Monthly Archives: February 2011
Wolf Encounter Part 3
If you haven’t read Parts 1 and 2, please scroll down and read them first
The work continues on the wolves. Taking blood, measurements, etc.
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Checking the teeth. They are amazingly clean. Way more clean than most dogs I know (Fletch and Lulah could take lessons from the wolves).
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Somebody lent a sweatshirt to this one to help keep him warm. It was beautiful out, but a cold wind made it pretty chilly.
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Fitting the collars. They frankly don’t look very comfortable, I wouldn’t want to wear one. But I’m spoiled, I don’t even like wearing a watch or a ring or anything. Not even clothes (hello!) Just kidding.
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He looks kinda pathetic:
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This is one handsome fella.
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Part 4 tomorrow…
Wolf Encounter Part 2
Scroll down and read Part 1 if you haven’t seen it yet.
The helicopter returned with the fourth wolf. Look at the size of that thing, it’s legs are almost as long as the people’s.
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The team continues their work making sure the animals are all healthy and begin getting the collars prepared for the wolves.
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Look at those paws. Damn. Four gigantic wolves laying on the ground in front of me. Two awake, two sleeping. Amazing.
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The whole time we were there, only one other car pulled into the turnout. They saw the helicopter and decided to drive in to see what was going on. Judging from the expression on the woman in the back seat’s face, I’d say they weren’t expecting to see four wolves… (sorry for the crappy picture)
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Here’s a shot of one of the collars. As an engineer, I can appreciate the work that goes into engineering something like this. It’s gotta survive extreme heat and cold, frequent river crossings, snow, dirt, blood, other wolves. And it’s gotta last a year or two before it automatically drops off of the wolf’s neck to be retrieved by a human.
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Here I am with one of the wolves and his new collar. He seemed to like it when I scratched his ears.
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Part 3 to come later
Wolf Encounter Part 1
I went out on a glorious Saturday afternoon to look for wolves. They had been supposedly making kills and cruising around antelope flats and the Gros Ventre river all winter. I had yet to see them but had seen tracks in the road. As I headed towards Kelly I could see a helicopter moving erratically at low altitude, way way way out in the flats. I got my binocs out and could see the copter chasing animals which I was sure were wolves. I watched for a few minutes then drove into a nearby turnout where there were two people and a bunch of gear (including a helicopter door). After talking with them for a few minutes, I was invited to stick around. They said that the helicopter was returning shortly with some wolves. Huh? Holy crap! “Can I take pictures?” I asked. “Sure, you can even touch the wolves, pet them, whatever you like.” Double holy crap!
The helicopter arrived and they proceeded to unload three sedated wolves right in front of me.
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Then the copter took off and went to get a fourth wolf that had been darted. They shoot tranquilizer darts from the helicopter to sedate the animals, then land/hover and load them into the copter. Everyone ducks and covers the wolves’ eyes as the copter takes off to keep them safe from the flying snow/debris generated by the copter.
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While the copter is gone, I get to go meet the three wolves. The team (US Fish and Wildlife) begins working on them. The ultimate goal for the day seemed to be to get some wolves from this pack fitted with radio/GPS collars. They also took temperatures, measurements, blood, etc. while they had access to the animals. And they let me hang out, take pictures and pet them too. Awesome!
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Soon the helicopter arrived with the fourth wolf.
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It was shocking how big these animals are. And shocking how much they seemed like a domestic dog (at least when they are sedated) to me after a while. I could see Fletch and Lulah in their eyes. Even though I know they are one of the most efficient and feared predators in the world, I found myself very comfortable around them and felt sympathetic toward their plight.
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The helicopter pilot was nice enough to take this picture of me and a wolf. This guy was extra sleepy because he wouldn’t go down after one dart. So they got him with a second dart. zzzzzzzzz.
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Stay tuned for Part 2 of the story…
what…..a…..day
This is a wild wolf in Grand Teton National Park. The first wolf I’ve ever seen closer than 500 yards (and these were photographed from a few feet away). There is a long story associated with these pictures that I will tell over the next few days. Suffice it to say, today was a day I will never forget. I petted a wild wolf with my bare hand. Held a wild wolf’s paw in my hand. Touched the fur, smelled the animal, felt the presence. Amazing.
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