Teton
Male Wolf
Teton
Teton joined the Big Pack in the Sky on January 20th, 2023.
He was assisted at 15 years old due to mobility/old age.

Teton was an Arctic wolf that was born on May 8, 2007. He was the younger brother of Alice, Thunder, Sabine, Sugar, Storm and Powder, who were rescued a year prior. Teton was one of the few wolves born right here at Wild Spirit after his parents, Yukon and Sierra (along with another animal named Axel), were surrendered into our care, as their owner no longer wanted to breed them.

Happy to give them a home, we began the process of making arrangements and set off to pick them up. Once loaded into our rescue van, all three animals were taken to the vet to be spayed and neutered, but when the vet looked at Sierra he discovered something very surprising – she was already pregnant! Although the addition of a litter of pups was not an ideal situation, staff elected to let her maintain her pregnancy.

Upon arrival at Wild Spirit, the three new rescues settled in nicely, creating their home in one of our most beautiful habitats, full of trees and rocks. Almost immediately, Sierra and Yukon prepared for their final litter by digging a den in the dirt under a large rock slab. While doing so, they uncovered a fungus called Cryptococcus, which is generally not a huge threat for canines, but for a mother and her young pups, it can be lethal.

Sierra gave birth to five puppies: Teton, Shasta, Flurry, Frost, and Trinity. Unfortunately, Sierra and Trinity were so affected by the Cryptococcus that they ended up passing away due to the infection. Flurry and Frost were fortunate enough to avoid any damage due to minimal exposure to the toxin. Teton, however, experienced some nerve damage in his front leg, but otherwise recovered fully, and Shasta recovered without any issue.

The den was covered–the Cryptococcus treated–and Teton and Shasta split off to form their own pair. They spent their entire lives in the enclosure they were born in, at the heart of Wild Spirit. That is, until Teton’s passing, which marked the end of an era for Wild Spirit. His very send-off was magical; as staff made the trek past several other enclosures with Teton, following his last breaths, the entire sanctuary erupted in a mournful howl, as if his many friends and neighbors were bidding a final farewell. Then, almost as if on cue, a heavy snow began to fall–a fitting and dignified sendoff for the last of the Arctics.

Teton

Personality

Teton was quite brave for not being socialized. Like all wolves, he was naturally neophobic (afraid of new things), but as he grew accustomed to his Caretakers, he was happy to set new boundaries. When he felt comfortable enough with a particular person, he liked to see if he could steal things from them.

Relationships

Teton lived with his sister, Shasta until her passing. He then moved in with one of the Arctic-Timber recues, Savannah, and the two were nearly inseparable. They made a wonderful pair, until her passing, at which point Teton joined a fellow senior rescue, Brienne from our Westeros Pack.

Likes & Dislikes

Teton loved enrichment treats. He also liked fence-fighting with his neighbors and snowy days!

Teton disliked large crowds of people, and when something was happening in the sanctuary that made him feel nervous, or unsafe.

Fun Facts

Teton was one of very few animals at Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary that was raised by his own wolf parents, Sierra and Yukon, instead of by humans. As a result, he was an especially interesting rescue to care for because he was not socialized as a pup and fully retained his “wolfy” nature.

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