Welcome to the wild, Finch! Finch is a seven-year-old male who was released into the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge earlier this year. He has been released in the Milltail Pack’s territory with the hope that he will mate with Pam (2225F). Previously, Pam had sired 11 pups over two years with Airplane Ears (2323M). However, Airplane Ears was killed by a vehicle last fall.
Finch has spent his entire life in captivity. He was born and raised at Wolf Haven International, a sanctuary in Tacoma, Washington. Last year, after Airplane Ears died, Finch was flown from Washington to North Carolina. He was gradually introduced to the Milltail pack through an acclimation pen placed in the Milltail pack’s territory. The acclimation pen is a large fenced enclosure.
Soon after 2191M’s pen was placed in their territory, Milltail yearlings and pups began interacting with 2191M through the fence. However, Pam showed little interest. So one of Pam’s female yearlings was placed in the acclimation pen with Finch—not to breed with him, but to entice Pam to visit and to help him gain acceptance into the pack. It seems to have worked. Pam began visiting the pen more frequently.
In late January, Finch and Pam’s daughter were released from the acclimation pen. In the past few months, during the peak of mating season, Pam and Finch have been seen traveling together.
