You can see her on the Tour Path!
In May of 2019, Naia and her littermates were born to a private owner in the Northeast who offered to donate the pups to facilities across the country, where she hoped they would grow to become Ambassador Animals and work to educate people about wolves in the wild.
With a long-standing history of raising animals for Ambassador work and knowing we could offer Naia a permanent home with endless love and care, we agreed to take her in at approximately 10-weeks old. Upon arriving at the sanctuary Naia was hand-raised by our staff, spending her first several months of life primarily indoors, where she was heavily socialized as part of her Ambassador training. With round-the-clock care from nearly every member of our team, it wasn’t long before Naia grew to feel comfortable around all sorts of people, including large crowds. Unfortunately, when COVID-19 forced us to close our doors for nearly two years, Naia lost access to the additional exposure-training required for true Ambassador work, and as she reached sexual maturity, she made it clear she was no longer interested in meeting new people.
With few exceptions, Naia now prefers the company of her companion, a high-content wolfdog named Irwin who she loves to rough-house with all throughout the day. While she still enjoys spending time with people she’s familiar with, large groups make her nervous and she usually prefers to stay hidden at the back of her enclosure.
