all you know about wolves than you should really go ahead to see what these creatures can actually do.
This occurrence took place in the Colorado Wolf and Wildlife Center, a non-profit organization which is certified by the Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA). A wildlife that especially looks after the wolves and the hybrid dogs that are very close to the wolves. The place is intact with professionals as well as volunteers who love to work for these animals and work upon their continuously decreasing numbers. While the professional zookeepers and doctors may get along with these wild species, it is not at all advisable for the volunteers and the other visitors to get close to these animals. But what if it happens unintentionally?
When talking about wolves we would like to tell you that wolves are very emotional when it is about their relationships, and family. Once they get a partner, they generally live together for the rest of their lives. They are strongly connected with their known wolves to an extent that they can even give up on their own lives to save their family. There is so much about these species that most the world isn’t yet aware of. Wolves are famous for the howling sound they make, is actually their way of communication.
No matter how good they might sound nobody ever wants to see one with any security as we all are aware that they are wild creatures who live on hunting and a wolf attacking a human is not an unbelievable thing to happen.
Many people are scared of wolves, coyotes, and foxes but not the founder of this sanctuary, Darlene Kobobel, a brave and kind-hearted lady who see wildlife’s pain instead of getting scared of it. The founder’s life mission is to save these beautiful beasts from human exploitation. When it comes to wolves, Darlene is experienced more than required but what happened that day came to her as a surprise too. It was one of those moments where time stood still and that’s when a person gets what we all know as once in a lifetime event.
Kekoa means ‘the brave one’, is a Timber wolf that was taken in by the Colorado Wolf and Wildlife Center. Kekoa was welcomed as an infant after being born in the Seacrest Wolf Preserve in Florida. He is known in the reserve center for his thick and soft silver-gray fur. Kekoa has remarkable features and is always active and ready to play with his sister Sakara who came along with him. Wild animals look incredible until they get too close. And what happened when a young woman crossed path with Kekoa is something we need to see.
Sakara is an independent, fighter yet cute female wolf. Sakara, Kekoa and Keyni their adopted ‘grandson’ stay together. Sakara has shown strong maternal instincts and has raised many pups over the years. She normally stays away from humans and any contact with them. Sakara is used to observing people from behind the trees and notice humans passing by when she lays at ease. The wildlife center was happy at the moment they welcomed the pair of these siblings as it was a nice addition to see wolves in the place. Well, they were not interfering in anyone’s life until one snowy day.
Being the first ever wolves in the center, they were representing the sanctuary as the ambassadors. Everyone was expecting that having two wolves in the sanctuary will attract more visitors and this will increase the possibility to educate more population about wolves and dog-wolfs. But Kekoa and Sakara had some other plans for the visitors and for the publicity of the center.
“They were both adopted from a facility in Florida called Seacrest Wolf Preserve. We had hoped they would be ambassadors. But sadly, like most wolves and high-content wolf dogs, once they reached maturity they became very shy and ‘retired’ at the ripe old age of two,” said Michelle Smith, a worker at the center. They were not at all interested in any of the interactive sessions. Thus, their caretakers let them wander in the woods without any obstacles. They were free and so was Danielle. At the age when the wolves behavior is changing, it could be a very terrifying incident.
Danielle, a sanctuary worker loves wolves and she is was quite fascinated by seeing this change in their personality. She works at the sanctuary as a full-time employee and has always been passionate about her job. She generally gets excited about cutting raw meat for the wolves and she is always seen doing even the boring tasks with so much enthusiasm.
In 1993, Darlene Kobobel, from Lake George, Colorado, started this wildlife center when she saved a wolf-dog named Chinook. The two years old dog was soon to get euthanized in a local animal shelter just because she was a “wolf-hybrid” label. Darlene has always been scared of wolves but looking at Chinook changed her life forever. After welcoming young Chinook home she started researching about the wolf-dogs and learned their extreme struggles, throughout the country. The response she received was much more than anyone ever expected.
The first year, Darlene used to get 15 – 20 phone calls on a daily basis from all over the country as the number of people who wanted to surrender their wolves were too high. That’s when she realized that people really need to learn a lot about these species. As people can’t take care of their wolf-dogs, out of more than 80% are given in the shelter before they turn 3. The shelter house and humane societies euthanize these young pups in next 24-72hrs.
People came to the wildlife center offering a helping hand and that’s how they started welcoming volunteers. “There is not a day that goes by that I don’t feel not only lucky but also blessed to have found and now live at this beautiful, peaceful location to provide sanctuary for the animals and provide a fun and educational environment to visitors,” said Darlene. This wasn’t just a concern but a less known issue across the U.S. That’s when Darlene came in contact with Danielle, a girl who was interested in volunteering for the wildlife center wasn’t having the slightest of the idea about the moment waiting on her.
After completing 2 decades, Darlene’s wildlife center has covered a 35-acres where the rescued animals live. The place organizes several tours for the tourists and has a lot of other exciting features for the people who love these ancestors of dogs family. It even consists of an amphitheater for educational purposes. The workers of the center have also arranged facilities for many hikes and adventurous people love it as the place is filled with enough wolves. They have enough security measures also but the encounter that Danielle had was never seen before.
Although all the sanctuaries are taking extreme steps to save the endangered species of the gray wolves the numbers are decreasing after all the efforts. These native of the North American and Eurasian areas are now struggling to survive the extinction. Very few wolves are left on the European land, the majority lives in Alaska, Canada, and Asia. The animal sanctuaries are the safest place for these animals to be but it is assumed that humans are kept in safety there, neither was Danielle any ordinary visitor at the place nor was her experience.
Thanks to people like Darlene that gray wolves are able to live a naturally healthy life. For sure she was certain that nothing bad could happen to the wolves or to the volunteers as the security measures are very strict and nobody ever gets in the ways of the wolves. Also, the wolves are kept distant from the humans. So, everything seemed safe yet the wolves’ nature seemed a bit unknown until Danielle walked in.
Wolves are beautiful giant creatures who act shyly and introverted when surrounded by people. On the contrary, when wolves are with their family or another pack of wolves they tend to be more active and more playful. The encounter with Danielle wasn’t planned by anyone. Hence, this could be a strange sight for Kekoa and Sakara so was their reaction to it.
When walking through the woods, Danielle felt like someone is following her. She wasn’t wrong because when she turned back, she noticed that it was Kekoa, who was easily recognized because of his silver-shiny fur. He was looking straight at her. Three of them were face to face when Danielle saw that Kekoa wasn’t alone.
Behind Kekoa who was standing in an alert position, Sakara was trying to hide behind the trees and peeking through the gaps. Danielle and his friend didn’t know how to react to this. They were in the mid of a dense forest on a cold day with two young giant wolves looking at them and they had no clue about what should be done next.
Although Danielle always wished that she could build a strong connection with these wild animals but never in her life she wished to face them like this. Her friend was also equally hopeless as this pair of siblings was getting closer to them. They were getting hopeless not seeing anyone around them.
Kekoa reached there first while Sakara decided to stay back. She was standing there a few steps away from her brother as if she was scared to get any closer. But Kekoa was close enough and started sniffing their clothes. They both were terrified while Danielle’s friend stepped back away from Kekoa, Danielle was still standing right there. She admires wolves for their beautiful and gigantic appearance but she was petrified.
Kekoa came close to her and touched her hand with his nose. For Danielle, it was a scary thing and she could feel Kekoa’s fur near her legs. Instead of running away, she sat down right there and did what was so unbelievable that her friend immediately took out her phone from her pocket to record the present happening on the phone.
Danielle started petting Kekoa and he too was being comfortable with her. Her friend was recording all this and was not ready to get any closer. Sakara also seemed interested in everything, she too started moving towards Danielle. If you think this is all then you need to read this story further as these wolves made a huge choice that day.
Within a few minutes, Kekoa was so comfortable with Danielle that he decided to rest on the land and requested her to pet him with his sweet hand gestures. He was getting his belly rubbed by Danielle just like dogs like. Every time Danielle stopped rubbing his belly, Kekoa slightly puts his front leg on the top of her hands to pet him.
Kekoa started kissing Danielle and Sakara too wanted to be a part of this fun scene. Kekoa and Sakara both are of reserved nature and never let humans nearby. But with Danielle, they were playing like she was one of them. “I have always had a passion for nature and animals. These wolves have my heart and I am honored to have been accepted into their pack,” said Danielle.
Danielle was assuming it to be a once in a lifetime thing to happen and that the wolves will treat her like the rest of humans, the next time they see her. However, that day, both Sakara and Kekoa chose Danielle as a part of their family. Even Danielle herself wasn’t aware of this unless the next time she met them.
That day when Danielle walked out of the woods she was still reliving the moments with the wolves over and over again. When the wildlife center staff saw the video they wanted Danielle to meet the wolves on a daily basis, so that, there is at least one person whom these wolves will listen to but Danielle wasn’t sure if Kekoa and Sakara were going to react in the same way or not.
Whenever Danielle is around it looks like Kekoa and Sakara get too excited to stay with her. They both enjoy cuddling with her and just laying right there, surrendering themselves to her. For Danielle, it is nothing less of a miracle and the best job she could ever be working on. Even the sanctuary staff took advantage of this strong bond.
Although both Kekoa and Sakara are friendly with Danielle, the closest bond she shares with Kekoa the wolf who generally stays calm. He is seen relaxing but with Danielle he is a completely different wolf. He is active, he is playing, and definitely, he is enjoying.
After their encounter with Danielle, Kekoa and Sakara have no issues in appearing in front of the visitors. Kekoa loved to kiss the visitors while Sakara appreciates a little petting. They have developed a trust in Danielle and that’s the reason why she is assigned to most of the work related to the wolves.
The video clearly shows Danielle taking steps towards the wolves. She slightly leaned down and started petting them. Kekoa and Sakara seemed to be loving her nature and got along with Danielle within a blink of eyes. They have always seemed to enjoy Danielle’s company.
Kekoa and Sakara love Danielle. The siblings are now 8 years old and still stay active and healthy. Many people accuse the sanctuary of domesticating these wild animals. But according to the volunteers, they don’t follow any unnatural process which may bring change in the animals’ behavior rather they leave it wholly on the animals choice if they would like to be with humans or not.
The 1st Video
The beautiful moments were recorded and later on shared on the Colorado Wolf and Wildlife Center’s online page. The first video shows Danielle approaching towards Kekoa and Kekoa kissing and licking her face. The second video is much more fun when Sakara too makes it to the footage.
The 2nd Video
This was the second video recorded when Kekoa was comfortable with Danielle and is rolling over with fun and Kekoa makes a short appearance in the video but both seem to be treating Danielle as their friend not different from them.
The videographer was observing the whole scene from a distance and at first, commented on Kekoa’s huge size, “and Danielle you’re an average sized person.” The sanctuary made something very clear when they mentioned in the post, “Kekoa loves his ladies! Especially Danielle.”
Kekoa “loves to greet visitors with wolf kisses,” the sanctuary has mentioned on its website. Shelter staff member Smith adds, “since he was raised by people and bottle fed from the time he was born, he is very well socialized, meaning he enjoys the company of people.” His biography on the website states, “Kekoa is a handsome young male with a sweet personality, which is good because he loves to greet visitors with wolf kisses. When he puts his paws on an other person’s shoulders he towers at about 7 feet.”
“This is not the same as domesticated or tame. He is still a ‘wild’ animal, and he does tend to show it when he is around his sister. A wolf in the wild would not act this way,” clarifies Smith about the true nature of these animals. Anyway, the video has gone viral and succeeded to increase the number of visitors to the sanctuary.
Wolves are one of the very few animal species who survived through the ice age and still manage to survive. “I wish everyone understood that wolves are awesome & loving,” a person mentioned in the comments, while other one went on thanking the sanctuary workers as, “thank you for taking such great care and loving these beautiful animals!”
“We believe wolves should be wolves and dogs should be dogs. However, if your intent is to own a wolfdog, you should take full and total responsibility for that animal,” the mission is mentioned on the sanctuary’s website.
Kekoa and Danielle are best buddies. Danielle tries to teach him how to greet people while he is always in the mood to play. Visitors admire their duo and you too can go ahead and meet Kekoa and Danielle. Don’t forget to share this amazing story of adventure, fear, trust, and love with your friends.
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