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Nearly
everything wolves, do they do together. Wolves are social animals that
live in
cooperative community. Cooperation between pack members allows wolves to bring
down large
game, which a single wolf hunting alone would find difficult. Communal living
also ensures the
feeding and care of the pups, and allows wolves to expertly defend their common
territory.
In the wild, a wolf's social bonds begin
to form at birth.
Physical contact between
the pups, their
mother, and their littermates is constant, and bonding with other pack members
begins when the
pups are about 21 days old. Communal care of the young even includes "baby
sitting" by another
member of the pack if the pups' mother goes hunting. This is the pups' socialization
period, and it
is very important in the development of wolf pups because it is associated with
forming
attachments to places and other individual wolves. By the time the pups are seven
months old, it
is almost impossible for them to make new psychological ties.
Nakomis, whose name means " Daughter
of the Moon,"
was born in 1982.
She is the daughter of
Blackfoot, Wolf Haven's founding wolf. Nakomis has a coat that is cream, gold
and gray. Her
eyes are a sparkling amber. She shares her spacious off-tour enclosure with her
brother and
companion, Nimrod. Being littermates, they are especially close. Nakomis is a
gentle, docile
wolf who enjoys the company of humans.
Wolf Haven's mission is wolf conservation,
and our commitment
is to inspire respect
for and
action on behalf of wolves and all wildlife, leading to improvement in their condition.
We are
grateful for your generous support of Nakomis and of all wolves everywhere. We
must continue
to work together to ensure that the song of the wolf will always be heard in all
the wild places of
our earth.
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