History
Thunder came to Wild Spirit on May 23rd, 2006, with his five siblings: Alice, Powder, Sugar, Sabine, and Storm. His parents (Yukon and Sierra) and older brother, Axel, joined him in early March of 2007. Sierra came to the Sanctuary pregnant, and so, on May 8th, 2007, Thunder's family was expanded by the birth of five pups: Frost, Flurry, Teton, Shasta, and Trinity. The Arctic family came from a breeder in Oregon, after the Sanctuary had sought out one or two pups to be raised as ambassadors. A friend told us that there was a breeder in Jacksonville, Oregon who may be willing to donate two pups of a recently born litter. A few days before Leyton, Georgia, and 4-year-old Lakota hopped into the car to pick up the pups, the breeder told us to plan on taking all six, as his previous buyers had decided not to purchase the pups. Excited to have the whole litter, the Cougar family picked up the pups and bottle-fed them the whole way back to New Mexico. Thunder was bottle-raised at Wild Spirit. Thunder spent most of his childhood living at his surrogate mother Angel's trailer, and still likes to come over to visit every now and then.
How Can I Help Thunder?
It takes fifteen sponsors to provide the basic care for each of our wolves and wolf-dogs for an entire year. This does not include the cost of medication, vet visits, enclosures repairs, or enrichment treats.
Profile
Bio: Thunder is an Arctic wolf mixed with a little bit of Timber wolf. Thunder has five other littermates living at the Sanctuary: Alice, Powder, Sugar, Sabine, and Storm. Both of his parents passed away - his mother, Sierra, when Thunder was a year old, and his father, Yukon, a little over two years later. Thunder also has his older brother, Axel, and his younger siblings (Teton, Shasta, and Flurry) living at the Sanctuary as well. One of his younger siblings, Trinity, passed away when Thunder was 2 1/2 years old, and Frost passed away when Thunder was almost four years old.
Living Arrangements: Thunder lives with his sister, Alice, and one of the Timber pups, Forest.
Am I On the Tour Path? "Yes, and you can usually see me farther back in the trees or near the fence."
Personality: Thunder might be the best example out of the pups that even though hand-raised, these animals are still wolves. Thunder is very sweet and social around people he is comfortable with, but he acts different around strangers. He will suddenly become nervous-aggressive and try to scare strangers from his enclosure. With his enclosure mates, he is very playful and likes to fence-fight with neighbors, but being on the low-end of the totem pole, has to listen to what Alice and Forest say.
Likes: Sitting in his caretaker's lap, inguinal rubs, and visiting the trailer for old time's sake.
Dislikes: New women, feeling confined, and Alice leaving for walks without him.
Fun Fact: When Thunder was younger and living inside the trailer, he liked to get into mischief. Once, while Angel was drinking orange soda, Thunder stole the cup and began to scent-roll in it. Angel thought it was just the novelty of soda. However, after that, if anyone left a cup or bottle of orange soda out, Thunder would steal it and begin scent-rolling!
My Wishlist: "I can go out for walks, but I overheard that we are running low on leashes. I don't walk on a normal dog leash - I have to be walked on a horse lead. I'm sure my caretaker would appreciate more horse leads!"
