28th September 2026

Autumn has arrived and despite the warm weather this year, carrying on from the record-breaking warmth in summer, the wolves are growing their winter coats as usual. The day started off with us all going inside the middle enclosure, the one where Tala and Tundra have lived for a number of years now. Tala came over, inspecting us, before launching into her traditional chin rubbing of the volunteers. This is something she's done for most of her life and it's clear that she really enjoys it (the volunteers enjoy it too, even if all you get to see is a large furry neck, followed by a "whomp" as Tala's chin rubs against your head!) Tundra, meanwhile, was some way away, and this is something that changed after we lost Nuka - Tundra seems to have become less confident, although she still watches proceedings from a distance.

We walked around into the other section of the enclosure, through the big gate, with Tala happily escorting us as we went. Tundra continued watching from afar, and after a while we set about the business of the day, walking back through the enclosure back to the kennel area, where we did the usual things: changing the water, checking the bedding etc. The tortoises (in the old pole barn/education room) were fed and watered, and then it was the turn of the wolves, with their usual mix of chicken and beef. They still get treats of course, and this time it was a handful of rabbit ears each. This is something which has become more varied since the old days of the Trust, and the wolves have all enjoyed the treats on offer.

One of our senior handlers prepared some enrichment for the two wolves too... some hessian sacks filled with straw, and this time some lavender oil as a scent. The wolves still enjoy playing with them, sniffing them, rubbing on them, just as they have done for years.

With the tasks for the day done and dusted, it was time to say our goodbyes and head our separate ways.

16th May 2026

It's late spring and everything is growing well, including the grass in the wolves' enclosure - it was due to be cut, but that's easier said than done. Tundra and Tala are in the middle enclosure (where they've been for a number of years). It has the handy feature of having a fence and gate dividing it in two, left over from when we had to split the 2 acre enclosure to accommodate Motomo. The plan was to move the wolves into the northern half of the enclosure, close the gate, then bring the tractor (and meadow topper) in to cut the grass.

It sounded easy, but the wolves are now 15 years old and are as wily as ever... they know full well when we're up to something! We entered the enclosure, with Tala coming up to inspect us. She sniffed each of us in turn, accepted a fuss, with Tundra coming relatively close too. We then headed into the northern bit of the enclosure with the wolves following us, a somewhat different type of "walking with wolves" compared to the traditional walk around the fields. Tala was delighted with this and followed us eagerly as we walked across to the fence on the far side. Tundra, not being daft, loitered by the gate dividing the two sections of the enclosure and, sure enough, decided to flit back into the part we wanted to mow. Tala veered off and followed her, leaving us amongst the long grass and shrubbery. It was a pleasent enough experience, but not helpful in terms of getting the job done!

So a second plan was hatched - we would lay a food trail inside the holding pen, the long, narrow part of the enclosure by the kennels. This is reminscent of what we did on the photo days, albeit with the public in the holding pen and the wolves in the main enclosure. Intrigued, the wolves followed the trail and the gate was closed, keeping them safely away from the action. The tractor duly appeared (driven by Tsa's son Johnny - both Tsa and Johnny are directors of the Trust), and Tala watched proceedings with interest. Tundra, less impressed, decided to head to the very back of the holding area. Once the cutting was complete, and some low-hanging branches had been pruned, Tsa's two Jack Russels had a good sniff around. The big gate was then closed, the smaller one opened and the wolves were able to explore their newly-cut surroundings.

The rest of the day was much as usual, with the tortoises and wolves being fed. The only real change in the feed is they no longer have paunch (tripe), as the abbatoir that we sourced it from has closed. The wolves do, however, have fish as a substitute and they really seem to enjoy it!