maya – Nov 24, 2008 12:00 AM

Maya was very intense in the reintroduction of the pups. In the first few seconds of filming, the camera had to be shut off as she was trying to jump the fence to get in to see them. We thought she would be far more aggressive, but when the door was opened, she ran to investigate the enclosure, while the pups ran out to chase Malik. She did continue to assert more dominance over Aidan than Denali, and she immediately investigated his suture site. Aidan and Denali both ignored the sutures, but once Maya focused on them, Aidan began licking and chewing. We distracted a bit and checked the site, and all is intact, but this is why we hold them off so there is at least 24 hours if not longer. This time, we waited 42 hours before returning the pups. We have to weigh the consequences of waiting too long and having the pack reject them versus letting them back too soon and having sutures compromised. One other management strategy is providing fresh straw. Maya does like to lay on the den site with fresh straw, and that helps keep her calm.