SMYRNA — Hundreds of visitors joined the packs of gray wolves, eastern coyotes and the arctic, gray, red and silver foxes at the Wolf Mountain Nature Center on Sunday to celebrate the nature preserve’s 20th anniversary during the annual Wolves and Watermelons event.

“Thank you to the hundreds of visitors who came out yesterday to join us for our 20th anniversary celebration at the center,” organizers said following the Sunday event. “Weather was perfect, music was wonderful, and families had fun.”

The anniversary celebration featured live music by the Four Corners String Band, food from Kandi’s Kitchen food truck, walks along the center’s wooded trails and the feeding of the wolves’ annual watermelon treats.

Visitors also saw the animals in their outdoor habitats and attended a ceremony honoring the center’s “spirit wolves” in its memorial garden.

The event marked two decades since Wolf Mountain opened to the public in spring 2006 with only two wolves. The nonprofit center has since expanded to include several wolf packs, eastern coyotes and four types of foxes.

The center sits on 70 acres of forests, meadows and ponds on Hopkins Crandall Road in Smyrna. Its animal habitats have also expanded, with some covering more than nine acres and providing room for the animals to move, forage and display natural behaviors.

The species offer visitors a close look at the differences among members of the canid family, according to information shared by the center at  the event and online at www.thewolfmountainnaturecenter.org.

According to the center, gray wolves are highly social animals that form packs and communicate through body language, scent and vocalizations. Their howls can help pack members locate one another and communicate with other packs.

Eastern coyotes are common throughout New York and are highly adaptable, living in forests, farmland and areas near farm and rural communities. The center’s coyotes help visitors learn more about an animal neighbor they may hear or encounter at home.

Gray foxes, also known as tree foxes, can climb trees using rotating wrists and semi-retractable claws. They can be distinguished from red foxes by their black-tipped tails and the dark stripe running down their backs. Red foxes, including the silver-colored variety, generally have white-tipped tails.

Also, visitors can witness the beauty of a creature known to arctic locals as the "Ghost spirits of the North." Arctic foxes are adapted to severe cold, with small ears, with compact bodies and fur covering the pads of their feet.

Visitors may view the wolves, foxes and coyotes from as close as about four feet, although state regulations prohibit physical contact with the animals. There are also viewing stands and occasional demonstrations or feedings.

Founder and head animal caretaker Will Pryor said Wolf Mountain is a sanctuary nature preserve rather than a traditional zoo.

“Come and see wolves in their natural environment, these are habitats, not cages,"  Pryor said.

Education has remained central to the center’s mission since its opening. Volunteers provide guided and self-guided tours, answer questions and teach visitors about animal behavior, diets, habitats and the role the animals play in natural systems.

Wolf Mountain has been built and operated through volunteers. Volunteers maintain the grounds, care for the animals, guide visitors and help run public events. Only those with extensive training are permitted to enter the habitats for specialized work.

The center has also expanded its wooded trails, created the memorial garden and planted about 1,000 trees and shrubs across the property during its first 20 years.

During the anniversary celebration, Wolf Mountain was raising money for a walk-in cooler to preserve and make long term food storage more efficient. The proposed $12,000 project would allow the center to store more animal food and accept and keep larger donations without the risk of spoilage.

The center is inspected, regulated and licensed by the state Department of Environmental Conservation and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The Wolf Mountain Nature Center is open to the public from noon to 3 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and from noon to 4 p.m. Sundays, with the last admission at 3 p.m.  Located at 562 Hopkins-Crandall Road in the rolling hills of Smyrna. It sits atop a hill at an elevation of about 2,000 feet.

Its next major event, the Honoring the Spirit of the Wolf Festival, is scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 11.