IPSWICH, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Since it was founded in 1990, the mission of Wolf Hollow has been to educate the public about wolves.

They're not the scary, dangerous creatures of fairy tales and folklore, sanctuary owner Zee Soffron—son of founder Paul Soffron—told WBZ NewsRadio's Kim Tunnicliffe.

"The dream was that it wouldn't be a place where people just come to see wolves, but really leave with a better understanding of what they're all about, even if it would just be taking some of that fear or mystery away from the kids," Soffron said. "That fear, that mystery, not knowing something, is one of the bigger barriers, and that misunderstanding has led to millions of wolves being killed, from 5,000 years on."

Soffron says a wolf "pack" is actually a family, and the "alpha" wolves are really just the mom and dad wolves. He said the animals fear humans as much as humans fear them, and there have only been two human deaths to wolves in the past 100 years.