On July 14, 1999 Karin was mobbed and driven from the pack. After her injuries had healed, she was quite eager to go see "the boys."

     Apollo was pleased, no, ecstatic. He had always had a thing for Karin, but she never wanted anything to do with him. Now she actually wanted him. The two made quite the couple. They spent all day, then well into evening, courting and frolicking in the pen. Poor Alyeska just stood back, looking somewhat depressed as though he had just lost a friend, and in a way, he did.

      As Fall approached Apollo went from ignoring Al to actively being aggressive toward him. As winter arrived, this aggression increased to the point that whenever Alyeska was conspicuous at all, like when he came up to a human, Apollo would race over as fast as he could and beat poor Al up. Then, as the breeding season ensued, their aggression became so intense that we were beginning to get worried for their safety. Finally, the tension broke when Karin went into heat. Poor Al got beaten up, was somewhat injured, but nothing he could not lick and make better. Karin and Apollo kept Al secluded to one of the huts for awhile, but eventually let up on him. Al is now properly submissive to Alpha Apollo and as March ends, the three are once again a happy trio.

      Apollo is quite the proper alpha now. He even got to mate for the first time in his life. Karin has had a hysterectomy, but we had the vet leave her ovaries in so she could mate and bond with Apollo and that worked out quite well. Before they mated, they definitely liked one another, but they were also very tense and often squabbled. After they mated several times, they became quite the loving couple.
 

Unless otherwise noted, all photographs © Monty Sloan/Wolf Park Text adopted from Wolf Sponsor Updates and is © Pat Goodmann/Wolf Park For permission to use or for more information about wolf photographs please check with Monty Sloan