Grizzer – A Three Tiered Retirement Complex

On the night that Shadow made his final journey with the Wolf Care staff to the University of Minnesota Diagnostic Lab, Grizzer had several bouts of howling.  No doubt, the activity of all the wolf care staff in the yard is unsettling for Grizzer.  There have been many emergencies when he was the source of the attention. But, after the yard cleared and he had some quiet time with staff, he settled down and showed very little anxiety of Shadow’s loss.  We waited for the noise of the 4th of July weekend to subside and allowed Grizzer access to the main retired enclosure on Monday morning.  Surveillance cameras show that Grizzer slept in the main den that night.  He has access to all 3 areas. the front “Pack Holding Area” “Grizzer’s Habitat” and the” Traditional Retirement Enclosure”.  When there is activity in the yard, he comes to the front, when the Exhibit Pack is racing around, he watches from the top of his den in the back habitat and when things are relaxed, he seems to rest on the pile of wood chips that Shadow so frequently used.  We will make every attempt to draw him over to the webcam, but with the freedom to roam about, we don’t always know when he will arrive.  One thing for certain, Grizzer is too much of a roll on back wolf to have greetings on the top of a den.  He nearly rolled off the main den on Monday.  We will have to work out a routine that is safe.  In June, Grizzer weighed in at 123 lbs, life in retirement must be good.

8/8/2004	Grizzer – Pup	41 lbs
5/6/2005	Grizzer – Yearling	93.5 lbs
5/2/2008	Grizzer – 4 Years	110 lbs
4/22/2009	Grizzer – 5 Years	121.25 lbs
4/29/2010	Grizzer – 6 Years	124.52 lbs
3/6/2012	Grizzer – 8 Years	116.16 lbs
6/4/2013	Grizzer – 9 Years	118.6 lbs
6/13/2014	Grizzer – 10 Years	123.0 lbs