Results of BG testing wolves

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Michele and Peeps

Michele and Peeps

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I have the results for the testing, if anyone is interested.

I have to make a few comments first: 1. There is no baseline for wolves, so I was using a chart based on dogs to explain to my co-workers what I was doing. 2. Dogs and wolves are extremely different physiologically (hence the research that was going on). 3. These samples were taken from blood pulled directly from a vein - I poked one ear in several different places and could not even get a speck of blood. 4. These animals were caught (stressful to the animals to begin with) and placed under sedation. 5. These animals have been on a raw diet since day one.. probably with a very small amount of high protein kibble in their early days.

These are all gray wolves, I didn't get samples from the Mexican grey, nor the red wolf.

Chief - 144
(^ caught solo from one enclosure)

77 Menomonie - 107
78 Menomonie - 129
(^ caught together from a second enclosure)

76 Menomonie - 149
George's brother - 145
George - 145
(^ caught together after the first two Menomonies, from the same enclosure)

Truck - 189
(^ caught solo from a third enclosure)
 
I am just in awe that you did this Michelle..... you have an amazing job!
So they were sedated when you got the samples? So the numbers would not reflect stress, or would they? Wondering if Kim's recent experiences with Sally would apply.....getting blood from the inner lip? That you even get to touch a wolf is so incredible to me!

Carl
 
I am really not sure about how it reflects the stress levels Carl... It is extremely stressful to be caught, but I don't know how much you can take the drugs into account for elevating or lowering the numbers. It takes about a team of 3 people to monitor a wolf because they cannot regulate their body temps, we have to check respiration and heart beat, and they cannot expel gas, so we have to watch to see if they bloat (similar to a human being told not eat before surgery - wolves cache their food and just don't know it's in their best interest not to eat). And I really don't know how much we have to take into account that it is breeding season for them - so elevated BG numbers might just be a part of their lifestyle during this time of year. Then again, I don't know how much we have to take into account rank also. Chief is alpha of a pack of 13. Truck is the dominant male in a pack consisting of himself and three other females. The rest are fellas that are without females, but are surrounded by them, where George is the big wig. Some of the samples were taken before medication and the research began, others were taken afterwards - I don't know if the research could elevate BG too.

As for taking blood from the inner lip, that's just an impossibility. Even completely sedated, they have some control over their mouth, and seizures do occur sometimes. I have heard of them snapping metal mouth guards into pieces - they have a bite pressure of 1,500 pounds per square inch. It's just not worth the risk, awake or sedated.

Getting to touch them is a rare occasion. I can't just walk into a pen with them and start scratching behind the ear. So, if I get invited to breeding research next year, it will probably be the next time I get to touch a living, breathing wolf. You have to volunteer hard to get to experience these small windows of opportunity to be able to have an emotional encounter with one of the animals - and I call it emotional because I was allowed to help care for a sedated Mexican gray. There are only about 58 in the wild, and 350 in the entire world. There may be a time when I can say that I'm one of the last people on the planet that touched a live Mexican gray that was once a wild roaming animal, or say, I was there for the time when their existence was still a big question mark. All the pounds of poo I've picked up, and all the deer I've processed all year long have made 2 short days of being close to some of the best recovery stories along side some of the most endangered canines in the world very worth it.

Just to show you how bloated my ego is right now.. Here is a photo of me with aforementioned Mexican gray. https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.ne...1286120594_580515593_22756228_306035072_n.jpg The guard on the face is more for protecting the eye than to muzzle the creature. If metal can't control the mouth, nylon is laughable.
 
Really fascinating Michele. How wonderful to be in the presence of one of these awesome creatures, let alone be able to touch one.
Good on ya for doing this important work with them!
 
God what a magnificent animal! Yes, Michelle, I'd say it was worth it. I thought holding a newborn sea turtle was a rush. Can't imagine what it is like to be that close to an endangered wolf.

Carl
 
The entire research was overwhelming and rewarding. I just wish I could have more time for my own research of BG numbers and testing of theories. Maybe one day, when I am independently wealthy or I can write a grant proposal.

For anyone that is interested, there is going to be a three part series this Sunday on the National Geographic channel that has video of some of our wolves and coyotes. I do not have access to this channel, so I won't be able to follow along - but the excitement today about it was all over the office. http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs078/1103098668006/archive/1109242290118.html I believe the segments are going to be about hunting behaviors and only in the first part of the 3 hour block - but it does sound like an interesting show without going into specifics of who knows what animals are from where.
 
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