Lakota Wolf Preserve

I discovered the Lakota Wolf preserve in 2007. It was featured in the Tamron Newsletter. The Lakota Wolf Preserve is in New Jersey near the Delaware Water Gap and is only a four hour drive away. You can find details at their web site www.lakotawolf.com. I went there in January 2007. It was bitter cold and had snowed the night before and was worth every second and dollar.

The compound consists of four large fenced in areas. In one area there were three Artic wolves. The Artic wolves were beautiful white wolves but they were very shy. The photographer that escorted us throughout the shoot used dog biscuits to lure the wolves closer. The other enclosures had packs of Timber and Tundra wolves. There was one additional much smaller enclosure that had bobcats and foxes.

For photographers they allow you inside the outer fence. They have hinged portals cut in the fence that allows photographers to photograph the wolves without having to focus through the fence. The enclosures were large enough to easily keep the fence out of the photos. Another nice thing is that you do not need a 600mm lens. I used a 200mm when I went.

They welcome photography clubs. I just looked on their site and a two hour session is $300. As I recall they had half day and all day sessions available but they are not currently listed on their web site. This is the time of year to go while the wolves have their full winter coats and if you time it right you can get a nice snowy background.

Originally Published in the Bowie-Crofton Camera Club newsletter “THE VIEWFINDER” March 2009