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Originally Posted by kirowan
thanks for the last two replys.my shoshone dog is a rehome.ill have to see how she progresses she is 2 year old.i was thinking of a pup so that it can be totally socialised,the falcons and hawks i use are what is termed inprinted.this allows these animals to be used with people and children with out stressing the animal.and ultimately allows us to inseminate female birds and take semen from male birds again without stress and there fore enhances consevation methods when dealing with threatened species.i the 70s there were only 16 individual mauritus kestrels left in the wild.now with care ful management and a mix of captive and wildbed birds there are over 150 pairs.the big preditors in the world are most threatened im sure you agree we have to act now.in the next 100 years it will be to late.wolfs are an important part of the echo system and i love them.just want to do my bit.so any advice is welcome.
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You obviously know what your doing with your birds, and it's commendable that you want to do so much to help conservation issues with other animals. Remember, though, that birds and wolves speak very different languages, and are therefor much, much different to care for. Although I am really comfortable and confident around dogs, and I'm sure with more study and experience, I could be the same way with wolves, I KNOW that I have zero experience with birds, and I would wind up loosing a finger (or worse!) if I tried to jump in and care for one!
If you really do want to work with education and things like that, find a group near you that works with wolves, like a zoo or park that has captive wolves that can be handled by humans and have been human raised (not just wolves on display that can't be touched), and ask them as many questions as possible. Go and visit often, and first observe the wolves' behaviors on their own, without any contact. Read up on wolf behavior and pack structure. There are tons of books out there written by researchers about this subject, and also about raising captive wolves.
As you learn, see if maybe you can volunteer your time working for a group like that, to get more up-close experience with the wolves. You'll also need to learn the laws in your area of how one obtains a license to house these animals, and what sort of enclosures you'll need to build (a little hint, you're going to need a decent bit of property to fence off, your wolves will NOT be living in your home!) I'm pretty positive you'll need to get a pair of wolves, as well, since they are very social creatures, and living outside, alone, will cause a "lone wolf" to go crazy.
Remember, too, that even with all your efforts, there's still a chance that your wolves may grow up and decide they're not going to be social enough to actually go anywhere for educational events, and maybe to the point where they can't have people in their enclosure at all. You'll have to be ok with the fact that you might end up with a pair of animals you'll have to care for, for over a decade that you may never even be able to have contact with. However, if that does happen, you may be able to find solace in the fact that you can still open your property to the public to do talks about wolves, your birds, and conservation efforts.
So, yeah, it's a daunting task to privately own an exotic, wild animal like a wolf. You may find that you'd rather work through an organization that can do the housing and harder work for you, while you still get a chance to speak out about conservation. But I hope you at least take a lot of time to weigh all your options and decide which path is truly right for you.