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Bark at the Moon – guest blog by Black Bear [message #46336]

Sat, 19 November 2011 19:58

Maren
Messages: 1332
Registered: October 2008
Location: Louisiana

Senior Member
[Moderator]

Awooooooooooo!

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Re: Bark at the Moon – guest blog by Black Bear [message #46338 is a reply to message #46336 ]

Sat, 19 November 2011 20:53

Melissa Mead
Messages: 990
Registered: October 2008
Location: Albany, NY, USA

Senior Member

That's amazing!
Have you read "Through Wolf's Eyes," by Jane Lindskold? I think she's done this too.

Member of Carpe Libris: http://carpelibris.wordpress.com/

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Re: Bark at the Moon – guest blog by Black Bear [message #46340 is a reply to message #46336 ]

Sat, 19 November 2011 22:03

skating librarian
Messages: 570
Registered: October 2008
Location: Vermont

Senior Member

Very cool ... certainly well worth thinking about. Where did the wolves come from originally? They appear to be quite husky (poor pun).

During the winter I sometimes hear the coyotes vocalize on the hills nearby and it's haunting when otherwise the world is still.

As we approach winter I am also reminded of the booming of the ice on one of the big lakes ... Umbagog ... up near the Canadian border where I once camped in the depths of winter. The pressure ridges out on the ice made me feel as if I were in the Arctic. No howling that trip, but owls calling from every direction late at night.

"Winning a war is like winning an earthquake" Jeanette Rankin

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Re: Bark at the Moon – guest blog by Black Bear [message #46342 is a reply to message #46336 ]

Sun, 20 November 2011 00:18

HorsehairBraider
Messages: 161
Registered: August 2009
Location: New Mexico

Senior Member

Beautiful. Just beautiful.

_{They say princes learn no art truly, save that of horsemanship. The reason is, the brave beast is no flatterer. He will throw a prince as soon as his groom. Ben Jonson}

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Re: Bark at the Moon – guest blog by Black Bear [message #46344 is a reply to message #46336 ]

Sun, 20 November 2011 00:41

librarykat
Messages: 566
Registered: October 2008
Location: Redneck Riviera

Senior Member

Gorgeous, gorgeous animals. You mean I lived in Fort Wayne for six years and never heard of this place? I missed out!

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Re: Bark at the Moon – guest blog by Black Bear [message #46345 is a reply to message #46336 ]

Sun, 20 November 2011 00:53

Diane in MN
Messages: 2730
Registered: October 2008
Location: Twin Cities, MN, USA

Senior Member

Beautiful facility, and beautiful wolves. And fantastic to be able to get close to them like that. My husband and I were "adoptive parents" for many years to a couple of wolves at Wolf Haven, a sanctuary in Washington; Wolf Haven had "howl-in" nights, but nothing like the kind of situation you were in was available to anyone. When we lived out there, they had one or two very well socialized wolves that they would take to outside events like lectures, but for the most part the wolves they took in weren't suitable for meeting the public.

Did the park staff say anything about whether their wolves would react to someone whose clothes carried dog scent?

_{"The point of books is to have way too many but to always feel you never have enough . . . " Louise Erdrich}

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Re: Bark at the Moon – guest blog by Black Bear [message #46347 is a reply to message #46345 ]

Sun, 20 November 2011 04:31

harpergray
Messages: 87
Registered: March 2011
Location: Sweden

Member

Beautiful! Thank you for the post, the Park and its wolves both sound and look wonderful.

Diane in MN wrote on Sun, 20 November 2011 05:53

Did the park staff say anything about whether their wolves would react to someone whose clothes carried dog scent?

I'm quite curious about this as well. Smile

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Re: Bark at the Moon – guest blog by Black Bear [message #46348 is a reply to message #46336 ]

Sun, 20 November 2011 05:53

anef
Messages: 58
Registered: October 2008
Location: Cambridge, England

Member

Thank you for this post, and the photos. I really enjoyed it.

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Re: Bark at the Moon – guest blog by Black Bear [message #46350 is a reply to message #46345 ]

Sun, 20 November 2011 11:45

Black Bear
Messages: 3216
Registered: September 2008
Location: Indianapolis, IN USA

Senior Member
[Moderator]

Diane in MN wrote on Sun, 20 November 2011 00:53

Did the park staff say anything about whether their wolves would react to someone whose clothes carried dog scent?

Well, there are dogs on the property as well; the wolves are familiar with the smell and presence of dogs, so I think they're pretty blase about it. Likewise the coyotes and foxes.

This isn't to say that smells on your clothes can't influence the encounter--one of the people who went in with me must have had something fascinating on his pants, because he got a LOT of attention from 2 of the wolves at one point. They do tell you not to wear perfume; also not to wear hats, as some of the wolves find hats extremely interesting and will go to great lengths to appropriate them. The one I thought was very cool (though not relevant to me personally) was that you need to take out all piercing jewelry before meeting the wolves. A stud in your ear or nose looks remarkably like a tick, to a wolf, and they may do you the favor of attempting to groom that off for you. ACK. Smile

_{"The time is always right to do what's right."--MLK Jr.}

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Re: Bark at the Moon – guest blog by Black Bear [message #46351 is a reply to message #46340 ]

Sun, 20 November 2011 11:49

Black Bear
Messages: 3216
Registered: September 2008
Location: Indianapolis, IN USA

Senior Member
[Moderator]

skating librarian wrote on Sat, 19 November 2011 22:03

Very cool ... certainly well worth thinking about. Where did the wolves come from originally? They appear to be quite husky (poor pun).

Wolf Park has been around since 1974 (I think.) So some of their wolves are grandchildren of their original pack, who probably came from zoos or rescue facilities. Some of the wolves come from other facilities like Wolf Park; I believe Dharma arrived last year from a place in New York state. They do swap animals around so as to keep the pack from becoming inbred.

_{"The time is always right to do what's right."--MLK Jr.}

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Re: Bark at the Moon – guest blog by Black Bear [message #46352 is a reply to message #46336 ]

Sun, 20 November 2011 12:04

Fake Frenchie
Messages: 506
Registered: November 2008
Location: France

Senior Member

Very interesting post!

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Re: Bark at the Moon – guest blog by Black Bear [message #46357 is a reply to message #46336 ]

Sun, 20 November 2011 21:20

Melissa Mead
Messages: 990
Registered: October 2008
Location: Albany, NY, USA

Senior Member

There's a place like that in New York State?

Member of Carpe Libris: http://carpelibris.wordpress.com/

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Re: Bark at the Moon – guest blog by Black Bear [message #46359 is a reply to message #46357 ]

Sun, 20 November 2011 22:07

Black Bear
Messages: 3216
Registered: September 2008
Location: Indianapolis, IN USA

Senior Member
[Moderator]

Looks like I was slightly wrong--Dharma came from the New York State Zoo, in Watertown, along with several siblings who ended up moving to other zoos.

I think there's no place exactly like WP, but there are other research facilities with wolves here and there. They may not be as open to the public, though.

_{"The time is always right to do what's right."--MLK Jr.}

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Re: Bark at the Moon – guest blog by Black Bear [message #46366 is a reply to message #46336 ]

Mon, 21 November 2011 03:57

b_twin_1
Messages: 2594
Registered: September 2008
Location: Victoria, Australia

Senior Member
[Moderator]

What an amazing experience. I'm green over here... *sigh*

Thanks for sharing. Smile

I've got a plan so cunning you could put a tail on it and call it a weasel ~ Blackadder

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