Editor’s Note: Each Wednesday, one of our Evening Sun reporters will visit a local business or non-profit organization to lend a hand for a day, finding out what it’s like to be on the inside.

For my first installment of “Punching the Clock,” I journeyed to Wolf Mountain in Smyrna to lend a helping hand to the preserve’s caretakers. Due to liability issues, I was unable to handle the wolves, or for that matter participate in anything directly involving them. Nevertheless, I learned a great deal about both the animals and the work that goes into taking care of them.

Although named Wolf Mountain, the preserve’s eight wolves are not its only inhabitants. Aside from director and primary caretaker Will Pryor, six eastern coyotes, and two rare arctic foxes also make their homes at the preserve. Feeding the animals is a constant and trying chore. They eat an incredible amount and most of their food comes from donations – and road kill. A walk-in freezer would ideally alleviate some of the difficulty, but it cannot yet be afforded.

One of the things that I did do was carve pumpkins for the wolves. A little known fact: Wolves love pumpkins. After the pumpkins’ seeds were gutted, the hollowed rinds were crammed with raw meats. On top of a zany pumpkin mania, the wolves relish wild berries and have their own berry patch in the stockade. Unable to quell their berry zest, the ravenous wolves rarely allow for the berries to ripen before gorging themselves.