A wolf enthusiast from Ukraine has shared what an incredible connection people and wolves can have while he shares his home with the animals in his war-ravaged country.
Wolf owner Sergei Semennikov, 43, has devoted most of his time to saving lives – which now may seem all the more precious with many of his countrymen losing theirs on the front lines as Russia marks 10 months since the beginning of its invasion of Ukraine.
Sergei told Newsflash in an interview that he and his pets live in Ukraine’s northeast, in the region of Sumy – which has recently suffered nearly 150 Russian strikes.
While navigating today’s Ukraine harsh reality, Sergei seemingly also has had to deal with people who have little understanding about wolves’ hidden gentle nature.
Sergei said he has spent the last 12 years studying the behaviour of wolves and has been breaking stereotypes about the impossibility of taming a wolf.
He currently keeps two one-and-a-half-year-old wolves as pets – a Canadian wolf named Soulu and a Eurasian wolf, named Kenaz.
Soulu was a gift from friends and Kenaz came into Sergei’s home after being rescued from poachers who are planning to sell him illegally abroad.
Luckily, kindhearted Sergei learned of his situation from local volunteers who helped him take in the new family member.
Sergei frequently posts footage of his unordinary pets on social media, where they appear to be settling into home life perfectly well.
When not out playing in the grass, or in the snow, they can be seen roaming freely around the living room just like dogs.
One video even shows a previous wolf pet of Sergei’s – named Chavez – enjoying a quick snack of sushi alongside his owner at the lunch table.
Sergei said while he understood that a wolf is not the easiest pet to keep, he still felt responsible for his fate.
He said: “The first four months were the hardest.”
“I didn’t leave the little wolf for a second. I had to quit everything and deny myself everything for him. I named him Chavez after my favourite boxer Julio Cesar Chavez.”
He continued: “We became very attached to him and we had a telepathic connection. It is with the help of such a connection that wolves communicate with each other in a pack.
“It’s hard to describe in a nutshell, but it’s very cool. When you can literally feel the desires and thoughts of each other.
“Unfortunately, there is evil in the world, and bad people out of envy poisoned him and another wolf.
“Then I thought that life was over for me and my world collapsed … But my friends gave me Soul … And everything continued again.”
Sergei said he loves his wolves like his own two little daughters – and fortunately, they all get along great.
