A wolves day ... not what he expected

[Turbowolf]

I finally completed my Wildlife capture and immobilization class yesterday. The 3rd wolf of the day had a few complications. When it was darted, the drugs went IV instead of into the muscle when the dart impacted the saphenous vein ... within two minutes of the shot the wolf went into seizures and then immediately into respiratory arrest. I thought some of the people I did CPR on had bad breath, not a chance. Anyone
ever get a strong whiff of wolf halitosis? I won't recommend it, but CPR can be done on captured animals.

Once the respiratory system came back through using reversal drugs, we then played hell with hypothermia. M489 was losing up to 1 degree of body temperature every four minutes. We finally got the temperature back to a normal range after using heat packs and wrapping my fleece jacket around the upper body. All the way home all I could smell was "wet dog"...

Yes, the wolf is fine now. Up, moving and somewhat shaky ... but alive.

The other three captures went fine.

Canis lupus baileyi

[Ballen Photo]

Sounds like you had quite a scare about this Wolf's well being. :shock:
It would also appear that you have a very interesting side job going on there. :cool:
Thanks for sharing. :D
-Bruce

[sparker1]

Congrats, Dave, on completing your course and saving the wolf. Your group seemed to be very determined not to lose it.

[Elisabeth-Ann]

I am so glad this had a happy ending - must be a very rewarding job, never a dull moment!

[cfcRebel]

Nice story. Glad to hear the wolf is ok. Congrats on completing the class.

[Titus213]

Congrats on completing the class. You must have been pretty busy with the problems. Nice photo. Where was it taken?

[Turbowolf]

The shot was taken at Wolf Haven in Tenino, WA. The section open to the public has a few wolves on display, kept in pairs in 1/2 acre enclosures. What I don't like about the place is a restriction on tripods, monopods and lens length. Anything over a 200mm lens REQUIRES you sign a waiver agreeing to not publish your images in any manner. So this was one of the few times I relied on my G6, the stealth camera.

The wolves we were working on are part of the Mexican grey wolf reintroduction program. They are kept off display. What was amazing is how much the Mexi's look like large coyotes, esp. since these wolves are between 50 and 70 pounds. Of course in captivity they are a little heavier since the USDA mandates daily feeding of the program wolves.