Wolf Stories, Kawa

Kawa (pronounced Cow-wah) is believed to be a mid-content wolf-dog. His name is borrowed from Native American Apache, loosely translated into the English equivalent of “great”.

It is thought to be common knowledge among those regularly responsible for the care of these creatures that captive wolves require social interaction and companionship with at least one other of the species. It has been repeatedly observed by Wolf personnel over the years that animals who are kept in singular isolation do not thrive as other, more socially active, wolf beasts do. As such, it became Kawa’s destiny to co-habitat the enclosure with Arcs, providing a two-way avenue of companionship for the rescued spirits.

Kawa was rescued from a breeder in Colorado that, unfortunately, is renowned for lacking quality of care for its residents. Sadly, both of Kawa’s parents were killed not long after his rescue, euthanized by the authorities because of the breeder’s repeated failure to comply with Colorado state veterinarian’s requirements.

The cub was removed from the breeder on February 12, 2002, at only six weeks old, because it was feared that any one of several maladies could, and probably would, befall the little fur ball prior to his reaching eight weeks of age, the milestone at which a pup would normally be weaned from its mother’s milk and introduced to solid foods.

Being far too small and fragile at this point in his existence to survive outdoors at nearly two miles elevation in the Rockies in the dead of winter, Arcs’ caretaker made the decision to arrange for Kawa’s full-time care until he reached 8 or 9 weeks of age, when he would be more acclimated to solid foods, would have had limited exposure to the outdoors and would presumably be bigger and stronger; that is, big and strong enough to live full-time with a 100+ pound, fully-grown wolf-dog.

Implementing this strategy involved the very welcomed and appreciated help of the volunteer’s 70 year old mother, who, fascinated by the concept of what was attempting to be accomplished, agreed to shelter and feed the little pup until he was ready to be introduced into his new, permanent home with Arcs.

For 3 weeks thereafter, this selfless effort on her part encompassed a couple of trips to the vet for a general once-over and treatment of dehydration, small baby bottle and eyedropper formula feedings, introducing the little wolf to solid foods and raw meats in the second and third weeks, and several nights of attending to Kawa when he cried during the night – by feeding him and/or by just comforting him in her lap until he slept. The volunteer visited often during this time, and was available 24/7 for support, if needed. It was finally determined that little Kawa had progressed enough to now be introduced to his adoptive wolf-dog brother and sisters. The volunteer came to collect Kawa, and set off to bring him home.

The human developed a slight case of jitters as he prepared to make contact, even though he was aware that Wolf personnel had never before witnessed a rejection of an adoptive pup by any sanctuary member – he held the then-5 pound bundle of fur in his arms as he entered Arcs’ enclosure. What the volunteer experienced next was nothing short of a wondrous miracle of nature.

As the human held the cub in his arms, Arcs approached him and began to whine and cry, nose pointing up at the small animal. The volunteer got on his knees, where Arcs meticulously inspected the squirming mass front to rear. After Kawa was put down, Arcs proceeded to lay down onto the little mammal, or so it looked…in fact, most of Arcs’ weight was actually being supported by both of his bent-in-half-to-the-ground front legs. This was the big guy’s way, it seemed, of saying: “I’m the boss here, see?” Discipline began early, and was reinforced quite frequently by all the adult participants.

The man then introduced (separately) the cub to the two females, who instantly began playing with, and correcting, the small wolf. Then all four mingled under close supervision. At no time during this, or any subsequent encounter to date, did any of the adults harm or otherwise hurt the baby wolf, though at times the going got a tad rough for the little guy, since he seemed to insist on testing their collective patience at every available opportunity. Sometimes, all three adults would simultaneously and gently grab a different limb or extremity, in an attempt to calm the little bugger down. Even today, Kawa is occasionally corrected by the three adults at one time!

There were a few nights in the following 2 months on which the 2 legged felt obligated to provide some extra comfort to Kawa…these involved a pre-bedtime ritual, on the very bitter coldest of nights, of unzipping his winter coat and placing the small fry inside for 5 or 10 minutes, then by physically placing Kawa into a straw nest near, but sheltered from, the entrance to the wolf condo. After this time, Kawa seemed not to be at all bothered by moderately extreme (-17 F) low temperatures.

At this writing, Kawa is almost 2 years old, and appears to be displaying progressively more aggressive traits toward Arcs and both of the females. It is possible that the younger male will soon become the alpha of the males, though probably not of either of the senior females, should their monitored comingling continue without incident.