A wolf is shown in its enclosure at the McCleery Buffalo Wolf Foundation located in Bridger, Montana, recently absorbed into Wolf Haven International, of Tenino.
Wolves are shown in their enclosure at the McCleery Buffalo Wolf Foundation located in Bridger, Montana, recently absorbed into Wolf Haven International, of Tenino.
Tenino-based Wolf Haven International completed paperwork this week to absorb the McCleery Buffalo Wolf Foundation located in Bridger, Montana — along with its more than two-dozen wolves and 378 acres of land.
Foundation managers Ed and Terry Wheeler donated the organization’s assets, the land located an hour southwest of Billings and more than 30 captive buffalo wolves, also known as Great Plains wolves, to Wolf Haven so it can better care for the animals with an eye toward the future.
The Washington nonprofit has rescued 250 animals during its 36 years of operation. Its leaders decided that acquiring the McCleery foundation made too much sense to turn down.
“We got in contact with them over a year ago through a veterinarian we work with who had been contacted by them,” Wolf Haven Executive Director Diane Gallegos said. “They were looking for a solution for the wolves to stay where they are. Through our conversations, it became clear that it was a good solution for them and for our mission.”
Gallegos visited the Montana property soon after getting in touch with the Wheelers. Wendy Spencer, the sanctuary director for Wolf Haven, is on a six-month assignment there to get a better sense of what the wolves there need and to make some modifications to allow for safer care of the animals.
“We’re going to see how it goes,” Spencer said. “Maybe it becomes a permanent move. I’m off the grid on 400 acres. The views are amazing and wildlife out the windows. The biggest adjustment is having to look out for rattlesnakes.”
Wolf Haven plans to operate the McCleery location as a satellite sanctuary to allow the remaining wolves to live out their lives. The animals will be cryogenically preserved after death. Breeding programs will be stopped as soon as possible.
The property in Bridger also comes with a house, an unspecified number of outbuildings and enclosures for the wolves. Dr. E. H. McCleery founded his namesake nonprofit in 1920. He purchased more than 20 wild buffalo wolves during the ensuing decade and housed them on land in Kane, Pennsylvania.
Jack Lynch, McCleery’s assistant, assumed control of the foundation after McCleery’s death. The Wheelers have run the operation since 2016.
The sanctuary in Montana will remain closed to the public for the foreseeable future. Gallegos said the Wolf Haven board of directors is planning to have a strategic planning retreat next year to discuss a long-term plan for the land and facilities.
She expects the organization to explore the possibility of holding Mexican wolves there like they do in Tenino as part of a captive breeding program.
“There aren’t any wild Mexican wolves in Montana and there won’t be any,” Gallegos said. “It would depend on if the local Fish and Wildlife people approve a breeding program, but I would anticipate that approval.”
