There’s an Island Full of Friendly Wolves in Washington You Can Meet, Cuddle, and Take Selfies With

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One of the best parts about traveling is all the hidden hotspots you can find across the country that offer their own special slice of heaven.

Whether you’re hiking to a secret waterfall in the Grand Canyon, exploring the local tourist traps, or dining at amazing restaurants serving up the region’s latest and greatest cuisine, there are infinite unique places to find.

Recently, the website Bored Panda spotlighted a tourist wonderland that is a wolf lover’s dream: Predators of the Heart Sanctuary in Anacortes, Washington state.

Located on Fidalgo Island in the San Juan Islands of Washington, this unforgettable wildlife preserve is chock full of wolves, but not the kind you might see in movies or out in the wilderness stalking their prey — these wolves are just as friendly as the neighborhood pooch, and they’re just waiting (and begging) for your visit.

Special Island is Teeming With Friendly Wolves

Native to Eurasia and North America, the wolf is a large canine carnivore that is among the best known and most well-researched of all wildlife species.

Wolves are powerful and cunning predators in their natural habitats, but statistically speaking, the threat they pose to humans is negligible, especially in regards to friendly wolves like the ones you’ll find at Predators of the Heart Sanctuary.

The special island is full of friendly wolves whom you can photograph, meet, take selfies with, and even cuddle with.

“Predators Of The Heart was such a cool place to go, if you’re ever on Fidalgo Island in the San Juan islands in Washington, you HAVE to go here!” wrote one visitor in the about section of their YouTube video below.

“We had so much fun.”

Unique Features of the Sanctuary

The island is located near Seattle, Washington, a stone’s throw from Vancouver which sits just across the Canadian border.

The park includes a two-hour Wolf Encounter Experience that allows you to go “running or cuddling” with the wild animals, according to Bored Panda’s recent piece on the sanctuary.

The wolves are incredibly friendly, but the sanctuary keeps them as wild as possible: they only wear their collars for the weekly photo-ops with visitors.

Visitors can get so close, they can rub and scratch their bellies, as shown in the photo below from Instagram user asiasiasia.

According to the sanctuary, they only keep animals that “find themselves without a place to live out their lives.”

Wolves tend to do well in areas that are sparsely populated by humans, but don’t do well in areas where there are lots of humans according to Professor Clive Wynne of the Canine Science Laboratory at Arizona State University.

The sanctuary helps bridge the gap by giving wolves a place to live out the best years of their lives in close proximity to the humans who wish to visit them, and of course, love up on them a little bit.

Check out the Google Maps screenshot below to see exactly where the sanctuary is located.

Before you dial that number and punch in those credit card numbers, there’s something important you should know about the sanctuary, however: you have to book a guided tour first through Airbnb for about 200 dollars per person (check dates and prices here).

The tours are typically twice per day, six days per week (the wolves get Sundays off), and there’s also a waitlist, so be sure to start making arrangements now if you’d like to get in anytime soon.

Aside from wolves, there are also foxes, cougars, reptiles, and birds of prey to be found on this magical island.

Perhaps the best part, in my personal opinion, can be seen in the picture below: you can actually join the wolves for a joint howling session (if you’re lucky enough to win their companionship and favor, that is).

Stop me now if this isn’t the coolest thing you’ve seen in the entire lower 48 states.

At any rate, thanks for reading, and we hope to see you on the trails some day.