Bays Mountain's Kawoni

Today was one of those rare gifts:  an almost spring-like day in the middle of January!  Upon leaving church this morning the blue skies and gentle breezes coaxed me into the woods of Bays Mountain.  This is the same mountain that my grandson Caleb refers to as "Nan's Mountain."  He and I both love it here!  But today I was unaccompanied... an opportunity to experience the mountain on my own terms and in my own time.

At the northern edge of Bays Mountain lies a park and planetarium maintained by the City of Kingsport.  The 3,550 acre park - along with its 44 acre lake - has been one of my favorite "return to nature" spots since I arrived here in Kingsport, TN several years ago.  Bays Mountain's northern peaks range in elevation from 2000-3000 feet.  It is in these mountains that I feel most grounded, at peace and in harmony with nature.

The park has several habitats for injured (and unable to return to the wild) wildlife indigenous to the area.  Wolves, otters, deer, raccoons, raptors, reptiles, bobcats are lovingly cared for by park rangers who use the habitat residents to provide learning opportunities for visitors - young and old alike.

Thirteen months ago a very destructive wind storm besieged the area.  One of the hardest hit areas was the wolf habitat on Bays Mountain.  Towering old trees were toppled like Tinker Toys.  And, unfortunately some of them toppled right onto the double fence that enclosed the wolf habitat. 

Of the eight gray wolves in the pack, six of the habitat's resident wolves took the downed fence as an opportunity to do some "local exploring."  Four returned readily to the place they now call home - the place where their food is brought to them twice weekly and they are free to roam their part of this amazing woods.  Two were not so ready to do the same.

After 54 days on the run, the female "Kawoni" was rescued many miles from "home" and returned to Bays Mountain. Unlike the other  four who willingly returned to their habitat with the use of food and wolf-howling techniques, Kawoni required tranquilizing for the rescue and transport back to the mountain.  During her adventures, she suffered a broken leg which healed on its own and, although she now limped, she didn't require surgery.  A veterinarian declared her healthy.

The sixth wolf - a male - was never found and unfortunately has been presumed dead.

Today, I inquired about Kawoni.  I was told that Kawoni was rather low in the pack's order and so, upon her return to the mountain, she was slowly re-introduced into the habitat area with the rest of the pack.  Reportedly, the other wolves were unkind to her - as is their nature I'm told.  Apparently the stress of trying to fit into the pack after such a long absence was too much for her.  She died a couple weeks after her re-entry was complete.  I was told that the necropsy revealed no physical cause of death and so death by stress is the only answer for the staff.

 How sad.  She was able to survive the pitfalls of being outside her controlled habitat -- a place she was no longer accustomed to navigating for herself.   And yet, after such a long journey, she was unable to survive returning to the place she'd called home.


Two of Kawoni's Pack-Mates





A portion of the reinforcements to the enclosure





Bays Mountain staff and volunteers are in the process of creating a permanent "fix" to the problem of downed trees creating escape routes for their beloved animals. A log barrier that is designed to stop felled trees before they crush the double fence enclosures is being erected.  The work is about a third of the way completed as of today.