Gary spent over 100 hours on this drawing - the longest he had spent on any one drawing at that time (the Nile Crocodile is set to take the record!). He used many grades of pencil, from 9H to 3B, to create the range of tones involved.

The print was produced to raise money for the Iberian Wolf Recovery Centre in Portugal. The Born Free Foundation operates an adoption scheme on behalf of the Centre.

The Recovery Centre provides 17 hectares of wild and wooded terrain near Lisbon for rescued wolves - animals which may have been orphaned as pups, illegally caught in traps, or have been kept as pets and found to be unsuitable. The aim is to encourage the wolves to form breeding packs, with the long term aim of restocking the wild population - estimated at fewer than 200 in Portugal.

Through the centuries wolves have not had a good press and have been unjustifiably maligned in many a fable and tale. A new respect and tolerance is gradually emerging as wolf behaviour is better understood. They are intensely loyal and protective to the family, sociable with each other and take it in turns to look after the pups.

After visiting the Centre and meeting the dozen wolves then held there, Gary felt it offered "hope for the future", especially as the first breeding successes had just occurred. The photograph shows him playing with Sandalo and having his fingers nibbled!

Gary describes the drawing like this....

"My aim was to create a drawing that portrays the very different characteristics of the wolves. I decided to place Fosco in the foreground as he is such a handsome beast! Morena, the more delicately featured female, I drew beside him, with Sandalo peering behind her. He is the leader of the pack and I wanted him to have a commanding presence, so I chose to draw him looking straight at you!"

This feature is based on information supplied by Gary and the Born Free Foundation to adoptive wolf parents, who were offered the print at a special pre-publication price of £46 instead of £55.