What a great day at the American Museum of Natural History! Our annual trek to the Upper West Side is always a treat and this afternoon we were so pleased to see a number of familiar faces from previous visits. Six-year-old Olivia first met Atka at the museum last year and today she really enjoyed seeing an updated photo of red wolf m1803. She “adopted” the young wolf back in June of 2010 when the little fellow was barely one month old!

“Atka” by Ariella Rosen

Atka did a great job of wowing some first-timers too.  A few hands went up at the start of the program when I asked if anyone was scared of wolves. Typically, most of the brave participants who admit fear are adults, but today a tiny hand belonging to Rachel, no more than 5 years old, was among the apprehensive. By program’s end, she proudly shared that she liked Atka a lot and “…he’s not scary!” Eleven-year-old Ariella enjoyed Atka so much she was inspired to do a series of really nice sketches of him!

We returned home to a quiet winter scene. Black vultures huddled in a tree while the wild turkeys made their way down our visitor path. Atka loves the spotlight but there’s always something comforting about coming home.

Where will Atka’s next adventure take him? Click here to find out!