The International Wolf Center presented its Who Speaks for Wolf award to Kirsty Peake of Dartmoor, England, during an award ceremony at the gateway to Yellowstone National Park, USA, last week. The award is given annually to an individual who has made exceptional contributions to wolf education and recovery.

"Kirsty is highly respected as an international wolf advocate and animal behaviourist," said Rob Schultz, Executive Director. "Her work as a passionate wolf educator and lecturer has been an inspiration to people of all ages in the United Kingdom and throughout the world."

Peake's interest in wolves derives from her professional expertise in the field of animal behaviour and her research into the evolution of modern dogs. She currently serves as a Specialist Advisor for the UK Wolf Conservation Trust and is a speaker and writer on topics of wolf education and wolf management the world over.

"It is a great honour to be the first international recipient of this award," said Peake.  "This helps highlight the global need for worldwide support for wolves in their natural habitat."

Peake and her husband, Alan, split their time between their homes in Dartmoor and near Yellowstone National Park's northern mountain range, where she studies the wolves that established themselves there after Yellowstone's wolf reintroduction project in 1995.

The phrase "Who speaks for Wolf?" comes from a fable about a Native American named Brother Wolf, who believed that his tribe could live alongside the wolves, instead of becoming a people who killed the wolves for their own convenience. Brother Wolf believed that someone should speak for the wolf when his tribe made decisions that would affect wolves' land or life.

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