Building Trust

One of the main reasons why we socialize wolf pups is to build trust between staff and wolves in order to meet their basic physical and psychological needs in captivity.  We believe in the method of positive conditioning young pups by creating a comfortable environment.  In this photo, Grayback falls asleep in the arms of the wolf care staff after a feeding.  The pups have been weaned from the bottle and are now lapping a mixture of meat and milk replacer, which will be their diet for a few more weeks.  By the time they are 6 weeks old, we will gradually add larger amounts of meat to their diet.  We conducted a “trail run” program in the auditorium last evening with Center staff and volunteers to give the pup a positive experience before we begin public programs on Memorial Day.