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“They came to see what it was and found the
film set. That made people take a bit more
notice and the village has now really taken to
them.”
More than a decade later and a conversation
with Dr Erich Klinghammer, the founding
director of Wolf Park in the US, planted a seed
for Roger and Tsa to create something more
with their pet wolves.
So, in 1995 the couple formed the UK Wolf
Conservation Trust from their Beenham farm.
It is a not-for-profit organisation that relies
heavily on its more than 70 volunteers and
aims to enhance conservation, aid research
and promote public awareness of wolves.
Sadly, Roger died 12 years ago but Tsa, along
with her three children, an army of volunteers
and her full-time wolf keeper, Mike Collins, has
kept his vision alive and has so far ploughed
around £300,000 into conservation projects
around the world.
“It was just a hobby and it was going to stay
that way,” she adds. “But the interest in wolves
has increased and the European countries
have become a lot more joined-up in their
conservation, so wolves are now more wide-
spread than they used to be.
“The Wolf Trust is the shop window for raising
money and giving it to conservation projects
around the world.”
The trust also runs education programmes for
schools and supports research by offering work
experience for university students, sponsoring
a PhD student and funding the purchase of
equipment, such as camera traps.
They have even hosted the wedding reception
of two students who met during a work
experience placement there.
There are currently 10 wolves at the trust,
including three that were born there in 2011.
The Beenham Pack, as the siblings are known,
were the second set of cubs to be born at
UKWCT.
The first arrived in 1999 and were the first
European wolves to be born in the UK since
they became extinct in the mid-18th-century,
after years of generous rewards being offered
for the killing of these predatory animals.
It is with the Beenham Pack that visitors can
now enjoy a walk with wolves.
“We couldn’t do our walking with the wolves
without our volunteers,” says Tsa. “On a
typical weekend walk we will have around 20
members of the public joining us. People can
get very close and take a lot of photos.
“The wolves behave as they would normally,
interacting with each other, pouncing if they
see a frog or rolling in a scent.”
Other events hosted by the trust include
photography days, wolf discovery days and
children’s activities.
The children’s days allow youngsters to create
an enrichment toy for the wolves. This involves
hiding food inside a Christmas cracker for
example and then placing it in the enclosure for
the wolves to discover.
Around 10,000 people visit the trust each year,
attending one of these specialist days or going
along on a Wednesday, when the doors are
now flung open to the public to come and see
the wolves. On these days there are volunteers
on hand to speak to visitors.
“I hope that visitors gain a lot of knowledge
during these days,” says Tsa, who admits that
the ‘very beautiful’ Torak is her favourite wolf.
“At zoos you don’t get that personal insight that
our volunteers can offer.
“What is unique here is that, because we
only have wolves, we can spend time talking
to people who will hopefully go away with
knowing more about these animals.”
Tsa and her wolves have come a long way
from that first date when she met the three-
month-old My Lady.
And, as if genetically engineered into them, her
children also share her passion for animals,
with one daughter now working at London Zoo.
Two of her children visited Ethiopia last year,
to see for themselves where the money the
trust sends is being spent and she says that
one of her daughters is aiming to visit all of the
projects the UKWCT supports.
“I never thought it would end up like this,”
Tsa adds. “It gives me real enjoyment to
see people’s reactions. During the open
Wednesdays it’s lovely to see a child who is
very taken with the wolves.
“Recently I met a family who had come from
Holland and their whole summer holiday had
been completely focused on coming here.
“I can take the wolves for granted, but I feel
quite humble when people come so far and
they seem very moved and happy to be here.
“I am very proud of it all.”
in 1995 the
couple formed
the UK Wolf
Conservation
Trust from their
Beenham farm
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