nyssa – May 16, 2005 12:00 AM

As you may know from reading the home page, the Center suffered a tragic loss of Nyssa, the lower ranking female. Nyssa served as important role as an ambassador for wolves in the wild and touched many lives in her short time on the Exhibit. The events on the morning of the 11th may never be known. Since the day of the medical exams (I worked 29 straight hours with the wolves and behavioral team) and the subsequent overnight observation sessions that followed, behavioral observers noted she was playful with the pack and often encouraged interaction by playbowing to fellow pack members. Daily wolf care checks included a complete inspection of the females (including photographing incision sites to monitor progress) as well as a status check on the dynamics. On Tuesday, she was photographed stalking and pouncing on Grizzer. Tuesday's photographs of the incision sites revealed that both Maya and Nyssa were healing well with no problems. Staff delivered antibiotics 3 times a day to Nyssa with the last antibiotic early in the evening on Tuesday. Log observations showed the pack calm, Nyssa very socially interactive and no issues. I know it is difficult for people to understand the behavior of wolves; their complex social orders and dynamics cannot be assessed by human judgement, their actions are neither good nor bad. In a world that is clearly run by wolf rules, we must appreciate the lessons they have taught us and remember the behaviors of the past and present to aid in understanding the future.