Wolves successfully moved to Spanish sanctuary

Two weeks ago, on a soggy and drab morning Chris headed out to Enghagen in Upper Austria to help the animal welfare organisation 4 Paws to translocate 5 wolves to an animal sanctuary in Spain. This became necessary, as the Upper Austrian authorities had closed the wild animal park in Enghagen. After moving out brown bears and some primates in the past months these wolves were the last animals in the park. The wolf enclosure was a dismal and sorry sight, with the animals reduced to living in a small very muddy area devoid of any significant cover. It really was time to get them to a better place.
The first 3 wolves were pretty easy to dart and anesthetize, but as always in these situations, it just gets harder as the animals become more anxious. The last animal was darted in a deep, dark and tight mud cave and Chris was only just able to extract it by lying on his belly and gently pulling it out by the tip of one ear. The transport to Spain was uneventful and the animals were released into their new enclosure in Primadonus, Spain. While some so-called “rescues” are often difficult to get on board with this one felt just right…
 
4 Paws has posted the entire story here [in German] All photos courtesy of 4 Paws

Anxious wolf prior to anaesthesia

Slip-sliding away down the slope with a sleeping wolf

Waiting to be released

The new sunny enclosure in Spain