lakota – Sep 22, 2008 12:00 AM

On Thursday, the Center's Educational Program staff sent an emergency call to Curator, Lori Schmidt, Lakota had somehow gotten into the Exhibit Pack and was being chased around the pond. Fortunately, wolf care staff were only minutes away. Curator, Lori Schmidt entered the enclosure, and walked Lakota back into the retired area. The pack was actually quite calm, but Lakota did get a bite wound on the hip, likely from Shadow. Visitors to the Exhibit shared some photos, and it appears that Lakota was sleeping adjacent to the gate in the pack holding area, with her tail through the fence. It's uncertain who initiated the interaction, but activity at the gate (where Lakota was sleeping) broke the latch, and the side gate opened. Photos show Shadow and Malik as the lead in dominance activity, likely because they were the initial wolves to send her into retirement. Observers said one of the pups may have been running along side, but there was no indication of increased arousal from the pups. Once Lakota was back in retirement, Assistant Curator, Donna Prichard cleaned her wounds, and wolf care staff rotated shifts to provide 24 hour a day coverage to monitor her condition throughout the weekend. She is back up and moving around, as her video shows, and she is even approaching the Exhibit Pack, but she now has restricted access to the pack holding area until a seperate gate system is constructed. When staff are in the lab, she can be in the wolf yard, always attended. When staff aren't in the lab, she is locked back in retirement. She is a bit disappointed with this, even though she got a bite in the hip, she still looks into the Exhibit Pack Enclosure. But Thursday's activity is why we made the management decision not to introduce her into the pack, but to manage her as a lone wolf.