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.
Shadow has been spending a lot of time in the back of the enclosure in the bare soil. He tends to overheat more than Malik, and if you recall last July, we had a significant issue on a hot humid day. The Retired Pack and Exhibit Pack will have sprinkler hose installed, and Shadow loves to walk under the mist.
Grizzer has taken to sunbathing lately. He has most of his undercoat shed, and now feels comfortable to rest in the sun. He is 8 years old, about the time joint stiffness starts.
Shadow really utilizes the dense vegetation in the enclosure to keep cool and to reduce fly bites. He is more readily accepting of fly ointment, as long as we take it out of the jar, put it on our fingers, hide our fingers in our coat, then… put the ointment on the ears as soon you enter the pen…
The wolf logs are all the same this week due to the obligations to the Ethology class and an 80 degree heat and humidity spell that requires the curator to be spending time keeping the wolves cool. We had a great Ethology course this week, and the staff at the Center learned some great new techniques for managing anxiety, thanks to some tremendous resources among our program participants. The wolves did extremely well, even allowing for small group tours of Grizzer’s enclosure extension on the last night. Grizzer’s ground wire is in place, the next week will focus on burying the ground wire, completing the concrete pads and laying out the den. Our hope is to move him by July 15th. Shadow and Malik have a significant amount of hair remaining, but we continue to hand pluck the hair on a daily basis. Today is extremely warm and humid, so extra sprinkler time and use of the water hose is critical. Enjoy the 4th of July weekend, and be safe. Someone had asked if the wolves panic due to the fireworks noise, and the answer is no, we do some very positive conditioning as pups to fireworks, and they are very accustom to thunderstorms, showing no negative issues with this noise. Wind on the other hand, makes them nervous.
While wolf care staff gets excitable greetings from Shadow and Malik (including jumps up on the den), warm weather always brings a reminder of their age. At 11 years old, they may be spry to greet, but hot humid weather is harder with age. We were very concerned about Shadow in a recent heat spell, and he had a harder time cooling himself. This is likely due to their late shedding pattern. We have since managed to brush 3 – 4 bags of hair from him, and he is significantly less burdened by hair. Shadow does like a mist spray, and will often squint his eyes and stand under the spray until he's sufficiently coated with water, then he retreats back to the den to keep watch.
Malik has been trying to posture more status over Shadow, but Shadow is far from intimidated. These two show very little physical dominance, but they are masters at the stiff leg walk and circle behavior. Malik rarely every wins any of these posturing sessions, but he seems very stimulated to try.
The cedar oil in the den works well, we even started trying some in the lab. There appears to be some slight dominance between these two individuals, especially if the pups are making some noise.
Malik has taken extra efforts to guard and possess food from Shadow and the wolf care staff. He's always had that tendency, maybe because he's always been lower ranking and he had to compete for his food. Whatever the reason, he is very good and defending and threat displaying to anyone or thing that comes near his cache.
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