Wolves!! :)

OMG i LOVE these pictures!!!!

Beautiful pictures, I envy you getting to go there!

those are some beautiful animals! nice pics too! []

Beautiful pictures! Wolves are such gorgeous animals.

OMG, do you realize you have a gift for photography?  I mean truly.  These are magnificant pictures.  You have managed to pick up all those little subtle nuances that we all take for granted but you can see them all in your pix.  Good job!!!  Are you a professional photographer?

Hey Nikki,

I am so jealous!

 These animals are incredible to watch..Thier personality really does come through too..

 the arctic i was in with wouldnt come within 20 feet of me,but came to my wife and kids no problem...

 The greys were pretty wary too..

 I love the look of the black wolves..Your pictures are just AWESOME...you photography ROCKS and really captures them well..

 Could you tell who the leaders were in any of the particular pcks you saw?

 Emo looks pretty intense,but the other guy in the picture is displaying submissive behavior towards him..I wonder if he is an alpha..

 Did you get to stay for feeding?if so,tell us about it..

 VERY COOL!

Thanks guys.... no I'm not a professional photographer, but it'd sure be nice []   Honestly...I wasn't paying that much attention to pack behaviors (which is silly and unusual for me considering that's usually the first thing I notice with wolves), but I did notice that the Silver Eyed wolf seemed to be submitting to the Emo one.  He certainly had the expression of the omega but it could have just been a bad day for him or something.  Now that I think about it they weren't displaying too many obvious pack behaviors because they were staring/watching us the whole time and paying less attention to each other, though I did see some submissive kisses between them now and then (so cute!).  In the last pen I was told that Midnight bosses everyone around and keeps them in line, which I assume means he's alpha, but I didn't observe any of that.  The other wolves didn't hassle him at all, but then again, they really were just paying attention to us most of the time.  We didn't get to see them feeding unfortunately as that would have been a real treat to watch, but we were only there for 2 hours in total.

Fantastic pictures, Nikki - thanks for sharing!

They are beautiful

Nicki,

 Have you studied wolves or done any research in them?

We got into the study of wolfdogs by accident,and have been reading just about everything about wolves and wolfdogs we can get our hands on...alot of this study was done before we had Kuruk introduced to us,,It was like it was just meant to be...



the raised brow and the non furry ears are a giveaway to the dog part of this guy...He is so good,and we are so proud of the progress he has made..We still have to work through maturity issues if they should arise.

  Would you ever consider one as a rescue?

Great pictures!  Im jealous, I would love to see something like that in person.

MhadDog - I've always been a wolf nut ever since I was a kid.  I read about them, hunted down pictures of them, drew them, watched them on tv, and well, if it was wolf related, I liked it.  As a result I know quite a bit about them, though I haven't had that much opportunity to study them in person - this was the first time I'd really gotten to observe them in person so close, which is why it's so exciting for me.  I haven't studied wolfdogs as much, but I know they're not quite like a wolf or a dog, and I know they're a handful and require a lot of dedication/understanding.  I think they are absolutely beautiful animals, though.  At the moment I'm not in a stable enough situation in which I would even consider introducing another dog into my life, let alone a wolfdog, but if in the future I was informed of one that was in need and I had the time/space requirements, I think I would seriously consider taking it in.  Though I'd need to do some more research first of course.  []
 
Kuruk is gorgeous...it's very interesting really, he does look very wolfy, but very distinctly dog at the same time.  He's got wolf eyes with a doggy expression.  Wolf coloring with German Shepherdy ears and black muzzle.  He's definitely neat looking... []

this is probably a better pic of Kuruk..



this was taken some months ago but you get the whole body..

We were told that he is probably about 30 to 40 % wolf content..I am interested to see what how his markings will change.His muzzle is lightening as it appears the rest of his body is.I think the biggest thing he inherited from his wolf ancestory is his shyness around strangers,and men in particular.He also does the whole omega thing with the other dogs..His face always has an intense look.The best thing for me lately is when i get home he is actually happy to see me...tail wagging,a happy look in his face and ears,and he will jump up on me for a welcome massage...

Anyway,not to get too off topic,if you should ever find yourself in a position where you are looking to adapt and or rescue another pup,you seem the perfect person for one of these Wd's...I myself would never buy one(because i still believe only a very small percentage of people should be allowed to purchace them)but there are penty in need of rescue as special needs dogs.You might think about this in the future..

I love the shots of your Arctics....Thier physical adaptations really stick out ,don't they..Those huge snow shoe feet,and all that fur..Generally smaller ears.

WOW!!!!  Those were awesome pictures!!!!!  I'm so glad you shared those!!!  I've always loved wolves, so it must have been amazing to stand face-to-face with them.  DH loves your pictures too!!

Beautiful!!!!!!!! [sm=talker.gif]