Rescued wolves find a safe haven

AHF plans to expand their already growing animal park in the future and focus mainly on educating adults and children on predators and exotic wildlife.

Lexi’s mom, Nina Lennon is seen interacing with the wolves, some the wolves are generally friendly and approachable since they were raised with a lot of human interaction.

The All Hearts Foundation (AHF) was founded three years ago as an initiative to save a pack of 16 Canadian timber wolves. They had been owned by a predator park that had been liquidated and would have ended up being sold off to hunters. Then Lexi and Ronnie Austen stepped in and after two years of endless rescue and relocation the wolves have settled down on the AHF’s plot in Hartbeespoort. Ronnie and Lexi both have a passion for working with predators and exotic animals.

The aim of All Hearts Foundation is to help educate the public on exotic wildlife and predators such as wolves and that they are wild animals and not pets. The 16 wolves and one hybrid currently living on the property have all adjusted to the South African climate well. Canadian timber wolves generally come from relatively warm parts of Canada and Europe. This does not prevent them from languishing in the pool in their enclosure.

One of AHF’s main challenges are the expensive vet bills that often stack up and the R35,000 a month running costs. Being a non-profit organisation, their main source of income is from visits from the general public and school groups. AHF plans to expand their already growing animal park in the future and focus mainly on educating adults and children on predators and exotic wildlife.