Luna- Projects to Benefit the Wolves

This week’s photo shows Luna looking into the yard from the Pack Holding Area kennel.  This project involved building a wall that protects them from rain (a new rain gutter was added) and snow that drifts up against the fence.  We left a viewing window as both Luna and Grizzer like to watch the yard.  The Working for Wolves projects vary from reduction of fire hazard, removing branches that may cause the wolves to trip, tree planting, removal of straw, fresh wood chips, covering ground wire fence issues, building protective roof’s and barriers around the enclosure and cleaning raven droppings from the rocks.  It is amazing the amount of work that is done in a weekend with the dedicated participants that give so willingly of their time, energy and resources to improve the lives of our wolves. Luna is doing well.  I recently had a question on Youtube about the possibility of Luna rejoining the Exhibit Pack or was she “forever banned” to retirement.  I thought I would share my response here:  

Thanks for your question about Luna. Whenever we retire a wolf, there are many circumstances that impact the decision and those decisions are fluid depending upon the dynamics of the pack and the leadership in a pack. There’s no banishment here, only an ongoing process of behavioral interpretation and decisions to make sure we strive for the best care possible for each individual as well as the pack. In the past, we did transition Lakota out of retirement back into the pack, but she was lower ranking and she didn’t have the physical needs that we have to consider with Luna. Luna is getting the care she needs in retirement, including extended periods of body work with her on her back extending her back right leg. This type of care would be less likely in the pack, as you may witness in pack videos, as soon as one wolf is rolled over, the other 4 come to investigate. If you recall from her time in the Exhibit Pack, Luna would become defensive and aggressive with the other wolves around her. This could likely be a defense mechanism because of her medical limitations, but based on how she presents herself to get staff to work on her leg, we believe this is what she needs right now. We have also witnessed some antagonistic behavior from Axel towards Luna. Axel was the pup that received the brunt of Luna’s dominance on the introduction day and when the Exhibit Pack is moved off Exhibit for projects, they go past Luna. Axel usually has a high tail and hackles when he sees her. Needless to say, we are very concerned about Luna’s vulnerability with the pack.