The staff break room of Wolf Haven International’s Tenino sanctuary was standing-room-only on Tuesday, June 30, as dedicated wildlife advocates glued their attention to the room’s TV screen.
Unlike many TVs in the world that afternoon, the screen wasn’t tuned in to the FIFA World Cup. It was connected to the trail cameras inside the sanctuary’s wolf enclosures, where two gray wolf brothers were about to emerge from their carriers after an 1,800-mile cross-country journey.
The brothers, Nicky and Cerberus, are being introduced into the Tenino sanctuary as companions for Billie, a gray wolf, and Ellie, a wolfdog.
Billie lost her companion Guy to old age in June 2025, and Ellie lost her companion Penn early this year.
Because wolves are deeply social animals, sanctuary staff
were keen to find new partners for Billie and Ellie.
Nicky and Cerberus were born at Minnesota’s Wildlife Science Center in April 2019, and moved to the wolf exhibit at the accredited Como Zoo Conservatory in St. Paul, Minnesota, in October 2021.
The zoo began planning the brothers’ retirement after finalizing a plan to decommission its wolf exhibit in order to expand its large cat habitat.
After hearing about Wolf Haven from another zoo, a Como Zoo Conservatory representative reached out to Wolf Haven Tenino Sanctuary Director Pamela Maciel Cabañas last year to ask about rehoming the brothers.
At the time, the sanctuary only had space to take one of the brothers, not both.
Because Como Zoo Conservatory had given itself plenty of time to find an adequate home for Nicky and Cerberus, a zoo representative stayed in contact with Wolf Haven and continued conversations about finding another facility for the brothers to retire to.
They were still in conversation when Penn passed in January, and were quickly able to make arrangements for Wolf Haven to take in both brothers.
Meanwhile, Wolf Haven was working with the nonprofit Greater Good Charities on renovating Billie’s enclosure in early June, leading to conversations regarding Billie’s future companion.
Greater Good Charities has a variety of humanitarian, animal support and wildlife conservation programs aimed at reducing human and animal suffering worldwide. The nonprofit previously completed a prairie habitat restoration project at the Tenino sanctuary, and accepted Wolf Haven’s application earlier this year to construct over 600 linear feet of specialized habitat fencing for the expansion of Billie’s enclosure.
“The whole operation became a fun partnership,” said Wolf Haven Tenino Executive Director Geoff Willard.
Greater Good Charities’ animal transport team has plenty of experience transporting pets and wildlife, to include dogs, cats and sea turtles, but Nicky and Cerberus were the team’s first wolves.
The initial plan was to drive the brothers 1,800 miles from St. Paul to Tenino, but that would have taken an estimated 28 hours and included risks of being interrupted by weather and road conditions.
“I think that’s very common to move them like that, but we saw an opportunity to step in and cut the stress and travel time to be able to get up here pretty quickly,” said Greater Good Charities Executive Vice President Laura Littlebear.
Greater Good Charities was able to fundraise the money for a private cargo plane, cutting down the transport time from 28 hours to six.
“We have a really supportive donor base that really will dive into things like this,” said Littlebear. “I think it's just a feel-good for everyone.”
Nicky and Cerberus left Minnesota with Greater Good Charities’ animal transport team on June 30 at 8 a.m. Central Daylight Time, and arrived at the Olympia Airport a few minutes after noon Pacific Standard Time.
From there, it was about a 10 minute drive to the Tenino sanctuary, where Wolf Haven’s team carefully released the brothers into their new enclosures.
Wolf Haven chose to pair Nicky with Billie and Cerberus with Ellie, respectively, due to their dispositions and dietary needs.
Cerberus requires a special diet that is easier to accommodate in Ellie’s enclosure, which is better designed to separate the animals during feeding. Cerberus is also more tolerant and curious of humans, making him a good fit for an enclosure like Ellie’s that is along the visitor’s path at the sanctuary.
Nicky is more wary of humans, and sanctuary staff felt he would be more comfortable in an enclosure like Billie’s that’s not visible to the public.
“It’s a perfect win-win-situation,” Cabañas said.
Nicky and Billie were introduced first, and hit it off right away.
Trail cameras caught footage of the wolves cuddling and playing together within a day of their meeting.
Cerberus and Ellie were slower to warm up to each other, but show signs that they’re getting along, Cabañas said.
“It’s beautiful to see them come to the sanctuary and flourish,” she said.
Nicky and Cerberus will soon be added to Wolf Haven’s roster of current residents at https://www.wolfhaven.org/.
