Our two sibling red wolves, Eno and Ellerbe, share the same enclosure. As you might expect, each wolf has its own personality. Eno often seems to desire, what appears to be, playful interaction between himself and his brother. From my observations, Ellerbe prefers to be left alone and does not share his brother’s enthusiasm for “playfulness.” It’s part of the captive animal experience to be offered enrichment. Environmental Enrichment, in the case here, is the placement of objects inside theRead more
Posts tagged: #Species Survival Plan
The Howling
Top: Father and three of his sons from this year’s liter enjoy a group howl. Our ten red wolves howl regularly. We don’t howl at them, but their howling has become a nearly daily routine. The museum happens to be located within a quarter mile of a hospital. We hear a lot of sirens. Most are off in the distance, but our wolves hear them just the same, and they react to the sirens by howling. It’s quite an experienceRead more
Run Wolf Run
We have here at the museum, one adult breeding pair of red wolves, two yearling male red wolves, and six three-month old pup red wolves. Every now and then, the year-old wolves get frisky and chase each other around their enclosure. It’s often a vigorous jaunt with more than just a few circuits around the yard. The parents sometimes join in but usually don’t make it past the first lap. After all, the male is 9 years old and theRead more
Nothing But Pups
Above, mom nurses pups while dad soothes fly bites on her ear. Below, nothing but pups.Read more
Pup Check
Above, the family meets for a little play time. That’s year-old red wolf 2246 relaxing on the ground while his brother 2247 towers over four of their new month-old brothers and sisters. The smallest of the litter is between 2247’s front legs. The family seems to be getting along well. Rats are a favorite food of the wolves. Though it’s early to be weaned, the new pups don’t hesitate to attempt big wolf food. They’re growing fast so if youRead more
More Wolf Pups
The pups are beginning to wander on their own. A long day in the wolf yardRead more
They’re Growing
It can be daunting, keeping track of six pups. But our female is up to the task.Read more
Moving Day
If you’ve been to the Red Wolf Enclosure recently you may have seen our adult female lying down with her six pups on the left side of the enclosure near the base of the ridge. She has at least three favorite sites to nurse here pups. One, is in the manmade den, visible on the monitor in front of the overlook. The second, as described above, is out in the open and visible from the overlook (best seen through binocularsRead more