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The gift of adoption

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Tecumseh

Tecumseh (T) available for “adoption”

One way that Wolf Haven raises both funds AND awareness is by offering symbolic adoptions of our resident wolves (and wolfdogs and two coyotes). Adoption levels begin at only $25. You receive a beautiful, professional 4 x 6″ matted photo, an adoption certificate and an official biography of the animal selected.

They are also given as gifts; one gentleman routinely “adopts” all of the animals at the sanctuary (50+) for his wife as her Christmas gift. And she LOVES it.

What It’s Like to Work With Wolves (part 5 of a 5-part series)

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Rocco and Sitka roll in bear poop donated by Woodland Park Zoo

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

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

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

Brennan & volunteer Larry Oggs do another glamour job – paint

As for the local wildlife……there is nothing redeeming about snakes and hornets.

THE END

Scarecrows – a nonlethal deterrent

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Scarecrow that is lightweight, easy to move, and flaps in the wind.

Scarecrow that is lightweight, easy to move, and flaps in the wind.

How is a Scarecrow like Fladry?

Much like fladry is recommended in some instances as a nonlethal management tool to

Fladry – flapping pieces of bright fabric can deter a wolf from crossing the line.

Fladry – flapping pieces of bright fabric can deter a wolf from crossing the line.

prevent predators from attacking livestock, scarecrows serve a similar purpose – to prevent corvids from “predating” on prairie plant plugs.

For the past few years, the Center for Natural Lands Management (CNLM) has planted thousands of “plugs” – small seedlings grown in a tray of plants – on Wolf Haven’s prairie. For the past few years, however, almost none of the plant plugs have been able to establish themselves in the rich prairie soil. A few weeks after each planting, CNLM and Wolf Haven staff discover that most of the plugs have been pulled out of the cold ground. It seems that Wolf Haven’s resident ravens and crows go to work every fall, pulling out the plugs and scattering them across the planting sites. The corvids do not eat the plants; rather, they pull them out for fun, or out of curiosity.

Ravens and crows abound at Wolf Haven; photo c/o Rod Gilbert

Raven; photo Rod Gilbert

American crow; photo c/o Rod Gilbert

Crow; photo Rod Gilbert

Ravens and crows are extremely intelligent and curious creatures, and are notoriously difficult to completely scare away from a site. Wolf Haven is a sanctuary, and the CNLM is far from heartless, so non-lethal corvid deterrents are a must. Loud bird cannons would likely work to keep the birds at bay, but would also disturb Wolf Haven’s wolves. Such a large area of bird netting or a “Whacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man” are both too expensive and unwieldy to be placed on the prairie.

The purpose of the plant plugs is to create larval food and nectar sources for a future release of the rare Taylor’s Checkerspot Butterfly. Taylor’s Checkerspots are a newly listed endangered species, which have been in fast decline due to the degradation and fragmentation of its native prairie habitats. In order to help create Taylor’s Checkerspot habitat on Wolf Haven prairie, it is critical this year to have a successful planting.

Volunteer planting plugs that will attract native butterflies.

Volunteers planting plugs that will attract native butterflies.

In September, the three planting areas, totaling about 2.5 acres, had been prepped with a controlled burn in July (to force the native plants into dormancy) and an herbicide treatment (to kill off any surviving invasives). On November 5th, CNLM volunteers teamed up with a few Wolf Haven volunteers and a crew from the Department of Corrections to plant over 12,600 plugs and build scarecrows. In addition to seven scarecrows, six Mylar party balloons were attached to branches and logs on the prairie, and many cassette tape reels, Mylar bird tape, and bright fabric flags were tied throughout the planting areas.

In order to keep the plugs safe, CNLM’s AmeriCorps member for Wolf Haven,

Boo!

Boo!

Anne Schuster, moves the scarecrows and balloons every other day, pushing disturbed plugs back in the ground, and putting up more flags and reflective bird tape around the planting sites. Rather than being stuffed with leaves, the scarecrows have clothes loosely hung on them, to create more movement in the wind. The bird tape and flags might scare off small birds, but will hopefully act more as a distraction for the ravens, who might prefer to pull at some shiny material than at plants in the ground.

Are you scared yet crow?

Are you scared yet crow?

As of one week after the planting, the scarecrows seem to be doing their job. Only three plugs have been disturbed and pushed halfway out of their holes. The three disturbed plugs are in a row, plus there is a tunnel beneath them and fresh mole hills nearby – so the culprit in this case is probably not a corvid, but a mole.

Anne Schuster,

Center for Natural Lands Management AmeriCorps,
Wolf Haven Outreach and Restoration Technician

The Journey of the Chum Salmon: From wild fish to action double …to wolf treat

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Pike Place Fish Company, Seattle, WA

Pike Place Fish Company, Seattle, WA

The kind of salmon that is donated to us from Pike Place Fish Market has quite an interesting history behind it. We would like to dedicate this space to explore what it takes for the salmon to end up as part of our resident wolves’ diet.

The first –and most awesome- fact is the species’ biology itself. “Chum” or “keta” salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) is a species of anadromous fish, which means they migrate hundreds of kilometers upriver from the sea into fresh water to spawn. The journey of keta salmon begins when an average of 4,000 eggs, which are layed in a gravel bed in the upper reaches of a stream, hatch. Young salmon spend the first years in the river where they were born until they reach the age of three and then undergo a series of physiological changes that will allow them to survive the big shift from fresh to saltwater: their body chemistry has to adjust in order to cope with the higher salt levels they will encounter in the Pacific Ocean. At the ocean, they spend between two and three years.

Bucket of salmon

Bucket of salmon.

The salmon that will eventually come to Wolf Haven face the end of their lives at this point: they get fished in the Pacific coasts anywhere from Alaska to California. But the ones that escape the fishermen have an amazing mission ahead. They will swim the ocean until they are sexually mature and then start traveling all the way back to spawn at the exact same place they were born. Scientific studies show it’s due to olfactory memory that they are able to find the precise location where they started their life (it’s like when a particular smell reminds us of the house we lived in when we were little …though a little more sophisticated). Once they find it, the female lays the eggs and the male sprays his sperm before she covers them with gravel. Mother and father protect the nest for some days, but soon their bodies start to deteriorate. Their metabolism –now adapted to saltwater- is not longer capable of thriving in the river’s environment, and they die.

Pam poses with salmon and Chris Bell, Pike Place Market fishmonger.

Pam poses with salmon and Chris Bell, Pike Place Market fishmonger.

Some of the ones that get caught in the ocean go to Pike Place Fish Co., the iconic seafood vendor at Pike Place Market, in Seattle, Washington. Pike Place Fish Co. started back in 1965, when John Yokoyama purchased the little fish stand he worked at. He transformed a small, unnoticeable and almost broke fish business into THE seafood dealer. To stop at Pike Place Fish is a most do for every visitor at the Market, mainly due to the famous “Flying fish presentations” A crew of fishmongers throw the fish that is being sold in the air, while yelling funny things and having a good time with the costumers.

“Flying fish” sounds like fun, but when it comes to expensive salmon, action scenes seem too risky… for the business.“Wild king salmon is worth so much money that we needed a cheaper and smaller salmon for stunt fish” shares Anders Miller, long time staff at Pike Place Fish Co. “People come here to buy good salmon and want to see the whole show, but we cannot risk damaging the nice stuff.” So this is where our friend, the chum salmon, re-enters the scene: it is big and good looking enough to be used as body-cover for the Wild King Salmon. (So if you thought stunt doubles were used only in movies and only for famous humans, you were wrong: fancy fish have doubles too!)

Between two to five chum salmons are used everyday. They get thrown in the air several times and get photographed by hundreds of people -pictures that will travel the world. As these fish cannot be sold they are donated to wildlife facilities, such as Wolf Haven International. “We feel very happy to know that all this fish is used for feeding rescued animals, instead of being tossed away,” states Anders.

Driver at Rainier Cold Storage carefully navigates a pallet full of frozen salmon over to the waiting Wolf Haven vehicle.

Driver at Rainier Cold Storage carefully navigates a pallet full of frozen salmon over to the waiting Wolf Haven vehicle.

When the chum salmon conclude their stunt “flying” run, they are shipped to Rainier Cold Storage Inc., a warehouse located in south Seattle, where they are deeply frozen for several days. The extreme low temperatures (-5 Fahrenheit) kill any microorganisms that could represent a risk for the wolves, like Neorickettsia helminthoeca, the bacteria responsible for producing the famous “salmon poisoning disease” (a fatal gastrointestinal infection).

Once a good amount of fish has accumulated, they contact us to have it picked

Kim filling the trunk of the Saturn with frozen salmon.

Kim filling the trunk of the Saturn with frozen salmon.

up. We drive up there with any vehicle we have available (we once squeezed 43 frozen whole salmon into our beloved Saturn’s trunk!) and bring them back to the wolves. You can imagine that the trip back to Wolf Haven is quite a stinky one, though totally worth it. The wolves seem to really enjoy the 7 pounds (avg.) of high quality protein, fat and minerals.

Spruce enjoys a fine salmon filet.

Spruce enjoys a fine salmon filet.

Whether they roll on it, pee on it, eat it, or all of the above, salmon is always a big success!

We sincerely thank our friends from Pike Place Fish Co. for their kind donation, and Rainier Cold Storage Inc. for making it safe for the wolves.

Pamela Maciel
Animal Care, Wolf Haven

ADOPT

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by Wolf Haven Membership Coordinator Heather Hilf

One of our wonderful volunteers, Becky made us another delicious treat; this time it was pumpkin pie cake.  I was walking along the service road on my way to the gift shop, cake in hand for our Gift Shop manager, Sherry.  As I rounded the corner near Bart and Samantha’s enclosure,  I could see Bart watching me from the hilltop. Bart often watches staff and visitors that walk by but today I didn’t see Sam, one of our newer rescues.

Suddenly out of the brush inside her enclosure, I saw a bouncing, curious wolf.  Samantha jumped up and down, over and over.  Knowing how food motivated Samantha is and knowing what a keen sense of smell wolves have, I laughed out loud.  It was as if Sam was trying to convince me that she deserved that pumpkin treat for herself. Over and over, I saw this panting, excited head popping into view.  Man oh man, did she seem to want that cake!

We’ve seen Sam jump up & down on other occasions too, though. She seems curious about any activity going on around her. If you want to “ADOPT” Samantha, you can check out her mini-biography here. With a basic adoption, you’ll get a beautiful 4×6 color photo of her, a full biography, and an adoption certificate. And like Sam, you too will be jumping for joy.

An Unexpected Encounter

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Surprise!

Photo of otters found on Pixabay.

Photo of otters found on Pixabay.

As if I didn’t think that Wolf Haven isn’t already the most amazing place, here is further affirmation: This morning at about 7:30, I was getting ready to head into the sanctuary and heard my dogs barking their heads off. My lab Harley is a “recreational” barker, so I tend not to pay too much attention, but my border/aussie is the best alarm system we could ask for.

Both were keenly focused in the direction of the service road that runs from the office and residential buildings out to the prairie. As I looked in that general direction, movement caught my eye and I saw a brown/black “slinky” looking animal. Too big to be a cat and the movement was all wrong but other than stray cats, coyotes and rabbits, there aren’t a lot of terrestrial animals that size that call Wolf Haven home. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be an otter!

Just a few feet ahead of him or her were 3 or 4 more and then a few feet ahead of them, were another group of 4-5… all just booking it down the road!!! ten otters! We are fortunate to have a very healthy wetland on the west side of property and the pond has water year round, so we think that’s where they were heading and they seemed to know where they were going so perhaps it wasn’t their first walk-about at Wolf Haven.  From a distance, Patt, Diane and I watched as they slinked away, chatting to one another the whole way. What an unbelievable way to start the day!

Wendy Spencer, Director of Animal Care

Wolf Haven International

Bart gets a companion!

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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

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

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.

 

Raise Your Voice for Wolves – No to Delist!

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Huckleberry pups

Huckleberry pups

UPDATE ON GRAY WOLF DELIST PROPOSAL!

The comment period has officially been extended to 10/28! Because of the strong public response to this proposal, USFWS will hold three public hearings: DC, Sacramento and Albuquerque. Dates have yet to be determined, so stay tuned. If you live near any of these cities, please consider attending one of the hearings & speaking out for wolves.

Raise your voice for wolves!

You only have until September 11, 2013, to send your comments to the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) on their proposal to delist gray wolves in the lower US. Your comments are critical – conservation organizations throughout the US are striving to have 1 million comments sent to the USFWS to emphasize the importance of this issue for the continued recovery of wolves in the lower US.

Here are some points to consider including in your comments:

  • Delisting gray wolves throughout the lower 48 is premature and contradicts the best available science. The gray wolf has barely begun to recover or is absent from significant portions of its former range where substantial suitable habitat remains. The USFWS draft rule fails to consider extensive suitable habitat in the Pacific Northwest, California, the southern Rocky Mountains and the Northeast. It also fails to consider the importance of these areas to the long-term survival and recovery of wolves, or the importance of wolves to the ecosystems of these regions. The very scientists whose research is referenced in the draft rule to remove the gray wolves’ protections have stated publicly that the science does not support the delisting.
  •  If delisted, wolves throughout Washington will lose federal protections, which will allow for more lethal control under our current Washington Wolf Conservation and Management Plan.
  •  Wolves were delisted in 2011 in the northern Rockies, and recreational wolf hunting has significantly reduced wolf populations in those states. Washington’s wolf population largely originated from these adjacent states, and under full federal protection have flourished and expanded. Less wolves dispersing into Washington and the proposed loss of federal protection could greatly reduce the chances for wolves to continue to repopulate areas of Washington that do not have wolves at this time such as Southwest Washington, the North Cascades, and the Olympic Peninsula.
  • These Mexican gray wolf brothers currently reside at Wolf Haven International and are pre-release candidates.

    These Mexican gray wolf brothers currently reside at Wolf Haven International and are pre-release candidates.

    Giving Mexican wolves their own Endangered Species Act listing is long overdue, however, delisting gray wolves throughout the U.S. is counter to protecting Mexican wolves. Fewer than 80 Mexican gray wolves exist in the wild. New populations of these wolves are desperately needed for them to thrive. The best available science confirms that the Grand Canyon region and the Southern Rockies are essential for Mexican wolf recovery. But the proposed rule will leave gray wolves unprotected in these places, making the survival of Mexican gray wolves much more difficult should they expand into new areas.

  •  A comprehensive recovery plan is needed for Mexican wolf. The current recovery plan was written in 1982 and lacks up to date scientific information. Once a recovery plan is written, any proposed changes should support that plan and should not conflict with recovery needs of the Mexican wolf.
  • Allow more Mexican wolves to be released in more places, particularly into suitable habitat outside currently proposed release areas that scientists say is the best habitat and is critical for recovery.  At least two more populations of Mexican gray wolves need to be established. Picking up wandering wolves and returning them to the proposed recovery area will inhibit the dispersal of new genes, which is necessary to keep wolves healthy.

WHAT TO DO

Written comments and information concerning each proposed rule can be submitted by one of the following methods to the appropriate docket numbers:

Federal eRulemaking Portal: www.regulations.gov  Follow the instructions for submitting comments to the following docket numbers:

Gray wolf: Docket No. [FWS–HQ–ES–2013–0073]
Mexican Wolf: Docket No. [FWS-R2-ES-2013-0056]

Linda Saunders, Director of Conservation
Wolf Haven International

Summer Days at Wolf Haven

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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

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

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 & 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.