| 24th April 2005 |
 |
High pressure covers Scandinavia with low pressure south of the UK. A mixture of east-northeasterlies and easterlies covers southern England, with the fronts to the south bringing variable cloud. Conditions at 12z
(1PM BST): |
Today dawned misty and murky here in north Kent, with a NE'ly wind coming in from the sea. As I headed westwards the mist lifted, the clouds broke and by the time I arrived at Beenham it was a pleasant Spring morning:
View to the north, 0750z
As I was admiring the trees the wolves started howling and I recorded some using my Psion - this was equidistant between Duma, Dakota and the Euros.
http://www.medvale.net/wolves/05-04-24/aprwolves2.mp3
(1:25, 1MB)
I didn't have to wait long before the others started to arrive and not long after 10 AM we started cleaning. Today I helped out with the Euro enclosure, although the wolves kept away while we were checking the straw and hosing down the floors. Here's an action shot showing just what goes on in there!
Inside the Euro's quarters - this is the northernmost
kennel.
Angela's squirting water onto the floor, which is being squeegeed by Clive, right at the end of cleaning. Points of note include the raised "beds" for the wolves, with straw and the grime on the walls which is oily desposits from the wolves. You may remember last week I mentioned if you stroke a wolf long enough your hands go black - well, the same applies to white walls. It's a real PITA to remove, as the detergants we have barely make a dent.
The kennels have a normal door as well as a trapdoor (or more accurately a portcullis), which allows you to let the wolves out without opening the main door and getting barged aside!
After finishing the cleaning it was time to prepare for the walk which (as usual) was with Duma and Dakota. For the first part it was much as it used to be, tagging along at the back and taking the odd photo.
A "meet and greet" with both wolves
Here's the first "meet and greet" session, where the guests come up (one at a time) to meet a wolf. Although being around the wolves has made me used to their company, I still remember just how amazing it was to first meet a wolf up close!
A bit later on Dakota sat down while two Arab horses came past. The wolves generally are fine around them, but it's as wise to keep them out of harm's way.
Dakota in the bracken
Not long after that we arrived at the "stump" where the guests get a 15 or 20 minute talk about wolves and the Trust. As a trainee, it was my duty to listen in on these talks and pretty much every week I picked a new nugget of info. This time I was offered the chance to take the reins of Duma, so to speak - and she seemed very keen to get on with the walk! She lead me right through the deepest puddle I've seen in ages, with the dark brown water coming within an inch of the tops of my boots. Of course, the wolf sets the exact route for most of the time and it's amazing how often that involves leading the handler through deep puddles / mud etc!
I handed control over to a handler at the lake (Steve, who can be seen on the UKWCT homepage if you find the right spot) and watched as the two wolves plunged into the water. For the first time I saw Duma swimming, splaying her great paws as she "doggy paddled" around. After that we headed back and the usual routine of selling merchandise and serving drinks followed.
After the guests had left it was time for something special. I'd purchased some frankfurters yesterday at Makro (85% pork, 6 for £3) and I planned to give them to Kodiak and Kenai, who celebrated their 11th birthdays last week. Angela and I headed down and as soon as I opened the packet Kenai zoomed down; she's superb at sniffing out food!
Kodiak was as daft as ever, missing chunks of meat just inches from his muzzle, whereas Kenai jumped up and snapped some of them from the air as they fell.
Kenai leaps in anticipation of food, while Kodiak
(bottom left) looks on.
After that we still had two sausages left so we decided to give them to Duma and Dakota (it's their birthday next month, but they might as well have an early present we thought).
The two wolves love hotdogs and they leapt up at the fence as we approached, no doubt smelling the meaty aroma.
Duma (left) and Dakota (right)
Duma then backed off a bit as we started tossing bits of sausage over the fence,
before galloping off in pursuit of the meaty morsals:
Our stock exhausted, we headed back to the Obs Room where I said my goodbyes and headed back to Kent. Next week is another walk, followed by the amusingly named Cowpie show in Bletchworth, Surrey.
On the way home the skies
became much cloudier and there was some drizzle as I
climbed Detling Hill near the Kent County Showground.
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