Every day we do wolf care, staff write notes in the logs to inform other staff of any issues or concerns as well as give overall status information on the individual wolves. I thought I would share some of these comments in this week's logs. <br> On 5 September, staff wrote:<br> "Denali is acting like a big pup. He has to investigate everything the pups have, tries to play tug of war and steal the pups food and is easier to manage if he just waits in holding until the pups are fed. Fortunately, Denali is very tolerant of holding and has no anxiety, he spends his time looking for meat particles and items the pups may have left behind." <br> As the curator, I cover most of the pup feeding shifts morning and night and I actually wrote the log notes for Denali. Most people thought that when the pups were in the pack that the work and hours would be reduced. Until these pups reach adult size (sometime in early December), we will be focusing on the pups food and nutritional needs. This means that Denali will get extra treats and extra staff time as we move wolves around to find the best arrangement to get food to the pups. Denali has had more time with staff in one week of post introduction pup care than he did most months last winter when Aidan was guarding staff from Denali.
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Luna continues to amaze us in her ability to control feeding interactions with the adults. On this week's Youtube, you will see several instances where Denali respects Luna's possession of a carcass. The supplements are as challenging as ever, but we are committed to maximize her nutritional needs and grow into a healthy adult. Luna is very animated about feeding, she tosses food in the air, head shakes hides and can defend food with a quick lip curl, snarl and growl. We do see some limping on her hind leg after extended periods of rest or after a significantly active chase scene. But, she's quick to recover. Keeping good straw placement for warmth and insulation will be an important part of the this winter's routine.
We are making great strides towards completing Grizzer's habitat. 3.5 yards of concrete was poured to form the den walls for his new den. It will look similar to Shadow and Malik, but a bit narrower. We will be pouring concrete slabs by the gates on Monday, we need to haul rock over groundwire, put some rocks for steps on the den, build a roof over the vestibule and finish some line rail pipes and he will be ready to use the new space. With other programming obligations taking a priority, the estimated time of completion is July 20th. We look forward to that day.
Malik has shed more than Shadow and had an easier time during the recent heat and humidity that plagued Shadow. Malik has a tendency to stay deep in the thick vegetation, rarely moving during the day. In contrast, Shadow remains alert on or in the den as he watches activities in the wolf yard. Staff did an excellent job of keeping both wolves misted with water, and monitored their respiration often. A cool front yesterday was a welcome relief to all, humans and wolves alike.
Grizzer's habitat work is complete, there are only a few visual barriers that need to be added, but the plan is to allow him access to that space on Monday morning during wolf care. We will video tape his behavior and post a Youtube video that day. He had a great day today with temperatures cool and no work on the enclosure. He was very relaxed, but during the night, he must have scraped his head on some branches, he re-opened his wound. He willingly allows staff to apply ointment, so we will be doing multiple applications. It does take time for that new skin to heal and become hardy enough to withstand a wolf scent rolling or rubbing against trees.
Malik is the only wolf here that is completely obsessed with stalking and lunging at Oscar. We will be blocking off the access area to the Retired Wolf enclosure to prevent Oscar from coming anywhere close to retirement enclosure. Each wolf has a different predatory drive and Malik's is engaged in high gear. Shadow is very social with Oscar and has no issues, but it is safer for Oscar to stay away from this area. Malik is also more relaxed since the construction is complete.
Aidan's change in behavior has resulted in some increased feeding bouts. Aidan actively guarded Denali from the deer carcass last week and still carries a significantly large belly showing that he is still eating caches. We also had an enclosure enrichment which included the feeding of a beaver that was used for a dissection for the Pup Summer Day Camp program. Even though it's hot, we aren't taking that much excess food from the enclosure.
Due to the Planning for Pups weekend, the excessive heat and the ongoing work on Grizzer’s habitat, this week’s logs will contain the same content for each wolf. Aidan was weighed during Planning for Pups and he's lost a few pounds, down to 120 lbs probably due to construction. Denali was weighed and has increased by a pound, up to 125 lbs. The first thing we need to do is introduce the newest member of the wolf care team. Oscar, a collie mix dog, was recently adopted from the Range Regional Animal Rescue facility in Hibbing Minnesota. We decided to look for a dog that could help provide some social stimulus to Grizzer (through the fence, not as a pack mate) as well as serve for a role model for the 2012 pups. Grizzer is very social, rubbing up against the fence when Oscar approaches, of course, Oscar is always on a leash and under direct supervision, Grizzer is still a wolf. We discovered Oscar and his perpetual grin on his website photo stimulated our application for adoption. Aidan is excitedly whining towards Oscar and Oscar has also helped some of Aidan’s anxiety going through the medical pen gates. Shadow and Malik are stimulated as well, allowing staff to liberally coat fly ointment spray on their heads and ears as they watch Oscar. This is a bonus, as they are usually hard to treat. Oscar has a large extended family, with many staff offering to take him for walks and social time with staff off-site, but Oscar’s home is the Center, and each night, he settles into a sleeping bag as staff put on a CD of music, set the air conditioning to 72 degrees and allow him a good night’s sleep in the safety of the wolf lab before he begins another day of playing in the wolf yard. Oscar’s photo is posted on Malik’s site, the arctics were too hot to come out of the shade for a photo this week, so we used a winter photo of Shadow, reminding us of cooler weather and Oscar did a stand in for Malik.
Aidan continues to show very strong social behavior towards Oscar. We are building some separation panels for the Exhibit fenceline to protect Oscar so he can go visit Aidan and not risk a nose or paw getting caught in the fence. The panels will be made of hardware cloth which is very small metal fencing which is mounted on 2×4 panels and bolted to the fence. Today is the first day of cooler weather in a week, with a daytime high of 60 degrees, Aidan and Denali have been very playful. The Youtube posting for this week will be delayed until Monday, Grizzer will be introduced to his new habitat and we will post his interactions in the new area.
We really thought Malik would be more focused on Grizzer's presence in the adjacent habitat, but Malik doesn't seem to notice or if he does, he doesn't care. The wall between these two enclosures is a solid visual barrier with rocks and logs at the base of both sides and another layer of ground wire and concrete on Grizzer's side. We certainly didn't want any accidental meetings in the middle of the night. People often ask how to tell Shadow and Malik apart, this week's photo shows the more petite features of Malik. He has a very narrow muzzle compared to Shadow and has a cowlick down the middle of his face.
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