Born to be wild
First public appearance for new additions to Scotland’s only wolf pack
By John Ross in the Scotsman, 21 st June 2000
Newly born wolf cubs from Scotland's only pack emerge outside. Picture: Jeff Mitchell
To howls of excitement from their proud parents and other relatives, the latest additions to a unique Scottish family made their first public appearance yesterday.
As they emerged unsteadily into the sunlight it became clear the country’s only wolf pack had increased from 12 to 18 with the birth of six cubs.
The playful and so far still-cute youngsters were born four weeks ago in an underground den at the Highland Wildlife Park at Kincraig, near Aviemore, just in time for the summer tourist season.
The litter is the third set of cubs born to the mother, Dubh (Gaelic for black) and father, Tor (Gaelic for hill).
Jeremy Usher-Smith, park manager, said wolves live in a tight-knit family unit with a defined pecking order and the cubs’ mother was the only female allowed to mate with the dominant male. He said: "At present the alpha, or dominant male and female, Tor and Dubh, rule the pack, and any new female cub would be treated as the lowest of the low by the rest of the pack.
"But males in wolf society can have equal status, and the new cubs will not have to strive for status like a female, and can go along in the middle having an easy life. Females, however, have a harder time and have to strive to be picked by the alpha male as the dominant female for breeding purposes."
The cubs are still suckling their mother, but from about eight weeks old the other pack members will bring them food in the form of regurgitated meat.
The wildlife park, in partnership with Edinburgh Zoo, strives to promote conservation of animal species and wild places.
Mr Usher-Smith believes it will be some time before wolves, which were hunted to extinction by the end of the 18th century, are reintroduced to the wilds of Scotland. He said: "I can’t see it happening for another 75 to 100 years. There are a lot of other animals like the beaver that will take priority."
© The Scotsman, 21 st June, 2000
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