Action
On Sunday, May 17, 2015, I had the pleasure of visiting Wolf Park in Battle Ground, IN. Wolf Park is a facility specializing in the socialization of wolves, coyotes, both red and gray foxes and American Bison in order to provide enjoyment for guests and research specimens for scientists all over the country. The Wolf Park also provides a home for wild rescue animals. During my visit, I participated in a guided tour where we traveled around the facility, meeting each animal personally. We learned about the behavioral traits of each species as well as the different projects and opportunities taking place at the Wolf Park. My favorite animal at the enclosure was a wolf named Dharma. She was a gray wolf, but brown and black in coloring. She and two other wolves were kept in their own enclosure because they didn't seem to listen to anyone but each other. One of the many projects we learned about was the use of smart collars on specific wolves and measuring the frequencies their bodies gave off while performing certain activities. The implication is that if attached to wolves in the wild, researchers will be able to monitor their activity at any given moment. This, I found, to be an exciting achievement. While I knew most of the information about the wolf species due to prior interest, I learned so much about the behaviors of coyotes and foxes. Visiting the coyote visit was a wonderful experience I had to work with others to howl and get the coyotes to howl as well Later that day, all of the wolf packs howled together, creating beautiful harmony. Since these wolves are worked with on a national scale and the research performed at the facility helps scientists to understand the behavior of canines, it is wonderful to learn more about the conservation of certain animals and how the ethology field is both growing and developing This majorly relates to environmental sustainability. There also, as with anything completed in science, the ethical questions placed upon performing projects on specimens. A code of conduct must always be followed. While on this visit I also substantially understood more of American Bison behavior. The study of animal behavior I found out is known as Ethology. This might become one of my concentrations in college due to this visit. I also plan on participating in an internship at the Wolf Park the summer of my freshman or sophomore year of college. Below are some photographs and video taken at the park during my visit:
All photos taken personally by Teaosha Cunningham
Outcomes of this visit:
- Worked collaboratively with others.
- Engaged with issues of global importance.
- Considered ethical implications.
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