Shaun Ellis

Shaun Ellis (born 12 October 1964) is a British animal researcher who lived among wolves, and adopted a pack of abandoned North American timber wolf pups. He is the founder of Wolf Pack Management and is involved in a number of research projects in Poland and at Yellowstone National Park in the United States.

He has worked with wolves since 1990, and before that he studied the red fox in the UK, and then coyotes in Canada.

Early life Brought up deep in the countryside in the small village of Great Massingham, which is near King's Lynn Norfolk, he began observing wild animals at a young age, learning to use his sense of smell and sound to find his way at night when studying foxes and badgers.

Ellis first trained to be a gamekeeper, but left the job when the Head gamekeeper found out that Ellis was feeding rather than culling foxes. He then joined and served with the Royal Marines. There were originally six wolves at the park which he rescued from private ownership. He also used to regularly give educational talks about wolves.

In 2005 Ellis spent 18 months living in captivity at Combe Martin Wildlife Park with three abandoned wolf pups - Yana, Tamaska and Matsi, educating them to be wild wolves. Despite the food being generally unappealing, Ellis commented that, when you're hungry enough, even raw meat begins to look appetizing.

Ellis has spent much of his adult life studying and living with wolves and has learned to communicate with them through scent and sound. He used to live directly outside the wolf enclosure at Combe Martin Wildlife Park, so that he could be in close proximity to the wolves at all times.

During the summer of 2011 Ellis relocated along with his wolves and his new wife, conservation biologist Dr Isla Fishburn, to "The Wolf Centre". The centre was located at the seaside end of Combe Martin at Newberry Farm, Woodlands. It provided Ellis with his own dedicated base of operations from which to continue his work with the wolves. The Wolf Centre was not open to the general public, however it did offer a range of experiences and encounters to the public, including meet and greet sessions with Ellis and his wolf hybrids, and courses covering dog behaviour, instruction and training.

Following complaints about noise, safety and traffic, Ellis's planning application at Combe Martin was withdrawn in 2013 and Ellis moved to Cornwall, where he set up the Wolf and Dog Development Centre in Truro.

Books Ellis has written five books about wolves: The Wolf Talk (2003), Spirit of the Wolf (2006), The Man Who Lives with Wolves (with Penny Junor, 2009) Living With Wolves (2010) and The Wolf Within: How I Learned To Talk Dog (2011). In 2004 BBC South West nominated Ellis as a "Local Champion" in South West England, a campaign that aims to highlight the work of people who are not always publicly recognised. David Mech himself stated "Mr. Ellis is neither a scientist nor an expert on the natural behavior of wolves." Denise Taylor, the executive director of the UK Wolf Conservation Trust, dismissed Ellis's methodology as part of "the macho-driven pursuits of the seemingly burgeoning number of TV presenters who think it is acceptable to drag what are perceived to be scary and highly dangerous creatures from their habitats, and wrestle with them and dominate them".

Martin Clunes: A Man and His Dogs Ellis featured in the first episode of Martin Clunes: A Man and His Dogs, a two-part documentary that aired on ITV on 24 August 2008 in which Clunes explores the canine world, and visited Ellis in Devon as part of an attempt to discover what binds wolves with pet dogs, with Ellis revealing that a lot of dog behaviour which is interpreted as human, is inherited from the wolf's hierarchical pack instincts. Filmed in January 2008, Clunes joined Ellis with the pack at Combe Martin.

Living with the Wolfman Living with the Wolfman is an eight-part documentary about Ellis which aired in the United States on Animal Planet in October and November 2008. It is also due to be shown in the UK on Five. The documentary follows Ellis as he lives with the wolf pack at Combe Martin and his relationship with his partner, Helen and their life in Devon. It also shows how Ellis integrated his girlfriend into the pack.

Mr and Mrs Wolf In February 2009, Five screened a follow-up two-part documentary, Mr and Mrs Wolf which focused on his attempts to get partner Helen Jeffs adopted as a member by the wolf pack at Combe Martin, as a new "wolf nanny" for the pregnant alpha female, Cheyenne. The programme aired on 17 and 24 February.

Stan Lee's Superhuman He has also appeared on the US History Channels show Stan Lee's Superhuman, which documents real-life superheroes from around the world.

The Lion Man: One World African Safari In fifth episode of the first season of TV show The Lion Man: African Safari, Craig Busch, an experienced self-taught "wild cat trainer" pays a visit to Shaun Ellis.