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Riley's spirit continues in our hearts
Our friend Riley
photo by Julie Lawrence/Wolf Haven International
It is with a heavy heart that Wolf Haven writes that our friend Riley passed away earlier this month. Riley was only seven years old and was healthy and happy. His passing was very sudden and unexpected and left us all in a state of great sadness.
During a routine morning walk through the sanctuary by animal care staff on Friday December 12, Riley was found lying on his side not moving. It was apparent that he had passed away during the night. The day before he died, Riley was his usual happy, playful self. Two weeks earlier he had been introduced to a new companion, a female wolf named Ukiah, whose brother had died. The two of them were forming a fast friendship and could be seen nose to nose wagging their tails, playing a little and lying quietly next to each other in the middle of their enclosure.
The day he passed he had been given a special treat, a small sheep carcass donated to Wolf Haven by a local farmer. Riley did not want to share the carcass with Ukiah at first. He kept chasing her off until he ate his fill and then he moved away to allow Ukiah to enjoy as well.
When Riley was found the following morning, his abdomen was acutely distended; an indication of gastric dilation volvulus (GDV), where the stomach fills with gas and twists on itself. We consulted our veterinarian about performing a necropsy in order to determine the cause of his death. The veterinarian felt that given all of the symptoms and the large amount of food Riley had quickly ingested the day before, a necropsy was not necessary. She explained that GDV, also known as torsion, evolves extremely quickly, making it nearly impossible to prevent and very difficult to treat successfully, especially in wild canids. Riley (as well as our other wolves) received carcasses on a regular basis without any ill-effects, so we are not sure why on this particular day it turned out to have fatal consequences.
Riley at rest
It has been an honor to care for Riley and watch him blossom with his first companion Siri and his burgeoning new friendship with Ukiah. He was a little shy and was also playful and mischievous. He will be greatly missed.
Thank you for your generosity, care and support of Riley while he was with us at Wolf Haven. His spirit will continue on in our hearts.
Splish Splash
by Brennan Stoelb, Animal Care Specialist, Wolf Haven International
London enjoys his tub
In a recent blog I mentioned that it has been hot here in western Washington. Read it here…… While on most hot days the wolves lay in the shade to keep cool, Wolf Haven also provides other means to beat the heat; splash tubs.
For the animals that enjoy wading in water, animal care places 45 gallon, galvanized tanks in their enclosure. Not every enclosure has a tank because, just like humans, not every wolf likes to get wet. The tubs are about a foot and a half tall, just enough to be below their stomachs. They’ll jump in the tub and begin pawing the water to make it splash. Lakota and Shadow are two residents who love their tubs.
Bart torn between water bucket and splash tub
As you might assume, all this playing in the tub can make for some messy water. Every week animal care scrubs the tubs and replaces the dirty water with clean. In some cases the water will be changed more frequently. Daily we top-off the tubs to replace any water that’s been splashed out. With sponges and diluted bleach in hand, we go about the task of cleaning. Not only does dirt and fur cloudy up the water, it’s not uncommon to see someone peeing in their tub. Nothing is better than filling a tub with cool, clean water, only to have them hop in and pee – to each his own, as they say. Sometimes during feeding, a piece of meat will fall the wrong way and land in the tub.
One day when I was feeding a treat to Lakota, a piece fell in the tub. Not to let a little water stand in his way, Lakota stuck his head in the water, over his eyes, and sort of “bobbed” for his treat. Unfortunately, he was unsuccessful. I threw him a replacement, which he ate, but he went back to the tub and pawed the surface of the water, ever hopeful that it may float to the surface.
It surprises some people to hear that wolves can swim. They have webbing between their toes to help them move more easily on snow and uneven surfaces. This webbing also helps when swimming. Wolves will cross streams while chasing prey but
Gypsy & Diablo leave paw prints in their tub
photographers captured one young wolf in Canada swimming to catch a goose. Perhaps his “rubber ducky?”
On Lake Superior in northern Michigan there is an island called Isle Royale. Once connected by a predictable ice bridge in the winter, Isle Royale has become a subject of recent debate. Home to a 56 year study on moose and wolf interactions, the island’s wolves are in decline. According to the annual report, there are nine wolves on the island, two of which are female. Scientists are concluding that the decline is a result of inbreeding both in prey and predator, since no new genetics are regularly coming to the island. To get to the island, wolves would have to swim about 15 miles. In 1997, a wolf from Canada affectionately called, “The old grey guy,” crossed the ice bridge and became a successful breeder. The debate amongst scientists is whether humans should intervene by bringing new genes to the island or let nature take its course. For more information on Isle Royale visit www.isleroyalewolf.org.
So if the heat gets to you this summer, do what the wolves do – and take a dip!
What It’s Like to Work With Wolves (part 5 of a 5-part series)
Rocco and Sitka roll in bear poop donated by Woodland Park Zoo
So Why Work with Wolves? by Brennan Stoelb, Animal Care Specialist
When it comes to getting messy, it’s part of the job. I obviously shop at Goodwill. I know that the animals are getting a great variety of food and that care and thought is used to ensure that they remain healthy. It’s also great to know that the road kill is being used for a great cause.
Animal care staff smiling through the rain
So at this point, we’ve learned that 1) animal care doesn’t play with wolves 2) it can be pretty unpleasant to work in inclement weather and 3) animal care staff not only deal with wolves, but can also be terrorized by the local wildlife (snakes and hornets, for example) and 4) it can be a pretty stinky job. That hits the nail on the head, doesn’t it?
Snake visits admin office
So why do I it? Well, when an animal wants nothing to do with me, doesn’t seek my attention, as in the case of wolves, they are simply doing what they should be doing. It means they are acting as a wild animal. We all want to be wanted and needed, but all they need is to be is left alone. Our residents always arrive at Wolf Haven with varying degrees of human sociability, due to their unique circumstances, and that’s ok. As long as they are comfortable with my presence as I go about my day, performing tasks to allow them a good life, I’m content with that.
As for the weather, very rarely do I look at the forecast. I simply assume that every day the weather will be awful and then I’m never let down. I get to be outside, and I’ll never argue with that.
Brennan & volunteer Larry Oggs do another glamour job – paint
As for the local wildlife……there is nothing redeeming about snakes and hornets.
THE END
Thanksgiving at Wolf Haven
An annual feast for wolves
Kim Young, Director of Communications (portions of this article were originally posted in the Winter 2012/2013 issue Wolf Tracks magazine; it has been updated to reflect this year’s feast also)
Lakota managed to eat his entire turkey (and the fixins) in six minutes.
In keeping with tradition, Wolf Haven animal care staff carefully prepared a Thanksgiving turkey for our wolves. The raw birds were stuffed with the usual accoutrements: cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes and gravy, dressing, yams and a lone Brussels sprout.
Stuffed turkey
A row of buckets was lined up, each filled with one of the above-mentioned treats. Armed with ladles, staff members carefully poured a dollop from each bucket into the cavity of the turkey. Soon, the back of the flatbed truck was bulging with stuffed turkeys.
For a few wolves, this was their first Thanksgiving at Wolf Haven International.
Rocco starts with the filling
It is safe to assume that Samantha, Talulah and our newest resident, Lakota, never experienced a feast like this before. Each wolf approached the meal differently: Shiloh ate every bit of food – except the Brussels sprout. Siri carefully urinated all over her turkey (marinating it?) before eating. London raced to the back of his enclosure with turkey dangling from his mouth – but since he was holding it upside down, all of the goodies fell out during the trip. He left a trail of dressing, yams, cranberry sauce, etc. which his mate Kiawatha tried to scarf up as quickly as possible. Lakota is very food motivated, and he scarfed the entire turkey down in six minutes (you can see the video on YouTube) while his enclosure mate Sequra attempted to cache (bury) her turkey while he was distracted.
Ladyhawk appears refined even when eating a raw turkey.
It’s hard to say who enjoys this annual tradition more – Animal Care staff or the wolves – but this special meal is one of the many ways that Wolf Haven celebrates the 41 wolves, seven wolfdogs and two coyotes who reside here. As an organization, we give thanks for having the opportunity and space to care for our residents and the Wolf Haven supporters whose generosity makes it all possible.
Everyone enjoys the holidays at Wolf Haven International!
Kim
Bart gets a companion!
If you follow us regularly then you know that Bart, one of our male wolves, has been very lonely since the passing of his sister Jinkies last month. For weeks after her passing we listened to his solo, mournful howls and our hearts ached for him but we knew that finding a new companion for him as quickly as possible would help with the healing process.
We had worked with Lockwood Animal Rescue (LARC) in the past when we rescued Bono, Eve and Klondike and we knew they were still looking to place animals so we contacted them shortly after Jinkies’ passing to see if they had a female that needed placing. Fortunately for all involved, 10 year old Samantha fit the bill perfectly. Samantha, like the other 3 rescues that LARC had helped facilitate, had originally come from the now-defunct Alaska road side attraction, Wolf Country USA . And just like Eve, Bono and Klondike, she too had spent most of her life staked out on an 8 foot drag chain so that visitists could pay $5 dollars to see wolves and wolfdogs up close.
After being rescued by LARC, Samantha (who is actually the younger sister of Eve) spent the next year and a half at their facility in southern California. And though she could have stayed, the owners of LARC felt as though she might do better in a sanctuary setting.
As it turned out, the male that Samantha was housed with at the time was moving to W.O.L.F, a wolfdog sanctuary in La Porte, Colorado, so it made sense to do both transfers at the same time. We selected a location that was convenient for all 3 facilities (Provo, UT) as well as a date (September 4th).
Diane and I set out on Tuesday evening at 7pm, in the hopes that we would arrive in Provo the following afternoon in time to get a few hours of sleep before meeting up with the folks from LARC and WOLF, picking up Sam and then getting back on the road.
Sixteen hours and many cups of coffee later we arrived in at our designated meeting spot- the Days Inn parking lot and waited for the LARC volunteers (and Sam) to arrive. We had a few hours to kill, so we had an early dinner with the WOLF folks and then tried to get some sleep in our cargo van. Leave it to me to pick the one spot in all of Provo that had a disgruntled feral peacock who wanted the entire neighborhood to know the extent of his ire. And just about the time the peacock let up, a landscape crew showed up with lawnmowers, weed whackers and even a chain saw! No sleep for us L
Stanley and Greg (volunteers from LARC) arrived around 8 pm and we quickly and quietly transferred Samantha into our waiting van. It was dark by that time so we were not able to get a good look at her other than to see the yellow of her eyes reflected in the parking lot lights. Unlike some of the wolves that we rescue who hunker nervously in the back of their crate, Samantha was up at the front, ears pricked forward, taking in the sights and sounds of her surroundings as we headed for home.
Samantha (Sam) today
Every once in awhile I would catch a glimpse of her beautiful face as we would pass under a street light but it wasn’t until the following morning that we got our first good look at her. She was perfect. Now 10, her black has phased to that silvery-blue that is so typical of wolves but like her sister, Eve, she has a dark strip that runs down her nose. Curled in the crate, it was hard to tell how big she was, but we got the sense that she was fairly slight but with the characteristically long, thin legs and giant feet.
She was the perfect passenger and though she would lay her head down occasionally, she would not allow herself to fall into a deep sleep- for even though outwardly she seemed calm and relaxed, this was undoubtedly scary for her so she remained vigilant.
Samantha & Bart together
We drove straight through and arrived at Wolf Haven the following afternoon at 1. We drove directly to Bart’s enclosure and let her into the sub-enclosure (deckpen). A chain link guillotine gate separates the two but they are still able to see and sniff and even touch noses, if they so choose but it is also serves as a safety barrier in the event that the two do not get along.
Summer Days at Wolf Haven
Sanctuary Update – Brennan Stoelb, animal care specialist
Blooming flowers and budding trees have given way to the smell of fresh cut grass and finding a shady spot to read a book. Summer is here!
Clarice
Our oldest gal Clarice is doing well. She is currently taking two medications for some incontinence issues, which isn’t uncommon given her age. One of the medications, DES, has a very high success rate. While it hasn’t completely relieved her symptoms, there has been measured improvement while on DES. For a couple of months, she was on a roasted chicken kick as an extra morning snack. Then she decided roast was a better breakfast. After a few weeks, she went back to chicken. Recently, she has gone back to preferring beef roast. How long roast will be the preferred meat is anyone’s guess, but we are more than happy to accommodate Clarice! She is 18 after all.
In the spring issue, I mentioned the challenges we were having pilling our older female Kiawatha. We are pleased to report that she also loves raw beef roast. She likes it so much that most mornings she eagerly runs to the fence for her roast!
Anna & Guy
Between mowing the grass and weed-whacking, we have made some changes to the sanctuary. Guy and Anna, who were in the enclosure behind Juno and Shadow, have a new home in the back of the sanctuary with lots of seclusion! Not only does this allow Guy and Anna, who are a bit on the shy side, more privacy, but it also allows Juno and Shadow access to a second enclosure. Sometimes Shadow gets a little wary of certain types of cameras and this new arrangement allows him a buffer zone. Both pairs appear very happy with the new set-up!
Everyone was hopeful this year as we observed, via remote camera, three of the four Species Survival Plan (SSP) pairs that were recommended for breeding, actually engaged in breeding behavior. Unfortunately, due dates came and went without pups.
Tamaska & Jacob
Tamaska, one of our female red wolves, looked pregnant and even spent hours in her den. Spirits were high among staff members. We were slightly concerned when Tamaska’s mate Jacob was seen entering the den, which typically the female would not allow. To get a better view of the goings-on, we borrowed a “snake” camera from a local plumber, Advanced Plumbing Technologies, and had a peek in her den. Unfortunately, only rocks were found. It remains uncertain if she was going through false pregnancy, if she miscarried, or if the pups were stillborn.
Pups or no pups, come on out for a visit and take a visit of the sanctuary. While you’re here, lose yourself meandering through our gorgeous mounded prairie.
Big day in the sanctuary
Guy and Anna
Big day in the sanctuary for some of our residents–
Guy and Anna were moved to a large off-visit enclosure up on the hill away from the public visit route. If they choose, they can still catch a glimpse of visitors as they make their way along the public visit route, but given that both Guy and Anna are very shy, no doubt they will enjoy the increased privacy. Moving them meant that their original enclosure would now be vacant, and since that enclosure has an above ground tunnel that connects to Juno and Shadow’s enclosure, we were able to open the gates to the tunnel so Juno and Shadow could have an extra enclosure to romp in. Both pairs were so excited with their new digs- all kinds of new things to investigate and mark and roll on! Lots of excited whining, smelling and big, toothy smiles as well. I’d say they are pretty pleased with the new real estate!
Juno cautiously sniffs her new digs.
See Sweetgrass documentary – sheepherding in American West
Join Wolf Haven International for a special screening of Sweetgrass at Evergreen State College followed by a discussion on wolf recovery and agriculture in the Pacific Northwest and abroad. This breath-taking documentary follows the last of the American west cowboys as they lead herds of sheep into the mountains of Montana. The discussion following the film will be led by the Evergreen Conservation Club and the Evergreen Animal Agriculture Club.
Wolf Haven International Screening & Discussion of Sweetgrass
Evergreen State College
Free Showing
April 12, 2013 at 4:30pm
2700 Evergreen Parkway NW
Olympia, WA 98505
This event is a collaboration with the award-winning documentary series POV.
“With eloquence and splendor, “Sweetgrass” is a singular record of all there is to love and hate.”
Slate review of the movie Sweetgrass.