Exhibit Pack Update – 24 January 2024
We have seen some colder temperatures this past week, with highs below 0°F. To help keep our wolf ambassadors warm during these colder spells, we make sure to have plenty of warm cover hay available for them to rest in, as well as several places of shelter such as dens and enclosed medical pens that they have access to at all times. The wolf care team fluffs their beds twice a day and checks to make sure their covered shelters are dry. We also will increase their feedings on colder weeks such as these, as wolves burn through a lot of energy just to stay warm and the extra calories are well used.
Many of you who view our live cameras may have seen Rieka this past week displaying some unusual swaying from side to side, starting early Sunday morning. We came in right away and gave her a physical exam and did not find any abnormalities or additional causes for concern, apart from some itchiness. She was alert and moving great with no instability, but would close her eyes and sway slightly when relaxed. Our veterinary consultant came by and did another exam on her, again finding nothing out of the ordinary. It is possible she had a response to something she ate, possibly something dropped in the enclosure by a raven, or maybe even a reaction to a mold or fungus within the environment. We’ve removed some of the older hay and replaced it with straw to ensure that anything funky was eliminated.
Rieka has shown improvements daily and has shown no swaying since Monday morning. Thankfully, this has not seemed to affect her ability to engage with the Pack. We’ve seen her continue to interact with the rest of the wolves in both a social manner and within the dominance rank order. One newer behavior we have noted from Rieka is her barking and bark howling at Grayson when he is correcting Caz. For wolves, barking can be an alert or a warning to the rest of the Pack, but it can also be a way to show aggression in defense of the pack. We have seen Rieka be defensive of Caz in the past, often in the form a grab bite to Grayson’s rear. Even with this heightened intensity in vocalizations from Rieka, we continue to see social behaviors increase between her and Grayson. It is no doubt an interesting time of year with breeding season around the corner. We will continue to monitor Rieka’s health closely, but have high hopes that whatever was in her system has left.