The Colorado Wolf and Wildlife Center is the brainchild of executive director Darlene Kobobel, who cautiously adopted a wolf-dog hybrid in 1993. Chinook, a two-year old female hybrid, had been scheduled for euthanasia in a local shelter. Kobobel quickly became aware that wolf/dog hybrids are often surrendered to shelters where they are usually immediately euthanized. She came to love Chinook and launched the Wolf-Hybrid Rescue Center for animals whose owners couldn’t keep them. The shelter was overwhelmed by nationwide pleas from owners who needed her help. She learned that out of approximately 250,000 wolf-dogs born every year, 80% will likely die before they reach their third birthday. Running the rescue center was to be her mission for the next decade.
In 2002, Kobobel decided to refocus her efforts. She had come to realize that it was physically and financially impossible to save all the animals that needed rescue, and thought that a sanctuary for threatened canids could be viable, sustainable and educational. She hoped that her new enterprise would be more beneficial to the animals she loves.
“If our emphasis was placed on education,” Kobobel wrote, “even more animals’ lives could be saved.”
After two relocations (one forced by the Hayman Fire), the Colorado Wolf and Wildlife Center (CWCC) formally opened its doors on June 28, 2003, only to have its lease terminated by the property owner 3.5 years later. The ever-resourceful Kobobel found another tract a few miles away, and rebuilt once again thanks to “countless hours of back-breaking labor by volunteers and staff.”
Today’s CWCC offers a rich, intimate experience of wolves and other threatened canids in a forested, natural setting. It’s not the distant, impersonal experience of zoos nor is it a cynical roadside attraction. The animals are housed in spacious, natural surroundings in 60 forested acres. Safe and structured interactions between people and wolves are part of the menu, giving visitors a much richer understanding of these extraordinary animals.
Kobobel’s consummate professionalism has made CWCC one of the few sanctuaries in the United States that is certified by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). That credential has allowed CWCC to participate in the AZA Species Survival Program by providing a home to Mexican Grey Wolves and Swift Foxes. According to AZA, “These plans are designed to maintain a healthy, genetically diverse and demographically stable population for the long-term future (of the species).”
Beginning in the 19th century, farmers, ranchers and hunters believed in killing wolves. They maintained that without wolves, there would be more game, that livestock would thrive, and that women and children could safely go forth from their homesteads. Wolves were essentially exterminated in Colorado by 1945, when the state’s last wolf was killed by a professional trapper. By the 1970’s, many scientists and conservationists believed that wolves and other predators were essential to a healthy wild-area ecosystem, but state legislators/governors wouldn’t touch such a controversial subject.
Enter Darlene, one of the two official proponents of the wolf reintroduction initiative in 2020. Thanks in large part to her energy and leadership, the proponents of the initiative forced it on the ballot by submitting more than 210,000 signatures.
“It’s time to restore the Gray wolf to Colorado’s wild public lands,” Kobobel said at the time. “This is an historic moment for Coloradans and wolves. The wolf is a symbol of wild nature and a voice that’s been missing from our landscape for 78 years. It’s time to restore the balance.” The voters agreed and so, apparently, did the wolves.
Even before the issue was decided, a pack migrated from southern Wyoming into northern Colorado. As Darlene puts it, “The wolf angels are in the stars shining on us and we will ALWAYS fight for what we believe in. Never let the howl go silent!”
