The pack interactions with Malik have been pretty calm lately, right now the tension is Maya and Aidan, which sets Grizzer to follow Malik, but not too much other than that. Even though Malik is the bottom of the rank order at this time, he is still able to get his fair share of food. There have been times when he feeds right with Denali, not an easy task. Malik still has his moments of testing Grizzer, especially if Shadow is actively dominating Grizzer, but that's a wolf. There's always the instinct to be an opportunist, and that is the best way to describe Malik. One note to all wolf log readers, we are experiencing some difficulty with video editing software. The curator has purchased a new computer and an upgrade of software, but it may not be arriving for a few days. Please be patient, we know the importance of the video, and will solve it before the next YouTube is due on September 1st. In the meantime, a podcast is being produced today, discussing the behavioral observations of the summer Ethology and Pups at One Year participants.
Aidan has a new quirk that the wolf care staff must solve. Well, it's not really a quirk, more like self-preservation, he doesn't want to go into holding with Maya. Of course, we certainly understand, Maya continues to remind Aidan that he's gaining no status as a yearling. We wouldn't mind this situation, if it wasn't for the fact that he is not afraid of the wheelbarrow, and when we feed, he meets staff at the gate and tries to drag the deer away from the viewing windows and public program. Last week, he not only dragged the deer, but the staff and the wheelbarrow as well. Of course, this is a problem we created, someone thought it was cute to let the wolves climb in the wheelbarrow when they were pups. Bad idea, now we will deal with this problem for the near future. At tonight's feeding, the curator stayed in the pack holding area with Aidan and provided him some security, but this is not a long term solution. The curator does not have plans for living in the enclosure.
We started Aidan on a Derm Cap supplement this weekend. This will be a daily supplement to improve his coat condition. Compared to Denali, his guard hairs are not as thick or smooth. This may be related to added stress of Maya's dominance, but we notice issues with his digestion as well. Last week, we fed some beef to the pack, and Aidan had some significant digestive problems. The pack is back to the standards of deer and beaver as the main source of food.
Denali is really increasing in height, his long lanky legs make him a bit uncoordinated, but he manages to coordinate his efforts to get enough food every week. He is the most active on the bi-weekly feeding programs, and will always take a meal. There are noticeable signs of Denali doing more ride-up behaviors, as an indication of testing behavior, but Shadow is very much in control off all situations. Denali seems to respect Shadow, although he continues to use Grizzer as a chew toy.
Denali is really developing a long sleek coat. Wolves shed around early to mid-June, then by the middle of August, begin to grow in the undercoat that makes their guard hairs more prominent. Denali is an active yearling, testing whoever allows it. At this point, that's Grizzer, as every other wolf, including Aidan, give Denali a hard muzzle bite when he pokes them, rides up on them, or generally annoys them. So far, Denali continues to be the most food focused of all the pack members, and even with beaver fed on Wednesday's, and a deer on the weekend, wolf care staff have yet to take out any uneaten, rotting food.
Shadow has shown tolerance for the construction, and a strong leadership when other pack members are anxious. The main issues that get the pack upset are people walking up to the fence, the crane rising over the building, and when people other than staff howl to the wolves. Despite a very hectic summer for wolves, Shadow is clearly the leader, and still retains respect from every other pack member. One thing that is noted, is that Shadow continues to be very dominant over Grizzer, keeping the 2nd ranking male from showing any signs of climbing rank.
Someone recently asked Denali's height at the shoulders. It's difficult to measure him as he thinks anything that is dangling in front of him should be his possession, but based on his height against the curator's leg, he is 33 inches at the shoulder. This is taller than any of the other wolves. If we can get enough wolf care staff together, we will get weights on them in the next week. Denali continues to escape the dominance from Maya or Shadow, which leaves him free to mount from behind, do a foreleg stab on any wolf that is busy, and generally, be an obnoxious yearling. We hope he grows out of this, but there are indications that this is his personality trait.
Grizzer has mastered the eye stalk. This is where a wolf just uses direct eye contact to get the desired result, usually, another wolf showing timid ear posture and dropping their tail. Of course, the object of his stare's is Malik, and Malik responds as a lower ranking wolf should. Grizzer still has issues with the anticipation of feeding, tonight while in holding, at least 6 small trees were snapped off, yet when he's out with the deer, he didn't approach, but wrestled with Aidan instead.
Due to the fact that we're a bit short staffed, and it's been a busy weekend with the Alpha Member's/Board Meeting weekend, we will be posting the same log for all wolves. The video this week will be featured on the International Wolf Center's YouTube video channel, and will include a video on the factors we monitor when deciding a wolf needs to be retired, and a feeding program that we did without public viewing. Usually, when we feed, the public is on site with people at the windows. Shadow is a bit shy about feeding in front of people and cameras. On Tuesday night, September 8th, the Vermilion Community College Wolf/Deer Interaction class did a deer dissection, and Curator, Lori Schmidt fed the torso after everyone had left the site. Shadow was the actively feeding the entire time, and was very dominant on the carcass. All wolves are doing well, although this unexpected 80 degree weather in September has been keeping the wolves calm. They have grown in their winter coat, and are adapting to the heat by staying down for most of the day.
In preparation for the transition to the new log format, we will be posting a YouTube video on a weekly basis, rather than the 20 second clips linked in the weekly log posting. This format should give a better appreciation for the tone of the pack, rather than the individual wolf. There may be a 1 – 2 day delay in the YouTube video posting after the wolf log postings. We still don't have a weight on Malik, he's too nervous to stand on the scale and wonder what's behind him. We will likely have to wait until retirement to get him weighed. Malik has been doing well, despite his tendency to try to bite Grizzer when Shadow has Grizzer on the ground. Grizzer may get up and chase Malik, but so far, we haven't observed any focused behavior from Grizzer to Malik. We would like to convince Malik that it's in his best interest to stay as the 3rd ranking male and not try to gain status over Grizzer, but a wolf is going to do what a wolf is going to do. We have a management plan for retirement, and are watching Malik's behavior to see when he no longer wants to be part of the pack, but he gains so much confidence from Shadow, it's apparent that he is part of this pack structure. Our hope is that once the construction and dawn to dusk noise is over that Shadow will relax, making the rest of the pack relax.
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