Dale and Loti Weiler pose with the Just Settling In sculpture depicting the American red wolf
Reflection Riding Arboretum & Nature Center and Defenders of Wildlife welcome master wildlife artist Dale Weiler and Weiler Woods for Wildlife on Thursday from 6-8 p.m. for an unveiling of Mr. Weiler's sculpture, "Just Settling In," which will be placed in the Reflection welcome center. Mr. Weiler spent most of 2019 carving the sculpture of an endangered American red wolf and her pup from alabaster. RSVPs are encouraged at reflectionriding.org/defenders.
From the original sculpture, 10 limited edition castings were made available to red wolf conservation organizations. The castings are being used to bring awareness and funding to the red wolf populations, both in the wild and in human care.
This is a free event and is open to the public. The organization will provide drinks, snacks and will have an interactive program including brief remarks about Reflection's role in the program and what's new in the world of conservation of the endangered American red wolf.
Visitors who want to see the wolves are encouraged to visit earlier before sunset. The native wildlife exhibits will be open for tours until 5:30 pm.
Loti and Dale Weiler express excitement about the upcoming event saying, “Weiler Woods for Wildlife is delighted and honored to be sharing Dale’s red wolf sculpture Just Settling In with the Chattanooga community to help raise awareness of the challenges facing red wolves and to inspire the public to take action to save them.”
Tish Gailmard, director of Wildlife for Reflection, explains the local importance of the program. She said, “The American Red Wolves at Reflection Riding are ambassadors for their species and valuable contributors to the captive breeding program. In fact, three litters have been born on-site over the years and hopefully, we’ll have many more in the future. These vital and beautiful animals help us understand the challenges American Red Wolves are facing and the importance of their restoration.”
Ben Prater from Defenders said, "Defenders of Wildlife is thrilled to be expanding our partnerships with other organizations committed to the recovery of the critically endangered red wolf. Working with Reflection Riding Arboretum & Nature Center and Weiler Woods for Wildlife provides us the opportunity to celebrate these partnerships while inspiring others to join us to preserve a future for red wolves across the Southeast."
Any donations made during the evening will be split 50/50 with Defenders of Wildlife.