Lobo Park

  
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Unique wolf park near Antequera in the heart of Andalucia, Spain.
European wolves, Timber wolves, Tundra wolves (polar wolves) and Iberian wolves.
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Lobo Park (wolf park) Daniel
Daniel amongst the wolves
“I have never seen anything like it,” I said to Daniel as we chatted beneath a tree moments after he had left the fenced enclosure of the European variety of wolves, one of four different types given a home in the natural environment of Lobo Park near Antequera.
We had watched Daniel crouch amongst the wolves and howl in unison with them, the key, he explained later, to their group identity and their communication. After sitting calmly amongst the powerful, yet very gentle creatures, he had stood up to receive an apparently affectionate and lengthy hug from one of them.
“They seem so friendly,” called one of the spectators through the wire.
“Don’t be fooled,” said Daniel in earnest, as the wolves left him and he came towards the fence, “this is very dangerous. These wolves have not been domesticated in any way, you will see no sign of submission from them towards me, they are untamed, wild animals.”
“How do they regard you?” the visitor asked. “Who do they think you are?”
“They see me as one of the group,” he explained, “I am part of the pack, but not part of the hierarchy. They salute me and then, as you can see, they just continue going about their business.”
Afterwards Daniel explained the importance of keeping human interference to a minimum. “I know that every time I go in there my presence takes away a little from the natural way things should be, but I don’t use any coercion to make them submit to me and I never try to train them. This is what makes Lobo Park so special and different from the others in the world.”
Our tour of this undeniably special park began with a visit to the petting zoo, home, again in the most natural environment possible, to a now very healthy and happy collection of waifs, donations and strays of a wide variety of species, all quite conceivably thinking that they must have died and gone to heaven. Unlike our nostrils, though, as we stopped to greet Pinky the pig and then his muddy and sleepy porcine relatives, the Iberians. A baby goat needing a bottle of milk held up proceedings to the unforgettable delight of one lucky little girl who was allowed to oblige and we then visited foxes, a deer, dingoes, which are a mix between wolf and dog, and also a ferret, although he had ferreted himself completely out of sight.
The party swelled as we made our way uphill towards the wolf enclosures, the occasional sound of their howling having been the first thing we had heard on arrival at the main road entrance to the grounds. The first visitor on our list was a blind Alaskan wolf. Our guide Nicole explained that in their natural habitat he would have been killed by the others, who would not accept any weakness in the pack. Until recently he had shared his enclosure with another wolf, who was deaf, but he had died, leaving his friend a little sad.
Further up the hill we met the Canadian wolves, or Timbers, and Nicole explained the hierarchy in a wolf pack going from Alpha and Beta downwards, starting with a king and a queen. We listened as the pack took an equally shared interest in the farmyard puppy that formed part of our visitor’s party. It was time for a snack. Luckily Nicole had brought along a tub full of pieces of meat, which she flung generously over the fence, providing us with a fantastic, lightning display of agility as the wolves flew into the air, grabbing the chunks and swallowing them whole, sometimes even before landing back on the ground.
“That wolf didn’t get any,” someone shouted, but Nicole just laughed, pointing out that this was not their main meal. It was just ‘tapas’.
The white Alaskan (Tundra or Polar) wolves were next, beautiful creatures with creamy white fur coats, powerful beasts, large, but so nimble and light-footed they seemed to be walking on air. They were the family who had spurned our chum in the first enclosure. I compared my human feelings on the subject with what I understood to be theirs and considered the differences and of course similarities in both different worlds, both different jungles.
“Would they attack humans?” I asked Nicole.
“In their natural habitat they would run away from humans,” she answered, “which is a main difference with the other types.”
The European wolf enclosure provided another display of animal acrobatics as Nicole threw in a few tasty morsels as an early starter before dinner. The promotional leaflet had spoken of the incredible experience of seeing eye to eye with a wolf, rare, impressive and thought provoking. As I gazed into the eyes of the fourth type of wolf in the park, the Iberians, and then turned my head and gazed into the Andalucian distance marked by the blue misty range of El Torcal, I felt a sense of peace and harmony, glad that these wonderful animals had a chance to live their lives in this exceptional environment and glad too that I had had the chance to see them.		 Daniel and the wolves
Alaskan wolf
Timber wolf
Timber wolves getting tapas
Tundra wolves Tundra wolf
European wolf Nicole our guide at Lobo Park
Tapas for the European wolves Iberian wolf
Iberian wolf "Nunca he visto nada igual,” dije a Daniel mientras charlabamos debajo de un árbol unos momentos después de que él hubiera salido del recinto cercado donde se encuentra una gran variedad de lobos de raza europea, viviendo en el ambiente natural de Lobo Park cerca de Antequera.
Habíamos mirado a Daniel agacharse entre los lobos y gritar al unísono con ellos, la clave, explicó más adelante, la identidad del grupo y a su comunicación. Después de sentarse tranquilamente entre ellos, se había levantado para recibir un abrazo cariñoso y largo de uno de ellos.
"Así parecen muy amistosos," dijo uno de los espectadores a través del alambre.
"No te engañes," dijo Daniel serio, pues los lobos salieron detrás de él cuando vino hacia la cerca, "esto es muy peligroso. Estos lobos no se han domesticado de ninguna manera, no verás ninguna muestra de sumisión de ellos hacia mí, son animales salvajes."
"¿Qué piensan de tí?" preguntó el espectador. "Quién piensan que eres?" "Me ven como uno del grupo," explicó, “yo soy parte de la manada, pero no parte de la jerarquía. Me saludan, pero como puedes ver ellos siguen a lo suyo."
Daniel explicó posteriormente la importancia de guardar un mínimo de relación humana "Sé que cada vez que entro mi presencia quita un poco la forma natural de como deben ser las cosas ahí dentro, pero no utilizo ningún tipo coacción para someterlos y nunca intento entrenarles. Por eso, Lobo Park es tan especial y diferente de otros del mundo."
Nuestro viaje al parque fue especial comenzó con una visita a una granja escuela hogar, en un ambiente lo más natural posible. Allí había una colección muy sana y feliz de animales huérfano, que habían sido donados o abandonados. La variedad de especies es enorme. Así pues, paramos para saludar a Pinky el cerdo que estaba con sus parientes los cerditos fangosos y soñolientos. Una cabrita que necesitaba una botella de leche fue el deleite de una pequeña muchacha que pasaba por allí. También, visitamos a los zorros, un ciervo, los dingoes, que son una mezcla entre el lobo y perro, había un hurón, aunque estuvo fuera de nuestra vista.
Después empezamos a subir hacia el recinto donde se encuentran los lobos. El primer visitante en nuestra lista era un lobo de Alaska, que estaba ciego. Nuestra guía Nicole nos explicó que en su habitat natural los otros lobos lo habrían matado, por que no aceptarían ninguna debilidad en el manada. Hasta hace poco tiempo él había compartido su recinto con otro lobo, que era sordo, pero había muerto, dejando a su amigo un poco triste. Entonces nos encontramos con los lobos canadienses (Timbers) y Nicole nos contó la jerarquía de una manada del lobos que iba de alfa y beta hacia abajo, comenzando con un rey y una reina. Escuchábamos mientras la manada miraba con interés un perrito que parecía parte del paísaje. Era hora comer. Nicole había traído una tina llena de pedazos de carne, que arrojó de forma abundante sobre la cerca, de esta manera pudimos ver la agilidad con que los lobos volaron en el aire, asiendo los pedazos y tragándolos enteros, a veces incluso antes de que el trozo de carne llegara al suelo.
"Ese lobo no tomó nada," gritó alguien, pero Nicole rió, diciendo que ésta nomera su comida principal, para ellos esto era sólo una tapa. Los lobos blancos de Alaska (tundra o polar) son unas criaturas hermosas con los abrigos de piel blancos cremosos, son bestias grandes, pero ágiles y rápidas parecían caminar en el aire. Era la familia que había despreciado a nuestro amigo en el primer recinto. Comparé mis sensaciones humanas con el mundo de los lobos y entendí nuestras diferencias y semejanzas cada uno en nuestra propia selva.
“Ellos atacan a seres humanos?" dije a Nicole.
"En su hábitat natural vivirían lejos de seres humanos," contestó, "esta es una de las principales diferencias con los otros tipos."
El recinto europeo del lobo nos proporcionó otra exhibición acerca de la acrobacia animal cuando Nicole lanzó algunos bocados sabrosos de carne como aperitivo antes de la cena. El folleto promocional habla de la increíble experiencia de ver los lobos cara a cara, es algo extraño e imponente. Mirando los ojos del cuarto tipo de lobo en el parque, el Iberians, mi cabeza empezó a pensar en la gama de azules que se pueden ver en el cielo del Torcal, me sentía en paz y armonía, alegre que estos animales maravillosos tenían ocasión de vivir sus vidas en este ambiente excepcional y alegre. También me sentí feliz porque había tenido la ocasión de verlos.
Horse riding at Lobo Park
Pinky the pig
Iberico pigs
 
Snack time for a baby goat Goats
Goat Fox
Picnic area Horse
March 2007
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