| 3rd April 2004 | ||
I left this morning, expecting a day of sunshine and showers, with rain if I stayed too long. What I got was persistent light rain as I left this morning at 8:20, with a westerly breeze and temperatures around 8C. The skies broke while I traversed the fields of Kent and the carpark of the M25, with some convective cumulus for a time giving the odd shower. The temperature had risen to around 12C, suggesting it was a warm front bringing the gloom earlier (and nope, I didn't check the charts as I was leaving again - doh!) I arrived at the Trust 2 and a bit hours later, to much the same weather. The wolves were howling as I pulled up, but there was something missing, as the howling was weaker than before. It turns out the three European wolves are up in Scotland filming for Monarch of the Glen this weekend; hopefully they'll get to sample some haggis before they return! After a quick round of hellos and coffees, it was down to the nitty gritty, in my case thoroughly cleaning the European's quarters. It was incredibly hard work, as the wolves rub up against the walls and leave oily deposits from their scent glands; the extra strong industrial cleaner had quite a battle to remove it (and in the end, it didn't - wolves 1, technology 0). After an hour of hard scrubbing and sweeping, it was on to the task of cleaning up bones and such from the European enclosure. We volunteers weren't alone, though, as the North American pair Duma and Dakota watched our every move with interest:
The skies were still threatening throughout, with an increasingly gusty wind setting in. If I'm not careful I'll develop a reputation down there for bringing wet and windy weather - 4 of 4 visits have had rain/snow and wind so far! I was keeping an eye out for the occluded front from the west, but it kept away. After trimming the grass around the trees in the enclousure, it was time for a well earned break - in fact, with no walk today, we were free to leave. Before that, Duma and Dakota were still somewhat excited about all of us people out in their neighbour's enclosure:
So, we did the most sensible thing, going up to the wolves. They pressed up against the fence enabling the handlers to have a good scratch - and yes, they let me join in the fun. It's a shame there wasn't a senior handler around, as I have a feeling they'd have been brought out for a bit.... Before heading back home, I went down to see the old wolves, Kodiak and Kenai. I adopted the latter back in 1998, and she's now a retired 10-year-old. In the wild, wolves rarely get beyond 7 or 8, but with no pack tensions and no need to hunt the old wolves spend most of their time sleeping - and today was no exception:
After giving a final glance towards Duma and Dakota, I set off for home, encountering some quite heavy rain on the way back. In fact, it's still raining now.... Back to the index. |
