Grayson- Threats from Above

Anyone who’s spent time in the woods can appreciate that wind has an impact.  The swaying of the trees, the creaking of the branches makes one wonder what may land on our head.  Wildlife are no different; Many deer hunters can attest to the fact that they don’t see deer on a windy day.  Predators are impacted as well.  Wolves rely on their sense of smell to identify the scent marking of nearby packs or the howls of a possible intruder.  In the wind, those sensory abilities are lost and can result in altered behavioral patterns in both wolves and their prey.  In captivity, we don’t have as much concern about territorial threats, but the presence of wind still makes the captive wolves nervous.  To aid in the socialization of our newest pups, we help gain some tolerance of wind by the use of a large industrial fan.  The fan is set outside of the enclosure and faces the pups while they go about their every day activities in the pack holding area.  Grayson is positively conditioned to the fan and often on a particularly muggy or buggy evening, will run toward the fan and sit in front of the steady flow of air with his head held high and his ears pricked forward.