luna – Nov 16, 2012 12:00 AM

We wanted to clarify some readings from an earlier blood test and needed to have a blood sample from Luna without the influence of food. This is easier said than done with an Exhibit full of caches. So, on Friday morning at 9 am, we brought both pups into the front of Grizzer's enclosure and moved Grizzer back to the new habitat. We ideally would have liked to have a base-line sample on Boltz, but about 4 hours into the holding, Boltz became too stressed and he and Luna had several intense jaw spar/pinning session. We didn't want to risk any issues with Luna, so we allowed Boltz to rejoin the pack. Luna was anxious without the pack, but staff worked through the night to make sure she was as calm as possible. This 24-hour holding demonstrated the strength of these pack bonds and the challenges that exist when removing one pack member. Fortunately, the blood draw was smooth and Luna was back in the pack by 10 am Saturday with no negative response by the other wolves. Aidan and Boltz both spent time greeting Luna and resting wth Luna later in the day. The blood draw results are not back yet, we are primarily concerned with a higher level of ionized calcium than is typical with dogs. Of course, these are wolves, which is why we wanted to get a sample on Boltz, to see what does ionized calcium look like in wolves when they both eat bone a regular part of the diet. Luna continues to be the most active wolf during a feeding and has been a more active player in helping Aidan show rank order over Denali.