No Wolf Pups this Summer for Bays Mountain Park
KINGSPORT – Due to an unsuccessful breeding season Bays Mountain Park & Planetarium will not be receiving wolf pups this summer.
After months of planning for the anticipated arrival this summer of up to four wolf pups, park officials intend to continue preparations in hopes of obtaining the pups next summer, assuming breeding is a success. A lot of hard work and planning has gone into this process, said Park Manager Ken Childress. While we cant control the breeding outcome, we can still continue our work to ensure we are ready for their hopeful arrival next summer.
Planning for the arrival and care of the wolf pups is a great undertaking according to Childress. A great deal of time and effort is placed into getting things ready, including habitat maintenance and preparation, fundraising, plus the recruitment and training of qualified and committed volunteers who will dedicate many, many hours to this effort. In fact, along with our staff, volunteers are critical in the process of raising and socializing the pups as we (staff and volunteers) spend every day and night with them their first two months at the park.
There is not only a time commitment, but in the course of fundraising for this effort many individuals and businesses have graciously provided the funds to make this possible. We wish to once again thank them for their amazing support and let them know that while the pups arrival has been delayed, we will continue our efforts with great anticipation of better results next summer.
Since the habitats first three grey wolves were introduced to Bays Mountain Park in 1992, wolves have been an integral part of the parks educational efforts for schools throughout the region as literally thousands of students attend wolf programs each year. Visitors often attend the park specifically to see them in a natural woodland setting. Wolves to Bays Mountain Park are supplied by Bear Country U.S.A. located in Rapid City, South Dakota.
Annually, more than 150,000 visitors pass through Bays Mountain Park making it one of the State of Tennessees Top 50 Most Visited Attractions, according to the State of Tennessee Department of Tourist Development.
One of the nations largest city-owned parks with 3,550 acres, Bays Mountain Park features roughly 40 miles of hiking trails, a state-of-the-art planetarium, wildlife habitats, fun exhibits, a 44-acre lake, ropes course with zip line, trails for mountain biking and much, much more.