I've not done one of these for a while - but as I'm using up the last of my annual leave and currently have time on my hands, here's what's happened since September at the wolf centre...

The main event in September was regarding Kodiak, who's going to be a teenager this spring. He contracted "flystrike" which is a particularly nasty condition. He'd had a cyst, which burst and attracted flies. I'd not even heard of flystrike before this autumn, but apparently it's a common enough thing amongst livestock.

Duma and Dakota, September 2006

The main attraction has undoubtedly been the pups, as for most of us it's the first time we've seen young wolves. We've three, who are now coming up to 10 months old and who are nearly adult size. Mosi and Mai are two dark-coloured wolves from Dartmoor, while Torak is a cross-breed between a North American and European wolf, something which as you can imagine has caused a bit of controversy!

Mai (pronounced "my"), November 2006.

Mosi and Mai are great around people, but until recently Torak has been quite cautious of men, preferring the company of ladies instead. There were a couple of exceptions though and to my delight I was one of them; Torak would happily come up and say hello whereas he'd go out of his way to avoid some other people. It's certainly scotched the textbook theory, as those he was wary of had helped bottle-feed him.

As the autumn wore on, it was time for our seminar. Michelle Paver, the children's author, made an appearance to sign her latest book and in the afternoon a carefully orchestrated plan swung into motion. I was helping with the pups and ended up completely soaked, it didn't stop raining all afternoon! It was quite a sight, the various handlers all sopping wet while the wolves took it in their stride. Their coats are certainly more waterproof than my summer jacket.

Mosi and Torak howling on a frosty December morning

Later in October we had a photographic day, held in the Euros' enclosure. The first wolves were the Euros, who were let into the sub-enclosure for people to take pictures. They were then moved into the holding pen alongside, while D&D were brought in. The girls happily sniffed around, overwriting the Euros' scents as best they could. I found out that wolves like blackcurrant ice poles too...

The best was yet to come though, as the focus moved to the pups. Everyone went in and took photos. After a while, as the pups are wont to do, they wandered off. Usually we'd leave them be, but with a crowd of eager photographers something else was needed. It was here that I decided to throw caution to the wind and legged it up onto the mound. Theory says you shouldn't run around wolves, as it triggers their prey instinct. Not sure about that, but it certainly triggered a play instinct! The pups zoomed over to see me, mobbing me in fact.

A few minutes after that I was running full tilt with the pups charging up behind; I swerved like mad but they still managed to catch up with me in the end, slobbering all over me. It was only a few minutes but it was the most fun I'd had in ages. Certainly the photographers enjoyed it as it meant a chance to snap the pups in motion; the pups themselves also enjoyed themselves judging by their wagging tails.

It's something that wasn't to be repeated until mid January when I went in with the other handlers and decided to give the pups another run around! They were much bigger and could easily outrun me but the strange thing is they didn't, instead they paced themselves to more or less match me. Again, you're really not meant to do it but there are times when you can break the rules if you know what you're doing!

A tree climbing wolf! Lunca snuffles around in search of a hotdog that had been placed in the tree.

December brought a few frosts and the first sighting of thick ice. Having removed a centimetre thick panel of ice from the water trough, I showed it to the pups who responded by looking at me as if I'd gone nuts - so much for that one! I'd imagined they'd be all over it, as they wouldn't have seen it before, but it wasn't to be.

December also saw a special Christmas photo taken. It was decided as a one-off to get a picture of all nine wolves in front of Tsa's house - Tsa being one of the directors and the Trust was started by her late husband. So, it was with military precision that the wolves were brought over, one pack at a time, then in a pincer movement all brought to the house at the same time. Bearing in mind the Euros don't exactly get on with the North Americans, I was impressed at just how smoothly it went!

From left to right: Kodiak, Dakota, Duma; Mai, Torak, Mosi; Alba, Latea, Lunca 

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