Who’s Who (Niko and Oak)

Top Photo: Oak (front) and Niko. On November 12, I posted about the arrival of our two red wolves, Niko and Oak. In that post I also mentioned a bit about how to differentiate the two, tell them apart from one another. Besides the white cheek patch (very small and barely noticeable) and white area surrounding the base of her tail (quite evident), Oak has a much narrower face than Niko. The broader snout and forehead of Niko is discernibleRead more

Howl, Howl, Howl

Since I last reported on the howling of our wolves, how, up until recently, I’ve heard the male wolf howl perhaps three times over the past year, he has changed his routine. I now hear, and see, him howl on a daily basis, sometimes multiple times each day that I’m here on duty. I’m told, that the female had joined in on at least one occasion within the last few days. So, if you’re out and about in Explore theRead more

‘Tis the Season

This is our female red wolf (1794). It’s now breeding season. It seems as though she is spending more time out in the open than she had been in the most recent past. The male, as is usual, gets excited at her appearances, perhaps even more so now that the season for breeding is upon us. He follows her, walks past her as she’s rests, glancing over at her as he goes, and sniffs the air around her as ifRead more

Red Wolf Howl

We don’t often hear our red wolves howl. Since he arrived in the fall of 2014, I’ve heard the male howl perhaps three times. I’ve not heard our female howl. Previous wolves that have resided at the Museum, particularly the pair we had prior to our current residents, howled frequently. Nearly every ambulance or fire truck that passed by on their way to some emergency, or had been making the delivery of patients to the hospital just a 1/4 mile toRead more
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Quick Look at Red Wolves

A pair of white tail deer legs were tossed into the red wolf enclosure by the animal keepers last weekend. The legs were donated by an employee here at the Museum who also happens to be a hunter. The wolves seemed to enjoy the treat. The female, lured out of her den by the smell of meatballs (typical daily offering – the keepers had just been in the enclosure), and perhaps the odor of deer, found one of the deer legs andRead more

An Unexpected Turn

She’s back!     After over a month and a half of peaceful coexistence (downright playful coexistence) between our two red wolves, the female has resorted back to her aggressive behavior towards our male red wolf. I watched this morning as the male pawed at a small tree just outside the den in which our female spends much of her time. He was obviously trying to get the female’s attention. He did. The female emerged with a most unfriendly greeting.     Let’sRead more
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Red Wolf

If you’re standing in front of the Red Wolf Enclosure when any of the Animal Keepers are in the vicinity, you may be lucky enough to get a close view of the wolves as they walk, or run, around the enclosure trying to get a glimpse of what the keepers are up to. You may witness one of the wolves climb the small dirt mound directly in front of the overlook, stop and stare out in your direction long enoughRead more
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Of Red Wolves

The photo above was taken on Friday, February 17, 2012 at 11:00 AM. The photo below was taken on Friday, February 15, 2013 at 10:54 AM. If you don’t know what’s going on in the photos, the wolves are mating, or rather, have already mated and waiting for the swelling to go down before they separate, which is normal. The timing of this mating is interesting and may give us a clue as to when to look for this behavior inRead more