Thanks for checking for the wolf logs and cameras, even when we aren’t always live. We seem to have an intermittent router problem, and we’re currently working with more tech support people than wolf care staff. With that said, the due to other obligations, the logs are all the same this week. I did produce a Youtube video this week and used some of the surveillance camera footage. The surveillance cameras are motion activated with noise activated sound. They are sometimes choppy, but it is good to have a view of the activity after dark. Shadow and Malik have the most activity, since the camera focuses on their main densite. Grizzer tends to sleep near the wolf yard, and is always resting and waiting for Oscar to make his morning rounds. Aidan and Denali had an interesting week, Aidan has been carrying the crook of his tail with a bit of status. There were several days when Aidan was keeping Denali in a wooded area of the pen, but today, they seem to be back to their usual interactions. We will be doing some concrete work on the Slate Den next week, and will be testing the new enclosure configuration, keeping Aidan and Denali in the Pack Holding area for a few hours, while Grizzer stays in his new habitat. I would expect to see Grizzer with a lot of activity during that project.
Aidan has been showing a lot of status and is definitely very confident in the main exhibit, but when he went into the pack holding area for some recent concrete work, Denali took advantage of his intimidation of the holding area. And this is how it goes between these two individuals. Denali is not bothered by holding areas, construction, strangers etc. and will use this to his advantage. Aidan is much more reserved and his anxiety is a sign of weakness. Our job as wolf care staff is to recognize these issues and make sure we minimize the outside influences that intimidate Aidan.
Grizzer has a few exciting weeks ahead. A portion of Grizzer's enclosure is know as the Pack Holding Area. This is an area where the pups would traditionally spend a portion of the summer. Starting next week, for a few hours a day, we will move Grizzer to his new habitat and let the pups interact in the pack holding area, which will be the initial introduction site. We've already done this a few times with Oscar, getting his scent in the enclosure will help the pups during their first visit. Grizzer watches from the new habitat, then spends a significant amount of time overmarking any urinations left by the visitor. It's good stimulus and keeps him active.
We got some great news from the University of Minnesota nutritionist who has been working on Luna's case since May. She thought the x-rays looked fantastic with bone density much improved. Luna was spayed on Wednesday the 18th and is currently in a 5-day activity restriction, but with the heat going on right now, we're all in an activity restriction. We do not have a definitive plan for Luna yet, we plan to neuter Boltz next Tuesday, take some x-rays while he is sedated to get the best view possible, then compare her x-rays to his. This will tell us comparatively, the status of her bone density and will help the risk assessment process when determining if Luna can join the Exhibit Pack. We have consulted with other facilities, even one who had a bone density issue on a pup who joined the pack, and in their experience, the adults are very tolerant of pups and didn't have any issues. With our wooded and rocky habitat, her bone density assessment is more related to the risk of a fragile bone structure that may be vulnerable to fractures in uneven terrain rather than social activity with Boltz or the adults. I will post a brief explanation of the introduction plan in next week's logs after next Tuesday's set of x-rays on Boltz.<br> Luna's weights since last week's logs:<br> Date Days Old Weight in LBS.<br> <li>7/14/2012 112 32.1<li> 7/15/2012 113 32.18<li> 7/16/2012 114 33.07<li> 7/17/2012 115 33.07<li> 7/18/2012 116 33.95<li> 7/19/2012 117 34.39<li> 7/20/2012 118 33.06 The lower weight on the 20th may be in response to the spay.
In addition to cedar oil, we have added cedar chips to the enclosure. This continues to be a good method for dealing with flies and having a natural repellent. We are also using some other fly predator products and some pheromone traps. I had an interesting behavioral observation this morning, Malik was standing on the den and did a threat display towards Shadow, who was digging up a cache 10 feet away. Malik didn't follow through with contact or an approach, and Shadow didn't stop eating the cache. Malik typically shows more food aggression, so the fact that Shadow wasn't intimidated is a good scenario.
All of the work Oscar did this summer paid off for Boltz. He immediately assumed a submissive posture with the adult wolves, similar to his greetings to Oscar. This created a very calm introduction for Boltz. He submitted repeatedly and the adults greeted excitedly with no issues. He continues to be very tractable to both Aidan and Denali, often following Denali to the front of the Exhibit from the upper enclosure. We will be conducting the analysis of the Behavioral teams data collection sessions to determine if Boltz has a preference for adult interactions. At this point, he is tractable to both Aidan and Denali, but he does show intimidation when there is dominance between the adults. Luna shows no intimidation regardless of what's going on in the enclosure. As you can see from the weights, Boltz has had no problems adjusting and has taken advantage of the carcasses available in the Exhibit. Here are the postings since last week.<br> Date; Days old; Weight in lbs.<br> <li>7/28/2012 134 51.37<li> 7/29/2012 135 51.9<li> 7/30/2012 INTRO 136 51.5<li> 7/31/2012 137 52.4<li> 8/1/2012 138 52.8<li> 8/2/2012 139 54.2
Speaking of wolves showing their age, Malik and Shadow are NOT acting like 12-year olds. Their mobility and jumping capability is incredible, and when they get excited, they can still spring in the air like 2-year olds. Of course, it helps that they rest 10 – 12 hours in between these springing greetings, but we are not experiencing the aging process like we did with our previous retired wolves. Malik continues to be the guarding of all things food in retirement as well as the likely wolf to possess any unattended items.
The logs will be all the same for this week. We did some concrete work in the Exhibit Pack on Wednesday which took precedence over all filming. The back of the den site in the Exhibit Pack had some old logs as a cover to prevent snow or rain from getting into the den. These logs were starting to rot and with Luna still being vulnerable and extremely active near the den, we decided to concrete a 3 foot by 6 foot overhang at the back of the den site. You may have noticed the densite webcam showing the fencing used to keep the wolves out. They were extremely good about the fencing and other than Denali on circling the fence on the first night, they didn’t dig or push on the fence. This allowed the concrete to dry thoroughly before the form and fence were removed on Friday. Grizzer, Shadow and Malik have had a quiet week and we will have more to report next week.
The logs will be all the same for this week. We did some concrete work in the Exhibit Pack on Wednesday which took precedence over all filming. The back of the den site in the Exhibit Pack had some old logs as a cover to prevent snow or rain from getting into the den. These logs were starting to rot and with Luna still being vulnerable and extremely active near the den, we decided to concrete a 3 foot by 6 foot overhang at the back of the den site. You may have noticed the densite webcam showing the fencing used to keep the wolves out. They were extremely good about the fencing and other than Denali on circling the fence on the first night, they didn’t dig or push on the fence. This allowed the concrete to dry thoroughly before the form and fence were removed on Friday. Grizzer, Shadow and Malik have had a quiet week and we will have more to report next week.
Shadow seems to be returning to all the carcass feeding behaviors he previously held in the Exhibit Pack. It's been 2 years since we retired him and we don't know why he became so timid around food, but we are pleased with this new development. Each wolf ages a different way, some become more temperamental, some just mellow with age. It appears that Shadow is becoming mellow.
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.