There are wolves in the Shropshire hills

A remote valley on the border between south west Shropshire and Mid Wales is now home to eight wolves, having recently taken delivery of two extra 28-month old wolf cubs.

If the thought sounds scary, those living in the area needn't worry. The Wolf Watch UK sanctuary is completely enclosed and has been there for more than 20 years – though the exact location is kept secret to all bar a select few.

Anthony Haighway, who set up Wolf Watch UK in 1993, has seen 35 wolves go through his semi-wild sanctuary over the years, and currently has eight in total, though his oldest residents, Maddie and Kosi, are now very old, having reached 18 years of age.

The two newest additions have come from a private owner in Hertfordshire, after they were driven out their own pack.

They had to be sedated and driven by road to their new home in Shropshire, Mr Haighway said.

He said: "In the days that followed they gradually decided to explore a bit. They found an alliance with the existing wolves which was very re-assuring.

"They usuually come to us through zoo closures, because of dominance fights or excess breeding.

"We don't breed them ourselves, we simply take them and keep them until they turn their toes up," he said.

Mr Haighway was inspired to launch the Wolf Watch UK after a fateful trip to a closing zoo in Warwickshire, where he previously lived.

He said: "We learnt that the zoo was being closed so we asked the owner what he was doing with the wolves and his response was that they were going to be put down, because they weren't worth anything.

"So out of the blue – and I really don't know to this day why I said it – I simply asked 'could I have them?'

"The truth then dawned on me very suddenly that I'd got these wolves for the duration."

The Wolf Watch centre is located in about 100 acres of remote wooded valley and is staffed by a team of volunteers.

Wolf Watch UK is a private membership wolf conservation group, which means that the only way members of the public can have access to the centre and the wolves is by signing up to an "adopt-a-wolf" membership, or by being a member of another approved conservation group.

Members do have permission to bring visitors with them during pre-arranged days, however.

The animals have appeared in films and television series, but Mr Haighway said they are not trained to act or put in artificial situations – they are filmed as wolves being themselves, in as near as natural habitat as possible.