It's been a fair few months since the last Wolves and Weather update, but that belies a host of activity at the wolf centre. The weather's not been without interest either!

Spring started mild and wet, nothing new there. I decided to have some fun with our youngsters, the (as then) 10 month old pups. Knowing that they wouldn't have seen much fruit before I went to the farm shop and procured some apples, oranges and a lemon (having checked beforehand to make sure they're not toxic to wolves!)

Wolves have an excellent sense of smell and the pups knew straight away that something special was going to happen. They chomped into the apples with glee, seemingly enjoying the taste. The oranges got a different reaction, with Torak rolling on one (and causing it to burst messily). After that had been dealt with it was time for the piece de resistance, the lemon.

We all know that lemons are 'orrible and sour, but wolves don't! Torak sniffed at it, pawed at it and decided to rub against it.

Of course, it wasn't long before Torak's curiousity got the better of him and he took a bite - yuck!

It takes a lot to make a wolf disgusted, but that lemon did the trick. I doubt the wolves will see any more lemons, but if they do I bet they'll stay away from them! What was more interesting is what happened a few seconds later. Torak was going to leave the lemon but decided better of it, instead guarding it jealously from his sisters. It seems wolves (in general) like acquiring things, perhaps as a sort of status symbol. I've seen Duma and Dakota similarly possessive of stones, branches etc in the woods.

It all lead to a great tussle which ended up with Torak being mobbed, before heading off to lick the remains of the orange instead.

The week after that action we had some snow, amazingly enough. Not enough to settle, but after the previously mild weather it was quite a shock!

Kodiak was in for a shock too, as this was the first breeding season he'd spend with Duma and Dakota. He's been given the snip, as has Alba, but that doesn't stop the latter from going through the motions each year. Duma hasn't been in with a male for years and she drove Dakota away, trying to keep Kodiak for herself. Kodiak meanwhile was a bit bemused by it all and (sadly for him) wasn't able to perform. This proved frustrating for Duma, who made some extraordinary chirping noises, something I've never heard from a wolf before (and the textbooks don't make any mention of it either). You can download a snippet here, as Duma pestered Kodiak on a blustery afternoon.

The Euros were also affected during breeding season, with Latea becoming quite aggressive to Lunca. As can be seen from this April clip, it wasn't something which stopped quickly either!.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTf9SO7Ds6M

April was a hot month, with temperatures frequently in the low 20s. We'd had a donation of trees from a local garden centre and spent several sweltering Sundays planting them in the bottom enclosue. With no rain on the horizon we ended up having to water them with a chain-gang of buckets, something which was pretty time consuming!

Kodiak celebrated his 13th birthday, which is a pretty good age for a captive wolf. In the wild he'd be lucky to make half that age, with most wolves only living between 6 and 8 years.

April also saw some activity as we moved the packs around. The yearlings are now in the large enclosure, the North Americans are in the middle and the Euros are at the bottom, in an enclosure they've not been in before.

Moving the North Americans meant an appearance from Colin, the only person left in the Trust who can safely handly Kodiak. To my delight I was invited to accompany him (at a safe distance from Kodiak) in order to get some pictures. So without further ado, a very unusual picture - Kodiak in a stream!

The Euros had watery fun too - well, Latea did. Poor old Lunca bore the brunt of it though, being pinned in the trough by her sister:

Finally May arrived and saw a return to spring. Plenty of rain, some sunshine, storms and culminating in the coldest late May day for at least a decade down here. There have been a flurry of shows too, with the weekends now often seeing only two thirds of the wolves back at base. The wolves have also finally started moulting, with plenty of discarded fur to be seen at the wolf centre.

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