Salmon Saturday

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Lakota leaves his salmon to steal Sierra's fish.

Lakota leaves his salmon to steal Sierra’s fish.by Marisa Pushee, Animal Care Assistant, Wolf Haven International

Merlin carries his salmon

Merlin carries his salmon.

Here at Wolf Haven International, we feed a wide range of raw meats to our resident animals. Whenever possible, we source meat that would otherwise go to waste. One of the special treats we offer the wolves is salmon. In the photo above, Lakota abandons his salmon in favor of stealing one from his companion, Sierra. Luckily, she promptly reclaimed his abandoned fish.

Pike Place Fish Co. donates the salmon. The world famous seafood vendor at Pike Place Market in Seattle, Washington is known for its “flying fish presentations” where their fishmongers throw the fish in the air when they make a sale.  While the demonstration draws in the crowds at the market, the rough handling is too much for expensive salmon.

Bucket of salmon

Bucket of salmon.

This is where chum salmon enters as a stunt double for the wild king salmon. These stunt fish are thrown in the air several times before they are discarded. As these fish cannot be sold, Pike Place Fish Co. donates them to Wolf Haven International and other wildlife facilities. The salmon is deeply frozen for several days, and the extreme low temperatures of -5 degrees Fahrenheit kill any microorganisms that could pose a risk for the wolves, including Neorickettsia helminthoeca, the bacteria responsible for producing a fatal gastrointestinal infection in domestic dogs. We are only able to feed our animals the wild salmon because it has been deeply frozen in a commercial freezer.

Lonnie rolling on his salmon

Lonnie rolling on his salmon.

The wolves love the novelty of the fish. The salmon also provide high quality protein, fat, and minerals to the wolves. We are so happy to provide this exciting and nutritious food to the wolves and thank Pike Place Fish Co. for their support.

 

 

 

Honoring Living and Deceased Wolves – FTE news magazine, Combined Fund Drive

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As part of our obligation as a sanctuary, Wolf Haven commits to treating all wolves or wolfdogs who find refuge here with compassion, respect, and dignity from the day they arrive until their end of days. There is even a cemetery onsite for residents who have passed on.  We encourage guests to visit the memorial cemetery when they are visiting Wolf Haven and share a requiem for a friend.

Wolves & Wine Event – Daily Chronicle

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Wolf paw print art

Wolf paw print art

A couple of the auction items this year include paintings done by wolves in the sanctuary. Animal care staff place paint on a canvas and the wolves walk across to make a painting. One of the pieces was completed by three different wolves.

Until Seattle smoke subsides, take steps to keep Fido safe, veterinarians say – Seattle Times

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At Wolf Haven International, a wolf sanctuary in Tenino, Thurston County, staff members have already modified the wolves’ schedule this summer, mainly because of hot weather. Staff members feed them late at night,…

Wolf Haven International – Oregon Field Guide

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This Oregon Field Guide video originally aired on PBS in 2013 but it covers so many aspects of Wolf Haven International that we want to show it again.

 

 

Lobos – A Wolf Family Returns To The Wild

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Lobos – A Wolf Family Returns to the Wild

This children’s book about a family of Mexican gray wolves (lobos) is a follow-up to Wolf Haven: Sanctuary and the Future of Wolves in North America, (2016, Sasquatch Books). It is a hopeful conservation story about a family of endangered Mexican wolves who begin their lives at Wolf Haven, are transferred to Ted Turner’s Ladder Ranch in New Mexico, and ultimately released into the wild in Mexico.

The nonfiction story by Brenda Peterson is illustrated with color photography by Annie Marie Musselman, both of whom were the principals behind the earlier Wolf Haven book. With easy to read text and heart-warming pictures, young people will enjoy learning about wolves and the challenge of reintroducing an endangered species to the wild. Lobos is scheduled for release in mid-August 2018, and prerelease orders can be placed with Amazon, Sasquatch Books, Penguin Random House and other sellers. It will also be available at Wolf Haven’s physical gift shop and website following publication.

You can read reviews of both books here:

Lobos: A Wolf Family Returns to the Wild

Wolf Haven: Sanctuary and the Future of Wolves in North America

by Kim Young, Director of Communications
(This revised article was originally published in Summer 2018 issue of Wolf Tracks,
a Wolf Haven International members-only magazine)

Maternity Bat Boxes – by South Sound Prairies

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Maternity bat box

Maternity bat box

Wolf Haven Bat Box Occupied by Maternity Colony

In 2012, a dozen bat boxes were erected at Wolf Haven International to enhance habitat for our 10 species of native bats. Since their installation, bats have readily taken up residence.

Coyotes of Capistrano – DP (Dana Point) Times

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Skie Bender shows skull models to interested youth.

Skie Bender shows skull models to interested youth.

Generally speaking, human confrontations with wolves are pretty rare in an urban environment because wolves live in forested habitats and retain a fear of humans, whereas coyotes have learned to survive close to humans because we provide them with a food source – whether intentionally or unintentionally.

Ways to beat the heat if you’re a wolf

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Now that we are deep into “the dog days of summer”, I thought it would be nice to take a look at some of the ways that the wolves at Wolf Haven get a little relief from the high temps.  Our residents all have shelters where they can retreat, plus their enclosures have shady trees, shrubs or other vegetation in them. Of course they all get daily pails of fresh water to drink and big metal splash tubs in which to take a dip. Here is a family of Mexican gray wolves sharing a tub.

Our animal care team also provide weekly enrichment of various kinds to the wolves. Enrichment items may or may not be edible – their primary purpose is to introduce something unusual and novel for the wolves to investigate and explore with their intellect and senses. Even something as seemingly simple as a stick with essential oil on it can be used successfully as enrichment.

During the hot days that we are currently experiencing, it’s nice to combine the enrichment item with something that is cool and refreshing, as well as unique. Bloodsicles anyone?   Male gray wolf Lonnie with his bloodsicle treat.

Or how about a tasty chicken footsicle, which combines smooth, slippery ice with crunchy, well, feet.

So the next time you feel like complaining about the heat, take a tip from our creative animal care team and the wolves!

Kim Young, Director of Communications

 

WOLVES, COYOTES AND DOGS – OH MY!

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by Skie Bender, Education Outreach California, Wolf Haven International
Skulls Photos Credit:  Kristin Olivarez

How exhilarating and simultaneously challenging it is to capture the attention of an audience that ranges in age from small children to adults.

First, I connect with the squirmy youngsters that are seated on the floor. I must immediately encapsulate these spirited fresh minds, or else the single file focus of the room will rapidly dissipate.

I begin by asking the children,

Who has a dog?
Who has seen a coyote at their home, school or park?
Has anybody seen a wolf?

I click the laser remote to the first slide, which is always a video of wolves that fills the entire screen, so everyone is instantly awed by the up close and personal beauty and majesty of these apex canids.

The Wolves, Coyotes and Dogs Education Program contains a plethora of pictures and videos. If a picture is worth 1000 words, than showing these striking images as I speak of biological, sociological and ethological facts about canids greatly enhances the learning process.

Using sight and sound to keep attention

Using sight and sound to capture attention

How does one talk about all this to a five year-old child?
By showing, not telling.

On the topic of ethology I show the children through body language that we too are human animals. For example, I ask them;

Who plays sports?
What do you play…soccer…okay…when you score a goal…
what do you do, how do you act?

 The kids proceed to show me how they raise their arms above their head in a winning cheer, with a big smile on their face, their eyes are wide and staring confident and direct at me.

And if you are sad, show me what you look like?

The children curl inward and look down with a frown.
I now shift focus back to the videos.

Skie shows skull models to young people

Skie shows skull models to young people

Let’s watch the wolves’ body language and see if we can interpret what they are saying!

While the children intently study videos of Wolf Haven’s wolves playfully jaw wrestling, play bowing, tail wagging, tail up, tail tucked, growling over a piece of food, scent rolling, howling, and splashing excitedly in their tubs, I engage the adults in the audience by interjecting scientific information.

In this collaborative participatory style of communication we proceed to learn about the differences and similarities between wolves, dogs and coyotes, the family pack, pup development, endangered wolves, the important roles that wolves and coyotes serve in an ecosystem, urban coexistence with coyotes, canid communication (which includes body, vocal and scent expression), and of course what they eat in the wild and what we feed our animals at Wolf Haven. We conclude the program with a video of a wolf crunching down on a favorite summer treat – a tuna popsicle!

Now I invite everyone to come up and examine the skulls, antlers and tracks.

Please, touch touch touch! And ask ask ask!
I love answering questions!

The program is not over until I am back in my car driving away. My intent never wanes. I hope to have connected with new people. I hope to have left a lasting lifelong impression, not only for reverence of wolves, coyotes and dogs, not only for wildlife, but for life itself!