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The wolf is the most sociable mammal alive in our world and because of this social nature we are so lucky to be able to live with the descendents of wolf and are able to build and maintain a close relationship with our so beloved domesticated wolf, our family dog.
Till today I have only had the, lets call it pleasure, to meet wolves that are being kept in captivity in our Zoos. I watched so many movies and documentaries, read all the Jack London books and any other book on wolves that I could lay my hands on. Just eager to learn more and more about these magnificent creatures. I have painted their pictures and drew sketches with wolves as a subject and wrote poems about them. They simply fascinate me and I can not wait to one day have the pleasure of meeting these beautiful creatures in the wild, right where they all belong.
Pack of dark coated bodies
On snowy glistening plains
A lonely white hillprominent
Copyright Maggie Glaasker, 2001
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There has never been a time when wolves have not been with me, that they came to me in my dreams. There has never been a time that I have not admired them for their freedom, their strength, their intense loyalty and the way they take care of each other. A Wolf gives their love once and stay with their mate for life. They are affectionate and devoted, sharing and caring. A Wolf is a great parent whose love goes a lot further than to just their own pups. They embody freedom, are the wanderers, the roamers of the wild and great runners. To me wolves have always been the essence of wildness. 
It is great to see that Zoos nowadays either do not keep wolves any more or give them a bigger enclosure that at least slightly resembles their natural environment. My most memorable wolf encounters were at a Dutch Zoo, where they had a beautiful gray wolf pack. Whenever I went to that Zoo the first thing I did was go and see how they were doing. Spent hours just watching them and taking as many pictures as I could. One day on a visit to the Dutch Zoo, I already heard one lonely wolf voice singing while I was still trying to get a ticket and slowly heard other pack members voices join the chorus. By the time I finally got to their enclosures the greater part of the pack was singing. I stood their silent and in awe to hear their ancient song. 
A couple of years ago Dave took me to the Cleveland Zoo where they keep a small wolf pack in a nice and hilly surrounding with lots of shrubs and trees. The alpha wolf came up to the window a few times looking straight into my eyes as if he was posing for me, inviting me to take his picture. And I did. We stood there for I cant remember how long, listening to their growls and howls and watching how they were interacting and I just could not help but taking rolls and rolls of pictures. There is a small island in the middle of a pond, where one of the lower ranked females seeked refuge from the other members of the pack. She had a fresh wound on her left hind leg that did not seem to bother her a lot, because whenever one of the other pack members moved into her direction she gracefully jumped over the water onto the island, every time joining the packs song as soon as one of the wolf howled. A lot of the pictures taken at Cleveland Zoo and at Ouwehand Zoo in The Netherlands have been used for this website and mainly in the pages about these beautiful creatures.
Over the years we have visited so many great internet sites dedicated to the Wolf and trying to get people to understand these beautiful wild creatures a bit better. Trying to get people to help preserve the Wolf and enable them to keep on living in their natural wild habitats. We are delighted to add some really great links to the pages where you will find a description and pictures of the different species of the Wolf. For the ones who do like poetry, a Wolf poem has been added at the bottom of this page. Enjoy your stay.
