The late Dr. Erich Klinghammer was the founder and director of Wolf Park. He was an ethologist, and began his work with wolves in order to study their behavior. Dr. Klinghammer regarded wolves as sensitive indicators of the well-being of the ecosystem of which they are a part. He established Wolf Park to conduct long term, in-depth studies of wolf behavior. This research augmented ecologists’ field studies of wild wolves. Dr. Klinghammer held a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago, and was a member of the Animal Behavior Society, the American Association of Zoological Parks and Aquariums and several other professional organizations. Early in his career, Dr. Klinghammer came to Indiana to join the faculty at Purdue University where he taught ethology, applied ethology, animal behavior and psychology. A lifelong interest in dogs led Dr. Klinghammer to breed and train German Shepherd dogs in the past. In his late years, as the Director of Wolf Park in Indiana, Dr. Klinghammer made his home at Wolf Park with his wife Peggy, and participated in some of the daily programs and seminars that took place at the Park. He enjoyed watching generations of visitors come to the Park that were here as children bring their own children to this special place to learn about wolves and nature.
Recorded OnDemand Lecture: Ethology and Its Place in Animal Science