Otherwise known as Canis lupus, the subject of “Wolves” is a very controversial topic, especially here in the West. Add "captive" to the whole conundrum, and you have stimulating table talk. (more on the subject of The Controversy of Captivity in a future blog) All of our Wolves here at Animals of Montana are born in captivity, as with all of our animal actors. Captive wolves can be very tricky to raise and train in regards to the amount of time and patience involved to develop that strong bond between beast and trainer. This process is crucial to ensure our animal actor learns to know us and trust us. We begin when the pups are just a few days old with the simple act of 2 hour around the clock bottle feeding, followed with positive play interaction until they are a couple months old. During this time we become a part of their pack, and a social bond between us and animal is created that is unbreakable.
Sharing a few facts about wolves…
The Gray Wolf is the largest of the wild dogs. Adult male Gray Wolves in Montana weight around 104 pounds and females weigh around 80 pounds. Males average approximately 73 inches in length, while females average about 70 inches. About half of the wild Gray Wolves in Montana are black with the other half gray, although both color phases may be found in a pack or in a litter of pups. Our wolves vary in color from silver to gray to even black.
They are opportunistic carnivores, which means they'll accept a free lunch, but they are also highly socialistic, so they'll share it among the pack. Predominant prey in Montana are large ungulates, such as deer, Elk, and Moose (Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks 2003). Bison calves can also be on the menu where the ranges of the two species overlap in and around Yellowstone National Park. Domestic livestock such as cattle and sheep are also preyed upon-thus the fuel for the controversy of Rancher vs. Wolf. Alternative prey, such as rodents, vegetation and carrion will eaten, but being a pack animal, the majority of their meals come from hunting prey as large as a full grown Moose. (Thurber and Peterson 1993).
Our Wolves give the Call of the Wild several times through the day and night. It’s the most calming yet haunting sound. Some visitors ask, “how do you sleep at night with all the howling?” For us, it's a soft lullaby that gently croons us to sleep. Howling is their way of communicating to each other within the pack, or miles away, and sometimes just to express happy or sadness too.
We will be doing a “Harvest Full Moon Tour” with our wolf pack in October of this New Year 2012. The Harvest Moon is the first full moon closest to the autumnal equinox. About once every four years, it occurs in October in the northern hemisphere, so how appropriate that in 2012 it falls next to Halloween! Often, the Harvest Moon will be bigger or brighter or more colorful than other full moons throughout the year, so what perfect photo opportunities await you on our Moon Tour! We'll be shooting when dawn breaks to when the sun sets to give you all the different color phases of the full Moon throughout the tour. For more information, please visit our website about our "Harvest Full Moon Tour".
Sharing a few facts about wolves…
The Gray Wolf is the largest of the wild dogs. Adult male Gray Wolves in Montana weight around 104 pounds and females weigh around 80 pounds. Males average approximately 73 inches in length, while females average about 70 inches. About half of the wild Gray Wolves in Montana are black with the other half gray, although both color phases may be found in a pack or in a litter of pups. Our wolves vary in color from silver to gray to even black.
They are opportunistic carnivores, which means they'll accept a free lunch, but they are also highly socialistic, so they'll share it among the pack. Predominant prey in Montana are large ungulates, such as deer, Elk, and Moose (Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks 2003). Bison calves can also be on the menu where the ranges of the two species overlap in and around Yellowstone National Park. Domestic livestock such as cattle and sheep are also preyed upon-thus the fuel for the controversy of Rancher vs. Wolf. Alternative prey, such as rodents, vegetation and carrion will eaten, but being a pack animal, the majority of their meals come from hunting prey as large as a full grown Moose. (Thurber and Peterson 1993).
Our Wolves give the Call of the Wild several times through the day and night. It’s the most calming yet haunting sound. Some visitors ask, “how do you sleep at night with all the howling?” For us, it's a soft lullaby that gently croons us to sleep. Howling is their way of communicating to each other within the pack, or miles away, and sometimes just to express happy or sadness too.
We will be doing a “Harvest Full Moon Tour” with our wolf pack in October of this New Year 2012. The Harvest Moon is the first full moon closest to the autumnal equinox. About once every four years, it occurs in October in the northern hemisphere, so how appropriate that in 2012 it falls next to Halloween! Often, the Harvest Moon will be bigger or brighter or more colorful than other full moons throughout the year, so what perfect photo opportunities await you on our Moon Tour! We'll be shooting when dawn breaks to when the sun sets to give you all the different color phases of the full Moon throughout the tour. For more information, please visit our website about our "Harvest Full Moon Tour".
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