Exhibit Pack Update – 4 June 2024

As the weather warms, our ambassador wolves shed out their winter undercoats that kept them warm all winter long. The soft, downy fur of the undercoat serves as an excellent insulation layer in the cold but is not very comfortable when the warmer days of spring arrive. Changes in hormones, photoperiod, and temperature likely all contribute to the initiation of shedding for wolves. Rieka has shed out most of her undercoat, Caz still has some patches to go, Grayson is shedding out fairly evenly, and Blackstone still has a long ways to go! The wolf care team collects their shed fur and sends it out to some very talented fiber artists; it is crafted into items that are available in our annual Wolf Care Auction in March.

Summer also brings with it a decrease in activity during the day. Wolves are crepuscular, meaning they are most active at dawn and dusk; however wolves can become seasonally nocturnal – or more active at night – in order to avoid expending energy during the warmest times of the day. These are also the same activity patterns seen among some of their usual prey, such as white-tailed deer.

To help our ambassador wolves beat the heat (even with a full fur coat), we have several sheltered areas such as man-made dens, medical pen areas, and under the eaves of the building. Our Exhibit Pack also utilizes the shade of the vegetation and the many wolf-made dugouts throughout the Exhibit. The pond is another excellent way to provide the ambassadors opportunities to cool off; unfortunately, we have had a few small hiccups with out pond this year. A burst underground waterline had to be addressed before we could fill the pond fully. After that was repaired, the seal didn’t hold on our new pond skimmer box that was installed last fall. Without the skimmer box, we cannot install the pump or filtration system yet. We are currently waiting for supplies to be delivered to address this issue, and hope to have the pond fully functional within the next few weeks! Until then, you may see the pond at various states of fullness as we drain the water regularly to keep algae and pond scum at bay.

As we enter into the buggy season, wolf care team members apply natural, canine-safe bug repellents to our wolf ambassadors to try to ward off the mosquitos and flies. Several of these repellents are available on our Amazon Wishlist if you’d like to help keep the wolves from those pesky biters!