Our red wolves got their annual physicals yesterday, October 5. We’ve had our hands on the female wolf a bunch because of a few different medical issues that have come up while she’s been here, but this was the first time we caught up our male. What you see in the photos is pretty typical: Even though the wolf is sedated, we put a muzzle on. One keeper (Marilyn, with gloves on) watches the head for any signs of movementRead more
Posts tagged: #red wolf
Red Wolf Journal: Summer Edition
Last week I received the Red Wolf Journal from our friends at Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge. Take a look to see what’s been going on with the red wolf throughout the summer.Read more
Big Word of the Month: Acarology
Acarology is the study of ticks and mites. During the summer, all the animal keepers become acarologists. Given the amount of time we spend outdoors we inevitably run into some of these critters. Ticks and mites are not insects but rather arachnids, the same group of animals that contains spiders. All ticks are parasites that feed on the blood of their hosts by inserting a feeding tube through a small incision in the skin. Mites have more diverse lifestyles butRead more
Wildlife wins: refuges get to stay refuges
In a series of previous posts, I have discussed many different threats to the wild red wolf population in eastern North Carolina. About a year ago there was another topic that, had it not been abandoned, had the potential to threaten red wolves and several other wildlife species, as well. There was a proposal to place a naval outlying landing field (OLF) in the areas surrounding two of eastern North Carolina’s wildlife refuges. This Navy landing field would have beenRead more
I’m back from the Red Wolf meeting
I just got off the airplane a couple hours ago from the Red Wolf SSP Master Plan meeting and before I go home to bed I wanted to let you know that our red wolves- 1369 and 1227- will be here with us another year. It is really important that these two produce offspring so we are going to give them another shot. If anyone knows any fertility dances or spells, or anything else to help these two get together,Read more
2009 Red Wolf SSP meeting
Sunday is the beginning of this year’s red wolf SSP meeting. This year it is in Tacoma, WA. At last year’s meeting in Chattanooga, we learned that our “brother” wolves would be moving on and that we would be getting two new wolves, a male and a female that we hoped would breed. The photo is of red wolf 1390. He was crated and driven to his new home last September. This year’s meeting should be interesting, as they alwaysRead more