Spring is in the air, and with it comes fresh breezes, blue skies and open season at Wolf Timbers. Ingo is always geared and ready to go for open season. Out of the three wolves, he seems to be the one who is always ready and happy to meet the visitors. Of course, before meeting guests, one likes to look their best. Unfortunately for the wolves, this is not their best time of year for personal grooming. It is the shedding season, and you can tell this by the clumps of fine, soft fur that decorate the ground within the enclosure. Ingo is usually the second to start shedding. The shedding fur and rising, humid temperatures make the wolves "itchy". Ingo likes to remedy this problem by getting vigorous back and rump scratches from the volunteers. His favorite way to approach this is to come over and lean his weight into your leg. It is very hard to ignore a wolf who is trying so hard to act like they don't want a scratch when they really, really do. Ingo is a mature young man now and in excellent condition. His weight ranges between 100-110 pounds. He is a difficult one to register a weight on because he doesn't like to hold still for too long. All of his vaccinations are up to date. Ingo has never been a picky eater and his appetite is a large one. He enjoys trying to "collect" as many treats as possible before sitting down to a banquet of cantaloupe, apples or whatever we happen to be giving them that day. Ingo is usually the second to eat after Nira, leaving Keeley to eat last. Occasionally we have seen Ingo eat first without a problem from Nira. Ingo currently is still submissive to Nira, though at times this seems to be a hard thing for him to do. The wolves at Wolf Timbers recently celebrated their birthdays by throwing a big birthday bash. All of the wolves were born in April. Ingo was born on April 22nd, 1999. Wolf Timbers invited all sponsors and the public to the first annual Wolf Birthday Eggstravaganza. The wolves seemed to enjoy this time, and the highlight was the frozen birthday "cakes". Each wolf received a frozen cake made of chicken broth mixed with ground cooked deer meat. The cakes were then topped off with softened vanilla ice cream and hot dogs served in the place of candles. This was one of the many special programs that Wolf Timbers has scheduled this year. We have had a great year so far, since opening for the 2001 season on May 6th. Many school groups made trips out to see Ingo and his pack during the early part of the year. Ingo will often stand at the enclosure fence and great the children. He seems to enjoy teaching the kids how to scent roll the "proper" way and when he feels like it, will give a rousing performance during a chorus howl. We again invite you to come and visit Ingo. As his sponsor, you have a rare opportunity to visit this handsome fellow and meet him personally. Due to your kind sponsorship, you enable us to care for him and keep him healthy and content. He returns the favor by being his own silly self and helping us show the human world a small corner of what makes up a wolf's world.