Sawtooth Pups by Jamie Dutcher
The birth of new pups was like an explosion in the pack. The celebration and burst of energy
that came over the wolves was incredible. One moment they’d be racing around playing exuberantly and the next they’d be back at the den site, whining and shifting from one foot to the other, barely able to contain themselves. Jim and I decided it was best to stay out of the way for the first day. We weren’t sure just how protective the pack would be of the new pups and we didn’t want to find out. We contented ourselves with watching the den from a distance and not trying to film or record sounds. I was as nervous as the rest of the wolves were; in fact, I was even envious of them because I was certain they all knew how the pups were doing. After the first day, the pack began to return to a normal routine of playing relaxing and jostling for social rank. Even so, every wolf, from Kamots down to Lakota peered into the den from time to time, bodies tense with excitement, heads cocked, listening to the pups. Wyakin was different, maintaining a constant vigil beside the den. She seemed to be waiting, like
a dutiful aunt, to see if there was anything she could do for Chemukh. Still, we never saw Wyakin or even Kamots enter the den. The nursery was clearly Chemukh’s territory. Since the scene around the den had relaxed, Jim and I decided that it was safe to approach. At first, I set up a microphone on the outside of the den and sat nearby with my tape deck listening to the muffled squeals and gurgles that issued from underground. Sensing me above, Chemukh emerged from the den after a few moments to see what was going on. She seemed no more perturbed by my presence than she was by Wyakin’s. I was just another familiar face, curious about her new pups and certainly not a threat to her. Chemukh was still a high strung wolf, but she had developed a level of trust with me that she shared with no one else. I thought perhaps that, although Jim is a very gentle and soft-spoken man, his size and masculine presence might have been intimidating to her. She might even have been able to sense that Jim was in charge of the project, that the other humans in his company treated him as an “alpha.” Whatever