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If you spot a North American gray timber wolf at Bartlett Public Library on Feb. 8, don’t worry, you’re not seeing things.
John Basile, owner and operator of the Big Run Wolf Ranch in Lockport, will be bringing along Juno, a 6-year-old male wolf born at the ranch and an aid to Basile in hundreds of presentations over the years.
Basile said Juno’s winter weight is between 90 and 100 pounds, and he describes the creature as very tame. For Basile’s presentation, which is geared toward children but open to all, the ranch owner first answers questions about animals. He gives a science lesson, showing skulls and antlers, then brings Juno in on a leash. The wolf will be transported there in a custom-built trailer enclosure.
| If you go What: Wolf at the library When: 12:30 to 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 8 Where: Bartlett Public Library, 800 S. Bartlett Road Cost: Free Information: Call the library at (630) 837-2855 |
“The kids love it when I bring him out, they just get into it right away,” said Basile, who also works full time for UPS. “That’s the thing that keeps me going.”
“The thrill for me is seeing the thrill the kids get in seeing these animals,” he said. “It’s the same thrill that I got when I was a kid.”
Basile said his love for animals goes back to his childhood.
“As a child, I was dragging everything home with me, whether it was a frog from the pond or a wounded animal that I would care for,” he said. “I would observe them, play with them and they were just extremely interesting to me.
“Some people are born to throw a ball or hit a ball. Well, my God-given talent is handling animals, and I love it.”
Bartlett librarian Dawn Leardi helped organize the event, which is part of The Big Read, a program funded through a grant provided by the National Endowment for the Arts and designed to get more youth reading.
“With the grant, there was a stipulation that the library hold events that tie into a book, so we selected ‘The Call of the Wild’ by Jack London due to the broad-based appeal to younger readers,” she said. “I’m assuming we’ll get a lot of people into the library with this program.
“We’re looking for greater participation from the community in terms of reading, and this is a way to combat reading malaise. So many people now would rather surf the Internet or watch TV instead of read, and we’re hoping programs like this will turn that around,” she said.
The Big Run Wolf Ranch is a 6-acre, nonprofit facility that hosts Cub and Girl Scout troops, and school trips. Last year, 22,000 people visited the ranch. Once a month, a Family Day opens the ranch to the public, with the first of 2009 on Saturday, Jan. 31 to celebrate Groundhog Day.
For information, visit bigrunwolfranch.org.
If you spot a North American gray timber wolf at Bartlett Public Library on Feb. 8, don’t worry, you’re not seeing things.
John Basile, owner and operator of the Big Run Wolf Ranch in Lockport, will be bringing along Juno, a 6-year-old male wolf born at the ranch and an aid to Basile in hundreds of presentations over the years.
Basile said Juno’s winter weight is between 90 and 100 pounds, and he describes the creature as very tame. For Basile’s presentation, which is geared toward children but open to all, the ranch owner first answers questions about animals. He gives a science lesson, showing skulls and antlers, then brings Juno in on a leash. The wolf will be transported there in a custom-built trailer enclosure.
| If you go What: Wolf at the library When: 12:30 to 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 8 Where: Bartlett Public Library, 800 S. Bartlett Road Cost: Free Information: Call the library at (630) 837-2855 |
“The kids love it when I bring him out, they just get into it right away,” said Basile, who also works full time for UPS. “That’s the thing that keeps me going.”
“The thrill for me is seeing the thrill the kids get in seeing these animals,” he said. “It’s the same thrill that I got when I was a kid.”
Basile said his love for animals goes back to his childhood.
“As a child, I was dragging everything home with me, whether it was a frog from the pond or a wounded animal that I would care for,” he said. “I would observe them, play with them and they were just extremely interesting to me.
“Some people are born to throw a ball or hit a ball. Well, my God-given talent is handling animals, and I love it.”
Bartlett librarian Dawn Leardi helped organize the event, which is part of The Big Read, a program funded through a grant provided by the National Endowment for the Arts and designed to get more youth reading.
“With the grant, there was a stipulation that the library hold events that tie into a book, so we selected ‘The Call of the Wild’ by Jack London due to the broad-based appeal to younger readers,” she said. “I’m assuming we’ll get a lot of people into the library with this program.
“We’re looking for greater participation from the community in terms of reading, and this is a way to combat reading malaise. So many people now would rather surf the Internet or watch TV instead of read, and we’re hoping programs like this will turn that around,” she said.
The Big Run Wolf Ranch is a 6-acre, nonprofit facility that hosts Cub and Girl Scout troops, and school trips. Last year, 22,000 people visited the ranch. Once a month, a Family Day opens the ranch to the public, with the first of 2009 on Saturday, Jan. 31 to celebrate Groundhog Day.
For information, visit bigrunwolfranch.org.
