Passion

Born on May 2, 1992 in Big Fork, MT
Arrived at Mission: Wolf on July 1, 1992
Passed away on June 30, 2002

Sex: Female
Lived with Guinness

Did you know? It takes $3,000 a year just to feed and care for one of our wolves. By giving $5 or more a month, you can take a wolf to dinner by becoming a Wolf Caretaker.

Passion’s Story

Passion was born in 1992 to be a part of the same film documentary as Ballazar. When Ballazar and his female companion never bonded and failed to have pups, the filmmaker ordered two litters from a nearby game farm. Between the two litters, there were eleven wolf pups, but he only had use for eight of them. Passion and her brother, Sabretooth, along with Peaches, came to live at Mission: Wolf just three weeks after they were born.

Rocky Mountain Passion was named for her full-of-life-and-adventure personality. When she was young, Passion was an Ambassador Wolf for a short time. Although she was fearless while traveling, she was so independent that she would throw snapping, snarling fits if not allowed to do everything she wanted. At the age of three, Passion decided to challenge Sila, the alpha female of the traveling Ambassador group. Passion, at 65 pounds, would take a headlong run at Sila and bounce off the 105-pound female. At first Sila just ignored the fiery Passion, but soon she got tired of the challenges and chased Passion onto the roof of the staff cabin, holding her there for days. It was clearly time to separate them. Passion retired from traveling and moved in with her mate and constant companion, Guinness.

She lived out the rest of her life in a large enclosure next to the Visitor’s Center with Guinness.  Passion adored people, but her jealous, overbearing companion found himself threatened by any human that gave her the attention she solicited. This always resulted in the fiery little Passion charging Guinness and chasing him away, so she could continue enjoying the attention.  She was by far one of the most vocal wolves at the refuge, each time adding her unique voice to the howling of Mission: Wolf’s residents.

Passion was also known for her propensity to climb trees. One sunny summer afternoon a staff member walked out onto the back porch of the Visitor’s Center and began looking for Passion; she was nowhere to be seen. The staff member thought she had escaped until he saw movement in a tree. At first it appeared to be a raven, but looking closer, he saw two wolf eyes staring down at him. There was Passion, perched on a branch twenty feet up a ponderosa pine. This passionate little wolf always kept the staff and Guinness on our toes and was a perpetual light to all who had the chance to meet her. On June 30th, 2002, Passion passed away from cancer in her own aspen grove, surrounded by the people who loved and cherished her friendship.