This Friendly Pack Of Wolves Are Saving Their Species By Cuddling Strangers

The population of wolves has seen a dramatic decline over centuries of folklore causing humans to hunt and kill them through fear. But at Polar Park, a wildlife sanctuary 70km north of the town of Narvik, Norway, that's all changing. Here, the animal keepers are protecting the beautiful creatures and giving them cuddles at the same time!

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Polar Park Arctic Wildlife Centeris the northernmost wildlife center on the planet. The conservation park allows you to stay in a safe enclosure called Wolf Lodge where you can get up, close and personal with wolves, amongst other arctic animals.There are only 30 remaining wolves in Norway after years of being hunted by fearful rural villagers and farmers. But Polar Park wants to prove just how friendly wolves can be in order to save their species. Visitors can experience the ultimate interaction with wolves here -the famous "wolf kiss".

^{Source: @PolarPark}

One visitor who stayed for a night, Kevin Rushby from The Guardian, remembers the park manager'sinstructions:

You can’t wear fur, down, gloves, hats or earrings. If they knock you over, you keep calm and wait for the keepers to move them away.

Frøya ser veldig fornøyd ut når hun får kos fra en av dyrepasserne.It looks like Frøya is having the time of her life while she is being petted by one of the animalkeepers.Posted by POLAR PARK Arctic Wildlife Center on Sunday, 20 March 2016

The interactions take place in a safe environment under strict guidelines to ensure everybody's safety. And so far, the affectionate pack are doing wonders reversing negative stereotypes about their species."After people meet our wolves, they leave with a different view," Stig Sletten of Polar Park recently told The Telegraph.

^{Source: @PolarPark}

Although we don't promote keeping wild animals in enclosures, this wildlife park's efforts to conserve the lupinespecies are truly encouraging.Watch threewolves howling in front ofWolf Lodge here:

Fin sang av våre 2014-ulver. På bildet ser dere 3 av ulvene foran WolfLodge.Les mer om WolfLodge på www.polarpark.noHowling time with our 2014-wolves.In the video you can see 3 of them in front of our WolfLodge.You can read more about the WolfLodge at www.polarpark.noPosted by POLAR PARK Arctic Wildlife Center on Wednesday, 3 February 2016

^{Featured image: @DanielAllen}