Volunteer Day 2 - Feeding the Animals

Yesterday morning, the 20^th of October, I climbed into my car, this time without other members of my group, and made the trek to Wolf Run. Upon arrival, I discovered that I was the first person on the property, so had to wait until a staff member arrived to unlock the gate and begin the days chores. The day before, the staff and volunteers had apparently fed the animals quite generously due to a new shipment of meat that had arrived over the weekend, so most of the animals were quiet and sunbathing, still filling full from their meals the day before. I initially began by pulling more weeds because the main animal caregiver, Cara, had not yet arrived for the day.

Once Cara arrived, she recruited me to help her feed the animals. Because of the large dinner the day before, many of the animals did not need additional food, so the morning routine was slightly altered for the day. For each enclosure, we checked if there was remaining food, the condition of that food, the water levels in the buckets, and the general health of the animals. While most of the animals were content with their already-full bellies, a few were still jumping (or ramming) the gate for food. These select individuals paced the perimeters of the enclosures anxiously awaiting their breakfasts. To the left, the picture shows one of the wolves picking at the remains of the food from the day before. Most of the wolves and wild cats were still full from the day before. Interestingly, the domesticated dogs, wolf-dogs, and cats were the ones that were still hungry for a breakfast. 

It was very interesting to me to watch how the animals interacted with the different people caring for them. All of the animals were very friendly toward Cara, quickly approaching her, snuggling up to her, and enjoying the attention she gave them. However, for staff and volunteers that had not been around the animals for as long or who were new (such as myself), the animals were far more wary and if they approached at all, approached much slower and with more caution.

This dog was very people friendly, but its companion, a wolf, was far more hesitant to approach the fence.

The blind deer and baby deer eating their food.

The animals I worked most closely with were the deer, because they had not been fed a large amount on Monday like most of the other animals. The deer, especially one buck named Elsen, were very excited to receive their breakfast. Elsen, who is in the middle of a three-month period called rut that occurs during mating season before he loses his antlers, was especially rambunctious and charged at the fence, as well as a few of the other deer, while we sorted the food into buckets. We had to take extra precautions while we were around the deer because of the season Elsen was in. For instance, before we were able to enter the enclosure to feed the baby deer, we had to ensure that Elsen was fed and distracted so he would not charge at us. Also, the baby deer and a blind deer had to be separated from the rest of the herd so that Elsen would not injure them. While I was there, two of the staff members set a date to remove Elsen’s antlers in order to prevent injury to other deer or volunteers.

While I was not able to do as much hands on work because of the nature of the volunteering that was needed, I enjoyed shadowing Cara and learning more about the individual animals, their personalities, and their needs. It was fascinating to watch how the animals interacted with various people, as well as see the unique personalities of each wolf, dog, cat, or deer. I may not have worked as hard physically, but I still left with a sense of accomplishment for learning more about the program and gaining a deeper appreciation for the animals.