At the end of the Behavioral Observation week, I asked the team members to write a paragraph about their impression of the individual wolves. The following logs were written by Behavioral Team Members:<br> Nykia Steger<br> Laverne Logan<br> Joyce Riveroll<br> <br> "After the excitement of the pups had subsided, Aidan displayed more calm behavior. The pups kept him busy engaging in numerous play and chase behaviors. He continues to display intense guarding of the pups from Denali, especially if play becomes rough. He was observed on several occasions bringing food to the pups. Aidan is showing more interest toward interactions of the pack and is actively engaging during high activity. It will be interesting to see if he will assume the dominant male role in the pack."
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.
Aidan has really developed into a attentive, social and defensive pack leader. He is always aware of the pups presence, continues to bring them food and has some very intense dominance interactions with Denali when there's a lot of activity around the pups. What's most impressive is his strong interest in Luna, he clearly seeks her out for interaction. This doesn't mean that he ignores Boltz, but there seems to be a stronger bond forming with Luna. Aidan has characteristics similar to Shadow and certainly all indications are that he will be the ultimate leader of this pack (if it's ok with Luna)…
Boltz has the most advanced winter pelage than any of the wolves on site. His tail has fully developed guard hairs and is mid-back saddle has a dynamic coloration. It's hard to believe this is the same gangly pup that was tripping over his paws. He's gaining height and girth, although he has a lot of height to gain before he compares to Denali, but he's advancing well. It's hard to say if he will top 100 pounds like his adult pack mates, I would be happy if he reached 90 lbs. He was 5 months old last Friday, and in comparison, Grizzer was 85 lbs by 6 months of age, so I don't think we will get the weight gain that we saw from Grizzer, but the next month should produce a noticeable change from that pup look to a maturing juvenile.
Denali has shown no significant guarding behavior toward the pups, his sole interactions including joining in on the chase and attempting to take their food. His behavior is similar to that of an overgrown juvenile, except that he's four years old and should act a bit more mature. We have had some interesting dynamics between Denali and Aidan. Aidan is quite intense if Denali is too close to the pups when they are interacting and Aidan has done several lunge displays with teeth barred, growling and in full hackle response. Denali would normally run and keep his distance. On two occasions, I've observed Denali doing a full threat display with direct eye contact back to Aidan. This is the start of what may be some intense brotherly dominance to settle the rank order and definitively put Aidan on top. The interesting component is the pups. Boltz clearly aligns with Aidan, which may be a factor in the future.
We pressure washed Grizzer's pond earlier this week and he has been spending a lot of time wading and pawing water. He's starting to transition to the back habitat and den site, rather than spending time near the front of the yard. He has a much better view of pack activity in the Exhibit from the high vantage point on the den. We are in the discussion stages on web streaming cameras for Grizzer's enclosure as well as the Exhibit pack, and hope to get something on the web soon. I know many of you miss seeing him on a daily basis, but he's doing well. I watched him get a full body massage from one of the staff today, without any other canid competition, he could lay their for hours with the staff.
We received Luna's bloodwork and she is in normal range in Vitamin D levels which is great news. Her last set of x-rays show the femur fracture completely healed, and mineralization of the bone indicating an improvement in bone density. We will continue to provide her nutritional supplements, but based on the comparison between Boltz's x-ray and Luna's, she will be included on the July 30th pup introduction. We are trying to maximize her weight and would like to see her at around 38 lbs, which was Maya's weight on her introduction. <br> Here are the weight gains since the last posting:<br> Date Days of Age Weight in Pounds<br> <li>7/21/2012 119 33.9 <li> 7/22/2012 120 34.83<li> 7/23/2012 121 35.27<li> 7/24/2012 122 35.27<li> 7/25/2012 123 36.16<li> 7/26/2012 124 36.59
Shadow has been a bit more active lately. We brought in a staff person who hasn't been in the pen since Shadow was retired. This created a lot of excitement and Shadow spent some time chasing, whirling and running on one of the morning wolf checks. This is quite different than the middle of the day heat, when he looks like he can't stand another minute of warm temperatures. We definitely need to watch him closely during these warmer days and have been using the sprinkler system on a regular basis.
I posted these logs as 9/1 so they wouldn't go into archive status after today. Aidan is doing such an amazing job with the pups. His guarding behavior of Denali is increasing and he's showing some very dominant postures, including a tail posture with a slight rise at the base (remind anyone of Maya?). What's most amazing is his tolerance of the pups while we are feeding. He waits patiently while the pups are being hand-fed and doesn't show aggression or over anxious behavior to try and get the food. We reward him often for this behavior, compared to Denali who we now lock into holding when we try to feed the pups. Aidan is no longer receiving any treatment for the Discoid Lupus, his pigmentation on his nose is nearly back to normal.
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