ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Among the cows and sheep at the Allentown Fair, a pack of wolves will be hanging about.
Not to fret, they aren't wild — although they have been known to howl in the night and growl from time to time.
The Wolves of the World attraction is one of the free acts at the Allentown Fair, which kicked off Wednesday at the fairgrounds, 302 N. 17th St.
Performances are located on the fair's Midway and begin at 3 p.m., 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. Thursday through Monday.
Debunking the myths
Sharon Sandlofer is the owner of Wolves of the World and has been involved with animal rescue for 40 years.
She grew up in the Catskills region in New York, where her father raised elephants and primates on their family farm for the circus.
Her work with animals carried on when she met her husband, Michael Sandlofer, a Navy SEAL and Vietnam War veteran.
A commercial diver, Michael Sandlofer was part of a team that garnered national attention for rescuing Physty, a sperm whale found stranded on the beach in Fire Island, New York, in 1981.
For decades, the couple operated an animal rescue group in New York before relocating to South Carolina in 2010.
"We had black bears, mountain lions and other rescue animals that we would do educational tours to teach people on the importance of them to our ecosystem," Sharon Sandlofer said.
They got their first wolves in 2005. The wolves had been in New Orleans, victims of Hurricane Katrina.
"It just grew from there as far as the wolves go. I didn't think there was that much interest or need [for wolf rescue] but found differently as time went on how persecuted they are," she said.
"People think of them as the 'big bad wolf' and to get rid of them as a species and that's not the right thing to do."
She now runs the the Wolf Pack Project, a nonprofit organization that advocates for wolves by teaching them about their role in the environment and is based at the Trinity Heritage Ranch in Lynchburg, South Carolina.
Learn about the pack
At the fair, attendees can learn more about the Sandlofers' pack of wolves, which vary in breed, age and color.
Sharon Sandlofer handles 10 rescued wolves, interacting with obstacles in a fenced arena.
During the show, she offers up facts about the species — things she's learned over 20-plus years.
Although they don't live in the wild, her pack of wolves communicate and organize as nature intended — that includes establishing dominance (in most wolf packs there is an alpha male and alpha female).
Vying for alpha positions in Sandlofer's pack are three British Columbia wolves, who were rescued as pups.
"They're going to be very big when they grow up, probably about 175 pounds," Sharon Sandlofer said.
She also has western timber wolves and one with black coloring.
"She is very rare, you hardly ever see black wolves and she was the only black wolf in the litter. She is the one who I think is going to step into the alpha female position in this group," she said.
The pack's former alpha female, Lakota, died at the age of 20 (studies show that captive wolves live to be 17 years of age on average).
The 'lone' wolf
Then there's the lone wolf, a friendly canis lupus, who will be available to greet attendees at the fair this weekend.
"He came to us as a medical rescue. He couldn't walk and had rickets. Somebody had him illegally and tried to make him into a pet," Sharon Sandlofer said.
"I call him the lone wolf because that's a legitimate part of the pack. He's quite friendly and I think it's because of the attention that he had when he was really young. I also think that's why he was kicked out of the pack."
Sharon Sandlofer's appreciation of wolves is evident in the way she talks about the mammal, who in some cultures is revered as powerful and omniscient, while in others, a symbol of evil or death.
Federally protected
Regardless of cultural beliefs, specifically gray wolves have faced extinction numerous times in the U.S.
"Most people know very little about wolves and their importance to the ecosystem and what's going on with them and how they live," Sandlofer said.
Gray wolves were listed as endangered on the Endangered Species Act of 1973 and removed from the endangered list in 2020, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
And in 2022, the gray wolf was re-listed as endangered in 44 states after wolf-hunting numbers started to rise.
"I have to admit, I didn't know that much about them until I started this journey. It's taken 20 years of being with them to learn, and I'm still learning every day," Sharon Sandlofer said. "They are amazing."
