Our Purpose & Goals

The Wild Canid Center (WCC), popularly known as the Wolf Sanctuary, was founded in 1971 by noted naturalist Dr. Marlin Perkins, his wife Carol, and a group of individuals concerned about the plight of canids. It is a private, nonprofit conservation organization dedicated to the preservation of the wolf and other endangered canids through education, research and captive breeding.

The Wild Canid Center is located on 63 isolated wooded acres within Washington University's Tyson Research Center approximately 20 miles southwest of St. Louis, Missouri. This small facility is the premier wolf conservation, education, reproduction and research center. The first facility in the United States to have a captive breeding program for both red and Mexican gray wolves, it remains, as per the United States Fish & Wildlife Service wolf recovery coordinators, "the cornerstone" of their programs.

We are here to help inform and educate people about the plight of these amazing animals as well as promote the protection of the remaining wild wolves and their habitat.