On Monday, March 18, the President of Big Run Wolf Ranch, John Basile, held a Wolf Show in Butler Reception Room for Saint Xavier University students and community members to come in and watch.
The President of the ranch grew up in Oak Lawn, Illinois, right down the street from SXU, and says that since he could remember he always had a love for animals.
Big Run Wolf Ranch is a federally licensed non-profit educational facility specializing in North American wildlife. The ranch is usually not open to the public, but they host private events such as field trips and birthday parties. Every month, the ranch host an open house and it is a family day. That is when they are open to the public, and it only costs seven dollars to get in.
A new guest speaker comes every month and gives different talks about wildlife that the ranch does not have itself. The guest speakers also bring their animals in. They have eight purebred wolves that can be heard howling through the night on the campgrounds. The wolves names are Chenoa, Zeus, Elle, J.J. (Jack Jr.), Sitka, Canuck, Zeke, and Luna.
All of the wolves at the ranch are purebred, meaning they have no dog in them at all. The president explained to us the importance of wolves and also how they are very similar to canines. There were four animals brought to the wolf show to educate the audience on, and to let them see.
The first animal that was shown to the audience was a striped skunk named Elroy. He arrived at the ranch in the spring of 2014. He had his scent gland removed and is said to be a very good and cuddly pet.
The second animal was Oscar, an opossum. They found him when he was still very young, and believe he may have fallen off of his mom’s back as a baby. A possum cannot carry rabies, plays dead to avoid predators by foaming at the mouth and releasing an odor, and has bad balance.
They then introduced the audience to Penelope, who is a New World female porcupine and was acquired from a breeder in Minnesota. The porcupine is actually a bigger animal about the size of a small dog and does not shoot their quills.
The last animal that was shown was a British Columbian wolf named Luna, who is two years old. Wolves will only attack when provoked like, and do not have dew claws like dogs.
Other than the eight purebred wolves, the ranch has ten other animals including the animals shown at the show. Besides the animals included at the show, the ranch has a North American Black Bear named Kuma, Charlie, A.K.A. Cougar, Mountain Lion, Puma, Siberian Tiger named Shere Khan, a Gelding horse named Harley, a purebred mid-western coyote named Mahala, another coyote named Miwok, and a groundhog named Hal.
The president has held a USDA federal license and has been working with large North American predators for 33 years. Many of the animals at Big Run Wolf Ranch that have been rescued were in situations where the only other alternative was euthanasia. Although they have rescued many different animals, the ranches primary goal is conservation through education.
The Season’s opener is on April 27 of this year, and the special guest speaker will be SOAR (Save Our American Raptors.) SOAR will be featuring eagles, owls, hawks, and falcons.
Big Run Wolf Ranch is a non-profit organization and all donations go towards helping to run and take care of the animals. For more information, the Big Run Wolf Ranch has a web page and is accessible at http://www.bigrunwolfranch. org.
Kylee Rus
News Reporter