Shadow is feeling so much better and his behaviors include chin rests, overmarks and some very intensive greetings with staff. This week's Youtube features some very good howling clips, led by Shadow, but responses from all wolves.
When I enter the enclosure, Shadow has a very active way of greeting that can be a bit overwhelming sometimes, but it does give me a good opportunity to feel his body mass. We have had concerns in the past about Shadow's weight, including when he had the bout of intestinal discomfort earlier this winter. I am very happy with Shadow's physical condition. When the snow melts, we will get a body weight, but he feels firm, with good muscle mass, a very fit individual for a 13 year old wolf.
With the webcam on retirement, people may notice the behavioral differences between Malik and Shadow. Malik is more nervous and may be up and traveling more than Shadow. Malik may also be more food possessive and if there is a wolf howling, it's likely to be Shadow on the top of the den. Malik, as a lower ranking pack member, may be howling from behind some protective vegetation.
Sorry for the delay in logs and Youtube, last Friday's snowstorm resulted in 16 inches of new snow and several feet of drifts. Staff concentrated efforts on snow removal and access issues. This week's Logs and Youtube are dedicated to Aidan and Denali, who will be 5 years of age tomorrow. Visitors always want to hear about the pups, or the arctics and sometimes overlook the middle aged pair. Aidan has some tremendous qualities as a pack leader, has shown strong guarding behavior toward the pups and has been through a lot in his 5 years of life. Aidan was the omega of the pack after Malik was retired and had many restrictions enforced by Maya. He has come a long way and is admirable to watch in his behavioral patterns.
I have noticed a significant reduction in testing behavior from Boltz as the winter progressed. He seems very subordinate to Aidan, but not intimidated. As the winter progressed, he was often observed feeding with Aidan or resting with him. The associative bonds between individuals are crucial when interpreting the dynamics of the pack.
Dome people think that Denali will eventually lead this pack due to his larger size, but size isn't everything. We see Aidan's influence over Denali has more to do with body language than with brute force. Denali may be large, but if Aidan gives a direct eye stare, it's enough to make Denali back off.
Luna has activity like no other wolf hon site. She is always busy with something or somebody. If she's not jaw sparring with Boltz, she's sitting on Denali or attempting to grab Aidan. If every other wolf is resting, she finds a deer hide to toss in the air, digs in the straw or chews on a bone. She's started to shed, but has a strange pattern of hair loss. She's shedding all of her neck hair first, then it seems to be progressing down her back. Her undercoat is making her appear very white, I assume she will return to a darker appearance. Her photo on the recent cover of the International Wolf Center magazine is striking.
For a 13 year old wolf, Malik is extremely quick. He once again managed to take the sponge I use for cleaning the water containers. Of course, this has become such a repeated activity for him, just the mere view of the sponge creates some excitable behavior. We always get the sponge back, usually with a bribe of some meat. It's actually enjoyable to see 13 year old wolves get excited about something.
Boltz has all the looks of a skinny, awkward juvenile. When Boltz stands next to Aidan, he has the same height, but he's not quite the same stature as his older pack members. Juvenile wolves generally don't have the dense undercoats of full adults, so they always look a bit skinny their first year. Boltz has a combination of a thin coat, a juvenile body and a pair of large adults that haven't begun to shed in his social pack. He'll catch up, by next year, you will need a defined behavioral key to identify Boltz from Aidan.
We started Aidan on a treatment for Discoid Lupus, so far, he's responding well with no side affects from the treatment. He's been very social lately, demonstrating a lot of whining behavior towards the yearlings as he draws them to the upper enclosure. This is the same behavior he displayed when they were first introduced into the enclosure and he may be influenced by a seasonal spike in prolactin hormone, even though there are no pups to create a strong stimulus. We managed to get all wolves weighed this week and Aidan weighed in at 129.6 pounds. Here's a review of his annual weights since he was a yearling. <li> 4/22/2009 Aidan 106.70 lbs (YEARLING) <li>4/29/2010 Aidan 106.92 lbs <LI>6/5/2011 Aidan 124 lbs <li>6/14/2012 Aidan 123 lbs <li>6/4/2013 Aidan 129 lbs <br> The wolves will reach their peak size between 3 and 6 year of age.
The International Wolf Center advances the survival of wolf populations by teaching about wolves, their relationship to wildlands and the human role in their future.