A unique Bed and Breakfast in Bozeman Montana

Snow? We Ain’t Got No Stinkin’ Snow!

Sun, 18 Mar 2012 15:10:08 -0600

Happy early spring everyone. Normally this time of year we are still buried under several feet of snow. Not so this year. The ground is bare! Fortunately, the mountains have good snow pack so skiing continues to be good, and water for the summer looks like it will be about average.
In the sanctuary, not a lot has changed. The grumpy old men are still grumpy old men. Chief has had another mild “episode” that made him a little confused and unstable for a day or so, but he bounced right back and continues on his way. Mohawk gets deafer by the week. Recently Chris went into the enclosure to look for him because we had not seen him all day. He was sleeping under a tree at the back of the enclosure and did not hear us calling. When he finally woke up Chris was about 6 feet away which scared the pants of poor Mohawk and he jumped up and ran for all he was worth. We haven’t seen that much movement, that fast, out of him in years!
In the younger pack, it appears that Sekani, our sweet little (almost) three year old is becoming the Omega of the pack. It’s not unexpected, and it is normal behavior for a wolf pack, but it can be distressing to us humans at times. The major conflict is between Sekani and Kiowa, the alpha female. Females can be particularly brutal, and Kiowa is pretty aggressive when it comes to getting her point across to Sekani.
This month is prime wolf-watching in Yellowstone. We have had several groups here each week before or after they head into the park for Wolf Week with the Yellowstone Association. Everyone is reporting great experiences, seeing lots of wolves and other wildlife. For those of you who have not had the opportunity to go on a Wolf Week adventure, it might be something you want to add to your list. Check out the details at www.yellowstoneassociation.org. Look at their Lodging and Learning options.
Many of you know that just down the road from us is the home of Brutus the Bear at Montana Grizzly Encounter (www.grizzlyencounter.org) . Brutus is the star in many Nat Geo Wild films and other TV spots. His owner, Casey Anderson, is hosting this season’s show on Nat Geo Wild, called America the Wild with Casey Anderson. It’s pretty amazing, so if you get the chance, check it out. It comes on Mondays at 9 pm ET/PT.
That’s it from Howlers this week. Thanks for continuing to check in with us.

Beginning Of a New Year

Sat, 14 Jan 2012 19:41:11 -0700

Welcome to 2012 everyone. We hope you all enjoyed a good holiday season. We are still waiting for winter to arrive here, it has been most unusual. We have very little snow on the ground.

Unfortunately, hunting season out here was not great this year, in large part because of the mild weather. As a result, we received only a few carcasses this, much to our disappointment and the wolves. But everyone is still doing great. The pups are really getting big. They still have their gorgeous black coats and piercing yellow eyes and are just beautiful animals. The old guys are hanging in there. Mohawk still comes to the kitchen window every morning “begging” guests for scraps. His sad eyes melt hearts and he usually gets something for his efforts. Chief has not recovered his vision, but seems to have accepted his new reality with ease. Sadly, his arthritis is bad and we can see the effort it costs him to get up and down. Sundance continues to be the spry old man of the group. MM is handling some meat nights now, and Sundance seems to like this, as he willingly comes up for his meat with no hesitation. Perhaps you can teach an old dog new tricks!

Thanks for continuing to check in with us. We hope to see some of you this year here in Montana.

Winter - Where Are You??

Tue, 1 Nov 2011 13:35:08 -0600

Happy Halloween everyone! We have been enjoying a glorious fall here in Montana. A few cold snaps but no snow!! That changes this week however.

All our furry friends are doing very well. Chief is doing wonderfully. We were blessed to have an animal communicator and Rekki master stay with us last week. She gifted us by working with Chief. The changes are very noticeable. Both of his eyes have opened up more, he is holding his head up higher, and the “petit mal” seizures he was having have dissipated. It has become obvious that he has some vision in the eye, primarily in the very center. We believe he sometimes walks into the fence and other things because he has no depth perception. He knows the fence is there, he just doesn’t know how close it is. Our vet was here at the same time and she was impressed with what she saw. We are thrilled, as our whole goal has been for all the older wolves to be as comfortable and pain free as possible as they age.

We are eagerly awaiting some of the bounty of hunting season to start appearing. As you may recall, last year we received an abundance of carcasses from hunters, which fed the wolves through the first few months of winter. We are praying that our hunters are as successful this year as last.

Here’s wishing you a good November and start to the holiday season.

Lazy Days

Sat, 15 Oct 2011 14:09:46 -0600

This picture of one of the pups sums it all up – things are slow and lazy around here, including the wolves! The weather is turning cooler, the nights are getting cold, fall is definitely taking hold around here.

Comanche is acting strangely as of late with the change in weather. At feeding time he chases Sekani away until the pups have finished eating. He tries to keep Kiowa out too, but she is having none of that. We think Comanche is just ensuring the young ones get enough to eat as they prepare for the coming winter. There is always plenty of food for Sekani when she finally gets a turn, so no one is going hungry. They are all putting on weight and are looking really good in general.

Many of you have expressed interest in how Chief is doing, and we are happy to report that he continues to do fine. He wanders the enclosure freely, eats and drinks, and otherwise acts normally. The only place he gets a little confused is down near the house where there are no designated paths, so it is harder for him to remember where he is in relation to walls, fences, feed dishes, etc. We do think he is probably experiencing smaller “episodes”, as he occasionally gets head twitches and shakes a little. He will stand for long periods of time without moving, and we don’t know if this is because he doesn’t want to go to the trouble of sitting down with his arthritis, or because he is confused. But he eats happily, forages for snacks we throw out, and seems happy enough for now. Sigh, old animals can be heart-wrenching.

A Wonderful Howl

Mon, 3 Oct 2011 13:08:45 -0600

Just a quick update on Chief. He is doing remarkably well. He is still blind, though we believe he can see shadows, as he seems more confident when there is bright sun. He has expanded his “territory” and wanders over a large part of the enclosure. He occasionally runs into things, including Mohawk, but since he is moving at a slow speed, no damage is done. He continues to eat and drink as normal, and his pack mates seem to have accepted this new version of him with no fuss. It’s been interesting watching him rely more on his keen sense of smell. He lifts his nose high and scents the air whenever he hears something he can’t identify. He almost looks like a bear when he does it. When we go into the enclosure, we make it a point to talk to him constantly so he knows where we are so he doesn’t get startled. While he does have good hearing, when conditions aren’t perfect, such as if there is high wind, he can get confused by sudden noises. By talking constantly when we’re out there he can better judge where we are at all times.

Everyone else is just fine. The younger pack has “earned their keep” this past week by engaging in a bit more howling than they have in the past. This has delighted us and our guests! The younger wolves (the pups) still can’t hold a howl for very long, so it is very easy to pick out their contributions to the song.

We have a bit of snow in the forecast for the end of the week. We will see if winter peeks in for a bit.
TTFN

Turning a Blind eye...or Two

Mon, 19 Sep 2011 17:06:09 -0600

Hello again everyone. We hope you all enjoyed your summer. Fall is quickly approaching out here in the west. The wolves of course, love it. The cooler days are a blessing when you are putting on the winter fur.

Chief, our beta male in the “old-guy” pack, apparently suffered a stroke which has left him blind. As some of you may know, he has been blind on one side for many years. However, he has lost vision in both eyes now. In talking with our vet, it seems this stroke probably occurred in a limited part of his brain very near the optic nerve, as he has very few other symptoms that you would usually associate with a stroke victim. He is more unsteady on his feet, and has some twitches, but is otherwise fine for a 14 year old wolf. He has been able to find the water dish and he was able to get his food for dinner. The ability to get food and water are key in determining if this is something Chief can live with. We will be taking it day-by-day, monitoring his food and water in-take, as well as the behavior of Mohawk and Sundance towards him. It is not uncommon for packs to turn on weak members. We are hopeful that given their age (they are all over 14 years old), they will have no interest, desire, or ability to mount any kind of attack on Chief. So far, they have shown no signs of that.

It has been very sad watching him navigate around the enclosure. He has walked into the fence, the wall of the Inn, and the water dish. The tall grass causes him to jump back if he walks into it by mistake. Thus far, he gets around by walking along the fence line and on one or two well established paths. His sense of smell is helping him greatly. But he is not wandering very far from the few defined places where he seems comfortable. Perhaps with time, as his confidence improves, he will venture out more.

We know this is what often happens with older animals, and our job is to ensure they stay as safe and as comfortable as possible for the time they have remaining. Wish us, and Chief, luck as we venture into this new chapter.

TTFN

Let Winter Preparation Begin!

Fri, 19 Aug 2011 11:33:09 -0600

Even though our daytime temperatures are still in the mid to upper 70’s, our nighttime lows are getting into the low 40’s and upper 30’s. The wolves are starting to put on their winter coat. It’s nice because the undercoat begins to fill in first and their fur feels amazingly soft right now. The pups don’t really go through this transition during their first year and they just fill out the coat they already have. The first winter coat on a wolf is very different from what they have as an adult. The increase in hair growth is also accompanied by aggressiveness at the food dish. All 5 younger wolves have been voracious at feeding time and the food dish looks like it has a starburst of wolf butts coming out of it.

Sekani is doing much better on her fractured leg. She carried it for much of the last two weeks but is now putting quite a bit of weight on it. She is still pretty gimpy, but the vet did say it would be about 2 months before it was back to normal. She loves getting her nightly Rimadyl tablet.

The inn has been nutty this month, so sorry for the large delay in updating the blog. School starts here on the 29th for everyone at the inn, but hopefully we will keep the updates coming regularly.

Enjoy the short video!

TTFN