A quick pictorial trip back to the past week. Flowering dogwood is in bloom (above). Over the past week I began to see aquatic turtles very near the shoreline of our wetlands, peeking up from the water to the shore. I suspected they were searching for safe places to come ashore and lay eggs. The next day I saw two yellow-bellied sliders walking along the path. It’s nesting time. The tadpoles, products of the American toad breeding spree of March,Read more
Posts tagged: #Species Survival Plan
Red Wolf Update
In the above photo, the wolves anxiously await the departure of the animal keepers. The keepers enter the enclosure to do a daily poop-scoop followed by a distribution of food which usually consists of meatballs and or dead rats. Today it looks like all meatballs. (Top photo, left to right; Female 2062, Juv 2246, M 1803, Juv 2247, notice how the female is the lead) While in the enclosure, the keepers (always two or more keepers) keep a watch onRead more
The Wolves ID’d
After posting to this blog recently in regards to red wolf identification and my inability to confidently discern our young wolves from one another here at the museum “…whatever differences the two pups had which distinguished them from one another have disappeared, at least to my eyes. I can no longer tell one from the other,” and experiencing a bit of ribbing and ridicule (light-hearted, of course) from fellow staff and volunteers about my observational failings, I decided to setRead more
Season Changes and The Wolves
Migration has been underway for several months. Most of the northern insectivorous birds have passed us by for warmer climates. The majority of our local insect-eating birds have long since departed. Some still linger, like catbird, but they’re on their way out. Granivores like juncos, white-throated sparrows and others will arrive soon. It can’t be long before the butter-butts (yellow-rumped warblers) come in. I heard a yellow-bellied sapsucker the other day. Our winter visiting hooded mergansers should arrive next month.Read more
The Wean Begins
Our female red wolf (#2062) nurses her two young pups. It’s been just about six weeks since their birth and nearing time for weaning. None too soon, judging by our female’s expressions and actions in the accompanying photos. Don’t fret, our female is taking very good care of the pups. They’re both healthy and growing. It’s all part of the process.Read more
More Red Wolf Pups
Just some photos of the Red Wolves from Friday (5/18/18). Top: Pup #2246 stands at entrance to man-made den in Red Wolf Enclosure. Now that the enclosure is open, stop by. But remember, keep the noise and movement down, whisper if you need to communicate something, and most importantly, enjoy the view.Read more
Red Wolf Speculation
Red wolf mating season has come and gone. The first confirmed mating was on February 14, nearly two months ago. Average gestation period for these canids is 63 days. The photo above shows a comparison of our female then and now. The left side of the photo shows her in mid December 2017, the right side, April 5, Thursday of last week. Do you see a difference? Here’s another shot of female 2062’s belly taken same day as right sideRead more
Who’s Who
Just a quick revisit with our red wolves and to reinforce who’s who. Top photo: Female #2062 left and male #1803 right. Both wolves may be active throughout the day. The keepers, however, typically enter the enclosure in mid morning to clean up and randomly place food around the habitat. Following the keepers’ departure the wolves can be seen sniffing out the bits of food left by their attendants. Have fun!Read more
Red Wolf Update
Just a quick follow-up on our recently arrived red wolves. Both male #1803 and female #2062 seem to be adjusting well to their new home, although female 2062 is still a bit shy. She tends to stay at the top of the enclosure’s ridge when people are present at the overlook. Neither, however, are difficult to locate. In fact, they’re typically quite mobile, frequently moving about. Our female seemed very excited to find the beef knuckle tossed in by theRead more