International Wolf Center Offers Pack Of Learning Vacations This Winter in Minnesota

The International Wolf Center will present a new line-up of affordably priced learning vacations for travelers who want to learn more about one of the country’s most mysterious and misunderstood predators - the wolf - and have a howling good time while doing it. The International Wolf Center is located in the Superior National Forest in northeastern Minnesota.

Programs include instruction by a wolf expert and a variety of field experiences, group meals including dinners catered by a local chef and lodging in cabins at the lakeside Timber Trail Lodge.

A new program called “Tracking the Pack” teaches participants to track radio-collared wolves via radio and aerial telemetry, investigate a wolf kill and howl like wild wolf packs. The four-day/three-night program is led by a wolf expert and offered Feb. 5 -8, 2009. Among the adventures during the action-packaged learning vacation is wolf-tracking by snowshoe. Participants learn to watch for wolf tracks and scat while snowshoeing through scenic winterscapes of the Superior National Forest and - with luck - discover and investigate a wolf kill site. A highlight of the adventure is a scenic flight in a Cessna 172 over Minnesota’s Superior National Forest to locate radio-collared wolves.

“Tracking the Pack” is priced at $420 for members of the non-profit International Wolf Center and $470 for non-members. The price is based on double-occupancy in family-style cabins with up to eight people sharing living space, kitchen and two bathrooms. Participants who wish to stay in a private room pay an additional $45 per night. Participants must be at least 16 years old, and all participants under 18 must be accompanied by a paid adult.

The International Wolf Center will also offer its popular “Mush with the Dogs/Howl with Wolves” programs several times this winter, including two three-day programs just for families with children six years and older. Participants spend their days tracking radio-collared wolves, investigating wolf signs on snowshoes and exploring wolf habitat on dog sleds. The family programs also include indoor wolf watching at the International Wolf Center and other kid-friendly activities. Rates for “Mush with the Dogs/Howl with Wolves” are $420 for adult members and $470 for non-members and $370 for children six through 15 whose parents are members and $420 for non-members. The adult programs for participants ages 16 and up (children under 18 must be accompanied by a paid adult) are offered Jan. 23-25, Feb. 13-15 and Feb. 20-22, 2009. The family programs are offered Dec. 27-29, 2008 and Jan. 17-19, 2009.

The International Wolf Center offers a variety of other programs throughout the year including “Wolves and Wilderness by Dogsled”; “Wolves in Winter Elderhostel”; “Wolves, Eagles and Bears, Oh My!”; “Wild about Wolves and Bears”; “The Wonder of Wolves: Intergenerational Wolf Discovery”; “Boundary Waters Wolf Howl Canoe”; “Moose-Wolf Interactions - A 1,000-lb. Dinner”; and “Wolf Family Rendezvous.” College credit can be earned for an additional fee for the programs “Wolf Ethology Study,” “Wolf-Deer Interactions” and “Wolf Research Practicum.”

The non-profit International Wolf Center was founded in 1985 with the goal of advancing wolf survival by teaching about wolves, their relationship to wildlands and the human role in their future.

For more information, visit www.wolf.org Participants must be 16 years old to join adult programs, and children must be six years old to participate in the family programs.

To register for any of the Center’s programs, visit the Web site or call 1-800-ELY-WOLF (1-800-359-9653), ext. 25 during the week.

The International Wolf Center also offers a variety of in-depth wolf seminars - most available for course credit - and custom programs designed for educators, youth groups and other groups interested in learning about wolf ecology.

October 14, 2008   Posted in: United States North