Show ! li Section Sunday April 20 2003 Page The Herald Journal 1 of the tep aside Little Red Riding Hood — the boys and girls at Hillcrest Elementary aren’t afraid of the Big Bad Wolf lb the contrary these children may have been mistaken for wolves themselves as they closed their eyes pointed their chins toward the ceiling and barked a howl of their own There was no full moon that morning just four their paws on the gymnasigray wolves um floor told the children “Remember” the “no howling unless your teacher howls first Hillcrest Elementary was the playground of four gray wolves on Monday The animals circled the gymnasium floor slipping comically on the polished floor They paused only to sniff an unsusor growl a playful hello to a felpecting low wolf Nami pranced before the audience with erect ears and an uplifted tail She was nine years old — a “grandma” in wolf years Then as the children wolf-keep- er hard-wo- od third-grad- er w stared in half shock and half intrigue Nami nuzzled with Intern Principal Justus Randolph The gymnasium feu silent With nothing more than a wolf kiss and not a hint of bad breath Nami turned back to the audience and continued her promenade Her crouched low their legs ' lf sliding like Bambi on an icy pond Unlike the they hung their tails to the ground and flat- tened their ears signifying that Rami was the bossThe younger wolves cowered before the audience Id the wild they would have darted away before even seeing a human prtsenters'said “So are you going to be afraid of wolves anymore?" asked Kent Weber the director and founder of a organization known as Mission: Wolf “No!” die children roared That was tl& goal of Mission: Wolf a Colorado-base- d organization aimed at educating the public about wolves Its mission is to overcome die fear of the fabled Big Bad Wolf while teaching people that wolves belong in the wild and not in their homes as pets Today about 4000 wolves roam free in the United States However more than a quarto' million live in captivity according to data provided by Mission: Wolf “I hate animals in cages” Weber told elementary students “I’m hoping that you will help protect die wolves in Utah” Weber’s wolves which are kept in a sanctuary in the Wet Mountains of southern Colorado were raised in captivity All share a common misfortune They cannot survive on their own in the wild Webo said Instead the wolves are used to educate audiences across the United States The wolves toward the gymnasium door following Monday’s presentation only to be dismissed with a hearty wolf-lik- e howl from the boys and girls of Hillcrest Elementary Rami turned her head toward the audience but howled nothing in return “You guys need a little more practice” Weber said nose-to-no- se ns she-wo- - non-pro- fit tip-tapp- ed ’ a i Lucero er Clockwise from top: Annie Beecher gets greeted by Magpie a grey wolf in Logan Tuesday morning Rami led and Luna play with each other in Logan Monday afternoon Rami is a 1 0year-oi- d gray wolf Luna is a Mexican Wolf and she may have dog ancestry as wad Mission Wolf said that they are not sure about Luna's true wolf percentage Kent Weber tries to get Rami to answer his howling Monday Chfldran at Hillcrest Elementary School keep a dose eye on Rami a gray wolf during an assembly at the school Monday u i a V "V V 'V i s |