Making lifelong memories

Hannah Pepe (intern)

07.03.2018

Sadly my six months at the WSC are already over, the time has flown by so fast! It has really been a dream come true for me to work here, and I will treasure the memories for life. I've had so many amazing experiences here, but one of the best has been getting to know each of the animals' individual personalities. I've grown especially fond of a few individuals such as Ela.

Through learning to give her medication I've spent more time with her and she has the sweetest and most gentle personality anyone could imagine a wolf having. Then there is Nanuk who is so fluffy and like a gentle old man and has the cutest relationship with his partner Una (they don’t like being apart). Chitto is the most handsome wolf with his bright blue eyes holding a cheeky twinkle, and his easy-going and cuddly personality. Of course I have many more favourite canines like Etu, Amarok, Meru, Asali, Sahibu... and well all of them really. Watching and learning from the trainers has also been really fascinating and seeing how their relationships with the animals allows them to work so well together. The training side of the WSC both with the dogs and the wolves is definitely one of the most interesting aspects for me and it's definitely making me consider learning more about animal training and behaviour.

One of my favourite jobs was going on the wolf walks, not only because it was lovely to enjoy being with the wolves outside, but because it was also really nice to teach the visitors about wolves and knowing they left with more knowledge to share with their friends. Of course, participating in the scientific tests was also really rewarding as you get to learn about all the different studies and testing methods whilst helping to further scientific research. Other than that, general observations of the animals’ social behaviours were interesting too (when the weather wasn’t too freezing outside) as you got to just watch the animals be themselves in their enclosures as they would naturally be. I'm really going to miss working here at the WSC, and I'm already looking forward to coming back again one day... until next time!