The Pups are two weeks old today. The six are still here, and have been in the primary den for several days now. As we gathered up our team to go check on the pups today we knew we could easily work in the flattened out area behind this den. Five of the six pups are huge. These five weigh from 1,246 grams to 1,482 grams. That means at just two weeks old, our large male is over 3 and 1/4 pounds.

As early as two weeks old is when the eyes start to open, fur on the face starts to lighten, and the snout can start to develop. Three of the six have their eyes mostly open today.

The sixth pup, pup #2, M2289, is still very, very small. While he is gaining weight, it is at a much slower rate. The good news is he was incredibly vocal and feisty during his check. Like his siblings, his gums were pink, and he was well hydrated. Just very, very, small. I’ll remain cautiously realistic that he can hang in there and grow up to be a healthy red wolf but at the same time be prepared for another outcome.

When finished, we put the pups back in the den. Although as expected, mom, F2062, moved them after today’s check. As of this evening when we left, the six pups were in the hollowed out log, another secondary den site for the family.

This mom, F2062, has consistently been more on the move than our previous mom, F1858. In 2017, F1858 rarely lifted an ear from the den when we would come by. F2062 is very, very aware of our presence, and seems to not hesitate at all to move her family when she feels like it.

The next scheduled hands-on check is at four weeks old. However before that, some of these pups should start waddling out of the den for a few minutes here and there. Come on by—- it’s going to get really interesting in our wolf habitat really soon!!