California Wolf Center

***This campaign has ended and we're grateful for all of your help! You can still support our wolf conservation efforts by donating directly on our website here ***

The California Wolf Center  is asking for your help in funding the purchase of new animal crates used for transporting wolves for transfers, veterinary care, and emergency evacuation.



We are in need of animal crates, which we use in a variety of ways that all aid in our wolf conservation efforts. They are exceptionally valuable to us and are considered necessary equipment, but some of our older crates need to be retired. We’re asking for your help in funding replacements!



We’re extremely happy to announce that we welcomed a new litter of Mexican gray wolf pups  at our conservation facility this past April. Four of the pups were transported and cross-fostered with a wild wolf pack, and the remaining pups at California Wolf Center will further participate in the Mexican Wolf Species Survival Plan, a breeding program to save the species, and will soon need adult crates of their own.

We are looking to acquire two types of crates, plastic and metal. Each is useful for different purposes. 

The plastic crates we need are described as follows, and retail at around $160-$300 per crate:

- Either 48" L X 32" W X 35" H or  40" L X 27" W X 30" H
- Made of thick, durable plastic
- IATA compliant design for air travel
- Metal wire doors and metal bolts
- Great for veterinary care and transporting wolves



The metal crates we need are described as follows, and retail at $1,200-1,400 per crate: 

- Between 40” L X 27” W X 30” H and 48” L X 32” W X 35” H
- Made of thick, durable aluminum
- Handles for easy transport
- Metal doors and vents
- Great for transporting and transferring wolves longer distances



If you are a San Diego county local, we are also more than happy to accept new or gently used donations of crates that meet these specifications, which can be donated in person at our downtown Julian visitor center and nature store, located at:

2775 B Street
Julian, CA 92036

For easier coordination or questions, please contact Maureen Brown at  (760) [phone redacted] ex. 6 or Heidi Pankratz at (760) [phone redacted] ex. 3. 


Any additional funding received beyond our immediate need for the crates will go back into the care and feeding costs of our resident wolf packs, which include our ambassador North American gray wolves and our breeding population of endangered Mexican gray wolves. Donations made to this GoFundMe campaign are tax-deductible. More information about us, our mission, and our wolves can be found on our website . Thank you for your generosity!

The California Wolf Center is asking for your help to cover the feeding and care costs of our resident wolves while we need to remain closed due to COVID-19. 

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we have had to close our conservation facility to the public indefinitely for the safety of our visitors and staff. As a nonprofit, our public guided tours of our ambassador wolves and on-site education programs contribute to a significant portion of our funding outside of private donations. In addition, we’ve had to delay the grand opening of our downtown Julian visitor center and nature store, which we were greatly anticipating to be an additional source of revenue. 


Unfortunately, the rapidly evolving situation regarding closure regulations at both the local, state, and federal level have left us unsure of when we’ll be able to reopen. With 2/3rds of our funding sources unavailable due to the shutdown, we are now relying solely on donations to keep up with our basic food and medical costs for the wolves, roughly $7,000/month, for what we currently estimate as being a 3-month closure. As such, we’ve temporarily scaled back our broader mission of wolf conservation to focus immediately on the care and feeding of our on-site wolves during this closure, which consist of both our ambassador pack as well as our breeding population of Mexican gray wolves, who are part of the Species Survival Plan (SSP). 

Our animals always come first, and your tax-deductible donation will directly go to helping us offset the costs of caring for the wolves at our conservation facility during this difficult time. More information about us, our mission, and our wolves can be found on our website . Thank you for your generosity!

The wolves at the California Wolf Center have loved playing in the winter wonderland this year, but the snowy and icy conditions can make our daily animal care challenging.

We need to upgrade our tractor in order to snowplow our grounds, improve access to wolf habitats and become more self-sufficient during winter weather.

In order to clear our driveway during snowy and icy conditions, we need snowplow and road salt dispensing attachments for our truck.