Another Pup Check complete. All four were in the dens this morning. Three of them were in the front den and the last one (pup # 2, who seems to spend the most time by herself) was in the back den. Some photos below of what it looks like when we go to get them out of the dens.
Keepers Jill and Sarah are the wolf catchers todayAaron and Jill hold the net. You can see Sarah’s headlamp and a pup in the den. Pup # 2 was alone in the back den. We caught her first and then moved to get the other three from the front den.pup #2 heading into the net.Jill climbed in to the front den and would pass pups out to Sarah. Keeper Katie and the left, and our newest Keeper, Mary, on the right. Welcome Mary!all the pups in the net
close up of pup # 2 in the net.
The pups are big, and in numerical order below, from left to right. All pups got checked over- one had a tick removed. Weights and deworming today as well. Photos below from today’s check.
pup #2 seems to be our scale model
Pup number two now weighs 4.45 Kg. Still the smallest, but gaining weight at a higher percentage than her siblings (16% weight gain since last week)pup #3 is the darkest right now, and still the heaviest at 5.55 Kgpup #3 getting dewormed. I love his huge legs and his short left ear.
Katy checks out the teeth of pup #5
Keeper Jill holding pup # 5. He weighs just over 5 Kg (5.05 Kg)
close up of pup # 6pup # 6 weighed in at 5 Kg
notice the yellow around the pup’s mouth. Not all of the dewormer gets swallowed
this pup got most of the dewormer down- just a little yellow on the tongue
four pups, with four Keepers,, Autumn, Sarah, Jill, and Katie
Thanks for the great update. How is the pup (#6 I think) doing that might have gotten bitten by a snake ?
Kristin Young says:
Hi. How is the pup doing who may have been bitten by a snake?
Brian says:
Thanks for the updates. We enjoy following the progress of these pups and hope to visit later this summer. Questions from our 5 year old (a big fan of red wolves): Do the wolf pups have sharp teeth or do they have baby teeth that will fall out?
Sherry Samuels says:
Author
Good question about teeth Brian. Pups do have 28 razor-sharp baby teeth (milk teeth) that appear when they are around 3 weeks old (they have no teeth when they are born). They do not have any grinding molars, however. Those little milk daggers (and they are needle sharp!) are gradually pushed out beginning at about two months of age. Permanent teeth push in and replace the 28 milk teeth (they fall out, and the body absorbs the roots), and they add premolars (carnassials) and molars for a total of 42 adult teeth (including molars). Most pups have their permanent teeth fully in place by abut 7 months of age.
By age 5 weeks, the pups’ gastric system has developed enough that they can digest solid food regurgitated by the parents and other adults, but they do not have sufficient bite strength with their puppy dental hardware (the milk teeth) to chew chunks of meat.
Susan Davis says:
Sherry,
I took your advice and went to the museum at 10:00 am today (6/29) to visit the wolf pups. I was fortunate and privileged to see 3 of the pups and the mom and dad. They are amazing and the museum is such a gem for the City of Durham. Thanks so much and everyone needs to take advantage of this great opportunity to see such a wonderful family!
Susan
Sherry Samuels says:
Author
I’m so glad you got to see the pups Susan! We appreciate your praise as well.
Thanks for the great update. How is the pup (#6 I think) doing that might have gotten bitten by a snake ?
Hi. How is the pup doing who may have been bitten by a snake?
Thanks for the updates. We enjoy following the progress of these pups and hope to visit later this summer. Questions from our 5 year old (a big fan of red wolves): Do the wolf pups have sharp teeth or do they have baby teeth that will fall out?
Good question about teeth Brian. Pups do have 28 razor-sharp baby teeth (milk teeth) that appear when they are around 3 weeks old (they have no teeth when they are born). They do not have any grinding molars, however. Those little milk daggers (and they are needle sharp!) are gradually pushed out beginning at about two months of age. Permanent teeth push in and replace the 28 milk teeth (they fall out, and the body absorbs the roots), and they add premolars (carnassials) and molars for a total of 42 adult teeth (including molars). Most pups have their permanent teeth fully in place by abut 7 months of age.
By age 5 weeks, the pups’ gastric system has developed enough that they can digest solid food regurgitated by the parents and other adults, but they do not have sufficient bite strength with their puppy dental hardware (the milk teeth) to chew chunks of meat.
Sherry,
I took your advice and went to the museum at 10:00 am today (6/29) to visit the wolf pups. I was fortunate and privileged to see 3 of the pups and the mom and dad. They are amazing and the museum is such a gem for the City of Durham. Thanks so much and everyone needs to take advantage of this great opportunity to see such a wonderful family!
Susan
I’m so glad you got to see the pups Susan! We appreciate your praise as well.