Top Photo: Ice forming on waterfall at Black Bear Enclosure. Cold night temperatures have been freezing the water flowing over the rocks at the waterfall in the bear enclosure. The cooler air has also been making the bears increasingly drowsy, which makes seeing them more challenging to the human observer. Our bears tend to sleep more during the colder days of the year. They don’t go into full hibernation, the temperatures don’t stay cold long enough here on the Piedmont.Read more
Posts tagged: #Red Wolf
Grass, Passerines, Ducks, Hyla, Fungi, and Mammals (lemurs, red wolves, and w-t deer)
Top Photo: Grasses blow in the cool wind from the floating walkway in the wetlands in Explore the Wild. Seed production and dispersal is part of fall. The seed produced by the grasses in the wetlands will carry far and wide with the help of the wind. As of November 20, there were still a few green tree frogs hanging on in Catch the Wind and Explore the Wild. They were juveniles. Alder blooms in February. The male catkins andRead more
Finding Martha: and Oka too
Top Photo: West side of red wolf enclosure. Our new resident red wolves (Martha and Oka) have come from a facility which did not have them on daily display. They’re not used to having people at front and center of their habitat. They will, I’m sure, get used to human visitors, but it may take time. Our male Oka spends most of his day sleeping on the far west side (left side) of the enclosure curled up or stretched outRead more
Off To New Digs
Top Photo: Two of five pups born on April 21, 2024 at Museum of Life and Science. The five red wolf pups, Cedar, Juniper, Maple, Sassafras and Tupelo and two adults Oak and Adeyha, that we now house will soon be transferred to the Wolf Conservation Center in South Salem, NY. Come by to see them. Wish them well. Good luck!Read more
Howling Foam
Top Photo: Excited by the sound of sirens in the distance, the red wolf pups howl in response. Some mornings the wolves howl multiple times, always stimulated by passing sirens. The precipitating frequency seems to be consistent. Fire trucks are preferred. Mornings are the active period of day for the family. The pups, however, may be excited by the most mundane of things at any time. They were very suspicious of a floating mass of foam bubbles in the poolRead more
Dinner Time at Red Wolf Enclosure
Top Photo: Oak, the pups, and Adeyha. Come see what’s going on at the Red Wolf Enclosure in Explore the Wild.Read more
More Spring Sightings and a Red Wolf Observation
Top Photo: Male common whitetail. Common whitetails are everywhere. Ponds, lakes, even slow moving rivers and streams are home to this ubiquitous skimmer. The standout white/blue abdomen and dark marks on the wings lend to the easy recognizability of the male. The female too, is easily recognized by the three dark markings on each of her four wings. They both tend to perch low to, or directly on, the ground. Another early season dragonfly making an appearance is the blueRead more
Red Wolf Play
Top Photo: Oak in the grass. Oak, our female red wolf on display in Explore the Wild, is the more active of the two wolves in the enclosure. You’re more likely to see the sleek Oak trotting about the enclosure than the big lumbering male Adeyha. Here, in true Oak fashion, she romps in the tall grass of the compound. On the other side of the enclosure… The object of Oak’s attention is a deer pelt given her by theRead more
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