| We went on a bus trip from Bushkill to the Lakota Wolf
Preserve in Columbia New Jersey. It is actually only about 10 miles away as
the crow flies but more than 30 miles by road. We had to cross a toll bridge
across the Delaware River. The wolf used to roam free in Pennsylvania but
now exists only in captivity. This is one of the timber wolves. The modern
dog is believed to be descended from the wolf, and you can can see the
similarities, but the wolf has much longer legs and a leaner body. |  |
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The preserve was formed by Jim Stein and Dan and Pam Bacon. They have
gathered two dozen wolves of three different sorts and they keep them in
large enclosures as packs to best replicate conditions in the wild and keep
them healthy. Most were recovered from private zoos in poor condition. They
cannot take any more because of local bylaws and concerns by the local
population. This is a tundra wolf which is used to the far north and has a much
whiter coat. It is thickening up early this year, apparently a sure sign
that they are in for a hard winter. |
| Each of the packs has an alpha male which leads the
pack and an alpha female which leads the females. New cubs acquired
elsewhere are introduced
early so that the pack will accept them. This is the alpha male. They have
all now been doctored because they are not allowed to increase the pack
sizes. |  |
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A shot of an Arctic wolf. These are really very beautiful animals but they
are rarely still and their eyes seem very penetrating. |
| It is food time and they know this so all the wolves
face the same way. They live on a diet of mainly roadkill but woe betide any
squirrel who ventures near. Usually it is just the tails which are left. |  |
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Many of the animals are now quite old and carry minor injuries. They would
not live so long in the wild. The packs are aging and they will need to
think about replenishments in due course. |
| They all have names and their own characters and
position in the pack. In the early days the new cubs were taken away and
bottle fed to get them used to humans. Then they were introduced back to the
pack at weaning. |  |
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To a non-expert they all look very similar but they are quite different to
the keepers who give an excellent and interesting talk. They clearly know
their wolves and have a good rapport with them. |
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The preserve also has a couple of red foxes. This is confusing because one
is almost black although it is beginning to turn winter white. |
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The red one is quite young and VERY fast. As with the wolves their handler
has a good rapport with them but makes it very clear that these are still
wild and dangerous animals. They are growing extra bushy winter
tails which is another indication of a hard winter to come. You have been warned! |
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| Because of limitations of space the foxes share the
pen with some bobcats, but they would fight if let out together, so some get
mornings and some the afternoons. A very demanding schedule all year long. The
bobcats are
beautiful animals but pussy cats they are most definitely not! One of this
pair attacked the handler one day after she had been to help a trapped cat
which had sprayed her. One of these put her in the hospital with some nasty
scalp damage. They can leap 16 feet high! |  |
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They both demolished a piece of meat which would feed a normal family in
very short order. So the moral is do not mistake these for your average
friendly tabby! |
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