| The story of the Mountain Pack began in May 2006 when we were given six Arctic wolf pups from a breeder in Oregon who had made the decision not to breed and sell wolves any longer. When we drove up to pick up the litter of squirming babies, we met Sierra and Yukon, the babies' parents. The Arctic pair had brought many babies into the world during their time as a breeding couple. After meeting with the breeder, he felt WSWS would be a great place to retire his breeding pair, Sierra and Yukon. We spent the next year raising the six Arctic cubs, but Mom and Dad never strayed far from our mind. Only time and money kept us from driving back up to Oregon and picking them up. Then in February of 2007, the breeder gave us a call and generously offered to pay for our expenses if we would come pick up Sierra, Yukon, and their three-year-old son, Axel. We began to make arrangements as soon as possible after the breeder reminded us that breeding season was just around the corner. |
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But as much as we tried not to think about it, we had to face the possibility that Sierra might be pregnant. Being the polar opposite of a breeding facility, it was troubling to us to imagine bringing more lives into captivity. We decided to neuter Yukon to prevent any future litters, and save spaying Sierra for a later date. Once again, we drove up to Oregon and successfully captured and transported Sierra, Yukon, and Axel. Sierra and Yukon were released into their new home, a beautiful, rocky enclosure on the hill. Needless to say, all eyes were on Sierra's belly. Was it getting bigger? Or was it just her fur filling in? Could she be growing larger from her new Sanctuary diet? Or were there babies growing inside of her? After close observation, it became obvious that Sierra's bulge was taking on the unmistakable shape of "Expecting Mother". On May 8th, 2007, for the first time in over eleven years, a litter of pups were born on site. After all the excitement died down, we had to face a difficult decision. Experts agree that in order for wolves to be social to humans at all, they have to be pulled from their mothers and bottle-raised. Does Momma keep her kids, letting the pups grow up unsocialized which means any capture for vet visits or emergencies could potentially be a traumatic, or possibly dangerous event? Or do we remove and hand-raise them, an idea no one was even slightly comfortable about? In the end, we compromised. Sierra and Yukon will raise three of their pups while two, Frost and Flurry, were removed. |
| Sierra and Yukon had their paws full raising their three kids, Teton, Shasta, and Trinity. Just like wolves in the wild, both parents played an active role in caring for the babies. When they were first born, Sierra spent her time feeding and comforting the kids, while Yukon patrolled the area and quickly shooed away any nosey neighbors. Later, the parents became more relaxed, especially about caretakers going inside the enclosure. They even let their kids come up and sniff their caretaker every now and then! Our goal is to make the new family as social as possible, for their sake, and several people can enter the enclosure to help get them comfortable. We were hoping to see this family grow up happily, and everyone was eager to see how their lives would develop. |
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Unfortunately, tragedy struck the family in September 2007. Very rapidly, our Momma wolf and her son became sick. They were first rushed to a vet in Gallup, and then to Albuquerque. Unfortunately, their conditions worsened without a diagnosis. Several tests yielded no results. Everything from Distemper to West Nile was eliminated. We even pulled Trinity and placed her in isolation when we thought the illness could be caused from a contagious virus. Finally, it was discovered that the problem was from Cryptococcus, a fungus sometimes found in the soil. By the time it was discovered, Teton developed a severe limp in his two front legs. The damage was too extensive in Sierra, and despite all hope, she had to be euthanized. Now, there are only four remaining members of Mountain Pack, but hopefully, the group can live out their lives peacefully without their Momma Wolf. |
Yukon |
Mountain Pack Babies |
