How I As French Man Ended Up Volunteering At A Wolf Sanctuary In Russia

Being a French guy from a tiny town, I have always liked to travel. I started traveling at the age of 21 and by age 25 I wanted something a little bit different than going to hostels or sleeping in a tent, something more fulfilling.

So I started searching for an experience and found this place where apparently you can volunteer with wolves in the Far West Russian Land. After 1 month of waiting for my visa, I was on my way traveling by bus from France.

It took me about a week of traveling by public transport to reach the place. It was a small village only reachable by local taxis (or guys who were up for the drive for some rubles…), situated about 25 minutes from the nearest village. A bunch of houses, lost in the middle of the taiga. Around 80% of the area is covered by unspoiled forest with just a few roads.

I did not speak much Russian, they did not speak much English, no TV, internet, or such. Many mosquitoes, as there are many swamps around. For two weeks I was fully immersed in the wild.

Don’t hesitate to contact me if you want to contact details for volunteering there !

One day I realized I wanted to travel someplace different, somewhere more fulfilling than a simple trip

I searched for many days and found this wolf sanctuary in the far Russia

Apparently, you can volunteer there, so my plan was set

I traveled to the remote village in Russia, where I met friendly people, who did not speak my language, and a lot of wolves

For two weeks I was fully immersed in the wild: no internet, no TV, no phone

I had to visit mama wolf everyday, which took 2 hours of walking in the forest by foot, where I needed to be loud to scare away the bears

She needed to see humans, as she was wild but got too used to being around humans and therefore needed some human attention

I stayed in a hut by the wolf fence for a few nights, hearing the howling of the other wolves

I also cared for the cubs

Those tiny ones eat so much meat already

This is the house in the village where I stayed

My daily path to see the wolf

And here’s me wearing my anti-mosquito outfit