大象传媒

Many people would think that painted wolves are hard to tell apart, and at first it can be tricky. But after a little while your brain learns what to look for and you can’t believe you ever thought you wouldn’t be able to tell.

Faced with a pack of 30 painted wolves coming towards you, you want to know you are pointing the camera at the right animal - which for us was normally one of the alpha couple, particularly our heroines Tait, and her daughter Blacktip.

What to look for:

Behaviour - even from a distance it is often possible to spot Tait or Blacktip, because as the decision makers they are often out front, leading the pack. We found that the camera was naturally drawn to these individuals because they exhibited the most decisive and interesting behaviours. Their characters shone through.

Flank patterns - each animal has a unique set of colour markings on each side, a particular combination of black, brown and white splodges. Unfortunately, this species is not symmetrical, so for 91 different animals on the floodplain - we had to learn 182 flank patterns!

Faces - from a distance these can be hard to see, and much easier to go by flank patterns, but when looking back at close-ups in the rushes it is vital to be able to spot our heroes - so ears, facial markings, and even signs of age are key to ID-ing the characters.

Unique distinguishers - prominent nipples in alpha females during puppy season, injuries, etc.

Tait is the oldest painted wolf in Mana Pools and she wears the signs of age.

Flank patterns: The painted wolves in Tait’s dynasty have very few white markings (unlike the painted wolves from other places). Tait is unusual in having distinctive white blotches on both sides of her body (III), making her easy to identify at a distance.

Face: Tait is easy to spot with grey hairs around her muzzle and her teeth are heavily worn from age (II). By denning season she had picked up a small notch out of the top of her right ear (I).

Unique distinguishers: Tait was so old that she developed arthritis and it got worse throughout our time with her. If you see a limping painted wolf, who looks like she is suffering from age it is very likely to be Tait. She also frequently flared up with mastitis so her belly line often had a distinct dip in profile from inflammation. Tait has a very “friendly” face - when you see it, it does help you recognise her!

Blacktip is the second oldest of the painted wolves that featured in the film. You know we are with her pack when you see large numbers - she started with 30 pack members.

Flank Patterns: Blacktip is the hardest to describe her flank patterns, but she is absolutely unmistakable. She hardly has any white on her, but even her brown is a different sort of brown from the rest of the painted wolves in Mana. While they have rich chestnut browns to reddish ginger browns, Blacktip has very muted and desaturated browns (IV) making her overall appearance look stealthy and dark! She, like many of the painted wolves, has a white brush on her tail, but if you look closely you will see a black tip (III), hence her name.

Face: Again the very muted browns and quite “stern” eyes give Blacktip a cartoon villain look (II). She shares the same notch (I) on the right ear as her mum.

Unique Distinguishers: In profile it is very easy to spot her - she stands proud, has a slight bump on her muzzle, and a very slight but angular dip to her nipple line which means she is totally recognisable in silhouette.