June 29, 2014 - Wolf Pups

I recently attended a workshop sponsored by National Camera, a local retailer. We were photographing baby animals at Fur-Ever Wild, located in Lakeville, MN. The main subjects were four wolf pups. They were a very energetic group so this is one of the few photos where I could get all four of them in the picture.

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The pups were taken to a field full of wildflowers. At first, they just wanted to run. They are still pretty small so the six handlers were able to corral the pups whenever they started to wander too far away.

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It was a pretty warm day so the pups were happy to go for a swim in the nearby pond

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One of the props that we used was an old deer skull and antlers. Hamburger, the pups’ favorite snack, was pressed into the skull. At first, the pups were so excited to be outside running that they totally ignored the hamburger. After running around for a while, they rediscovered their appetite.

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Three of them all wanted something to eat at the same time.

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All four of the pups are males. Even though they are only a couple of months old, they are already trying to figure out who will be the dominant alpha male. Here is a sequence of photos showing a conflict that broke out over who would get to eat first. While the two on the left squabbled, the little guy on the right calmly moved in and helped himself to a snack. (Click on the photo to see a larger copy of it.)

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Eventually the pups did get tired out and this one sat down among the flowers to take a rest.

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