The second update how Fang, our new male wolf, gets accepted by the wolf pack.
As the images can attest to, Fang is starting to socialise with “the girls”, which is what we were hoping for. He is still not a full member of the pack, which may be prompted by his very possessive nature when it comes to food. Sharing is not his strength and when we feed the pack 3 or 4 beavers, at least for some time, he hoards the remains, after he helped himself. But once he falls asleep, dropping his guard, right beside his stash, the females get their chance to snatch the beavers, one by one and in the end everybody is happy and content.
So far Fang was only fed chickens in his previous life. To his amazement, he was presented with a full-bodies, road killed deer last week! He literally did not know what to do! He realised well, that this was food, but had no idea, how to burst the shell and get at the soft and juicy tissue inside. Which goes to tell, what we convey to our visitors at the Wolf Center on a daily basis: that instinct is one ting, but what the adult wolves teach their pups in the end is essential for survival in the wild … even things as profane as how to open a deer belly. Since Fang never learned that lesson, he started at the wrong and difficult end, the back. He ate many mouth-fulls of hair before he caught on. In the meantime his female pack members watched on in amazement. It probably did not increase his standing in the pack that he could be seen at times awkwardly squatting on the deer, contemplating what to do while keeping his female pack members at bay.
So, all is well at the Wolf Center pack so far. Fang is learning his lessons, and continues to greet his human companions with affection and submission.
For the images, credit goes to Shirley Fowley and Dan Molenaar.
