Here at Haliburton Forest, everyone’s a twitter about a budding relationship between our alpha female wolf, Luna and our new male wolf, Fang.
Fang came to our facility in August after our wolves were released in a criminal act last winter (read more about that here), which left us with no males. Staff and visitors to the Wolf Centre have been watching closely to evaluate Fang’s acceptance by the remaining 4 sisters, who were all born in our enclosure, and who lost their parents in last year’s unfortunate incident.
It was tough at first, we even had to separate them when the girls started picking on him! This separation only lasted a few days, however, and the girls slowly started displaying submissive characteristics towards Fang, signalling their acceptance of him as a leader.
Coming from a socialized setting, staff here weren’t sure how Fang would react when courting season began in January. It certainly started with Luna showing more affection towards him, and it seems he has now clued in and started to reciprocate…typical male, am I right ladies?! All joking aside, the two can now regularly be seen together whether it be feeding, playing, flirting or lounging. Things are looking great as we approach mating season coming in the next 2-3 weeks. If all goes according to plan we can hope for a litter of new pups in late April or early May, after the 63 day gestation period.
While a new litter is always exciting, this one will hold special joy in the hearts of Haliburton Forest staff, locals, Wolf Centre members and many other concerned visitors as it will represent the end of the tragic saga that threw our poor pack upside down.
Stay tuned to find out how the romance unfolds!
Juliette Arsenault
