The path leading out from the Visitors' Center...
We went on the Walking Tour and this is our guide which told us many stuff about the coyotes, wolves and foxes at Wolf Park...
The start of the trail...
First, we met the 2 coyotes at the park, a male and a female... We also learned the differences between coyotes and wolves. Coyotes are smaller in size and have a longer snout. We also managed to get them howling together with the 2 wolves in the neighbouring enclosure. From that, we learned that the coyotes' howl are of a higher pitch and they take turns to howl, and thus giving the false impression that many of them are present...
Me together with the rest of the people in the walking tour...
Then we met the wolves... These were the wolves that were removed from the main pack and were either living alone or in pairs. Our guide told us that wolves live in small packs and there are hierarchy in the pack. The pack is usually led by one male and female, the parents and known as the Alpha wolf. The wolf of the lowest hierarchy will submit to the other wolves in the pack. Young wolves will leave the pack to find their mate and form their own pack... We also learned that the colour of the wolves' fur get lighter as it gets older...
Food for the wolves...
A very old wolf that is almost white...
The route that we walked...
A frozen area...
We crossed a bridge...
We headed to view the bison...
The bison resting in the field...
Lastly we visited the foxes... Although there's a difference in their coat colour, both are red foxes. Foxes do not smell very nice and the smell is more obvious in summer... Our guide told us that foxes prey on smaller animals unlike wolves which may prey on larger animals.
After the walking tour, we listened to a presentation on the study of Wolves at Isle Royale, a very nice national park at the tip of Michigan...
After that we viewed the Deer Butchering Demonstration... It was a demonstration on how they chop up the dead deer which will then be distributed as food to the wolves. They do not actually kill the deer but collect dead deers (knocked by cars) nearby. The area where the demonstration was done and the dead deer in a barrow...
The deer on the ground, about to be chopped up...
First, the legs were cut off and the way to do it was to cut around the bone... There was a little wind and you could smell the blood in the air...
After the legs, the head was chopped off using a hatchet...
Then it was to cut open the body of the deer and you can really smell the blood now... Then the organs were removed and it did not smell very nice...
The last step was to chop the body into smaller portions...
The chopped portions will be distributed to the wolves...
After the demonstration, you could hold the parts and pose for photos...
And here's YH holding the head...
One of the buildings there...
We walked around a little longer and then headed back home...
Our souvenir, a vial of fox fur that we bought from the gift shop...
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