Awakenings

Top Photo: Adeyha and Oak (front) sticking close. It’s February and the season for procreation begins. Red wolf Oak is in estrus, Canada geese have arrived, hawks are soaring above screaming out their intentions, and songbirds are ramping up their melodious twitterings. Oak and Adeyha have been much more attached to one another over the past week, estrus has arrived. As of yet, I’ve not witnessed a tie, which is required for the female to become pregnant. Each year inRead more

Frenzy*

To Photo: Oak and Niko. There are four stages to the canine estrus cycle (reproductive cycle)—proestrus, estrus, diestrus, and anestrus. Proestrus is the stage where the female’s estrogen level peaks. Proestrus lasts for, on average, 9 days. Males are attracted to her but she is not receptive to them. Estrus, which also averages 9 days, is the fertile period. Estrogen levels drop and proestrogen levels rise. More importantly, the female is receptive to males. Diestrus lasts for about 2-3 months or until theRead more

News Flash from the Red Wolf Enclosure!

I had just walked up to the Red Wolf Enclosure Overlook when I noticed the male wolf approach and sniff the female’s rear quarters. I quickly fumbled for my camera. The camera was in its case strapped to my belt. The zipper on the case had lost its pull-tab—tough to get the case open. This, and building anxiety at my not moving fast enough, delayed my ability to get in the first few shots of the event. For the pastRead more

Into the Darkness

I happened to be at the Red Wolf Overlook late in the day on January 31 when I noticed the female sniffing around the entrance to the man-made den inside the wolf enclosure. The den is in the enclosure to facilitate the birthing and rearing of pups, should our wolves successfully mate this season. The entrance is directly in front of the overlook. There is a camera mounted on the ceiling inside the den. Our previous male red wolf (#1414)Read more