Farewell Nuka

Written by our Director, Tsa Palmer.

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our special wolf Nuka at 14 years of age. He had for several weeks had difficulty swallowing his food, and despite two courses of antibiotics things didn’t improve. Finally at the end of June he had little appetite and he was coughing. Julian our vet diagnosed squamous cell cancer in his throat. This is an aggressive form of cancer potentially affecting the tonsils, larynx, trachea and oesphagus with no realistic treatment, so on June 30th we put him to sleep. He was very calm with his favourite handlers and his sisters Tundra and Tala were nearby. We will all miss him terribly.

Nuka together with his sisters, Tala and Tundra, were born at the Trust in May 2011 to Mai and so were very special. Of the trio Nuka was an exceptional ambassador wolf. He was confident and affectionate all his life which was unusual for a male as most of former male wolves got quite difficult as they mature. He had a wonderful nature always enthusiastically meeting visitors and allowing them to rub his tummy, often flopping over on his back which people found very endearing. He was one of the most popular wolves for adoption, due to his nature but also because of his good looks.

He liked to be the centre of attention and when volunteers went into the enclosure he would bound up to them pushing his sisters out of the way. Even in the Spring of this year he would race round the mound in the enclosure playfully before calming down to be stroked. He was a wonderful dominant male in that he would sort his sisters squabbling in the breeding season, often pulling them by their tails to break them up.

For Nuka, everything had the potential for a spot of fun. Whether sploshing water in the pond or troughs in his enclosure on hot summer days, breaking off, grabbing and gnawing chunks of ice on frosty winter days, or just chasing pheasants foolish enough to land in his enclosure, he enjoyed his life to the full. He was a lively, friendly wolf, loved and appreciated by all, and his loss will be keenly felt by all who knew him.