The weather has turned warm here, from temperatures of -30 degrees Fahrenheit last week to temperatures of + 35 degree Fahrenheit today. The smell of spring was in the air, even if it was just a normal January thaw, and the promise of cold air returning later this week. When warm weather occurs, the wolves do respond differently, with a little more spring in their step and more play behavior. Even the retired wolves did a few social bouts this week. As a reminder, Nanny and Behavioral Observation applications are still being accepted until February 1st. We are willing to accept the application as an email attachment.
You may have noticed that we are experiencing some technical difficulty with the webcams. We hope to have them repaired this week. We appreciate your patience and support for the Ambassador wolves at the Center. The Nanny Application deadline has passed. Now we will begin to coordinate teams and make selections. We plan to have the award letters mailed by February 15th. The wolves are doing well, and have fared the recent cold snap without issues.
Thanks to all of you for your tolerance during our recent webcam issues. These were issues at the server level, and not with the cameras, although, the challenging 40 below wind-chill during the camera failure had us doubting the limits of the cameras. The current camera host is a temporary fix, and you might notice minor adjustments or down time in the upcoming week, but hopefully not as long we just experienced. The Nanny Application deadline has passed, and Assistant Wolf Curator, Donna Prichard and I are meeting to organize teams. We will have the award letters mailed by February, 15th. The Behavioral Observation team has a few positions remaining, so, you will continue to see this program advertised. Grizzer had a slight eye infection due to a canine bite near his eyelid; he’s been treated with topical antibiotics and is doing well. Their “play behavior has been a bit rough lately, especially between Grizzer and Maya, so it’s no wonder he caught a tooth in his eye. He was easy to treat, but we did refrain from any ointment on the coldest days. His eye is fine, but we usually run a standard of 7 day treatments with antibiotics.
MacKenzie was very social with staff in the last few checks, and continues to show social behavior with Lakota. Her common resting spot these days is in front of the first den box where staff have raked straw. The warming sun does heat up her coat, but no doubt feels good on the joints.
MacKenzie continues to maintain good mobility despite the recent icy conditions. Staff spread straw throughout the enclosure to provide better traction. A warm day should help reduce the upper layer of ice. MacKenzie does enjoy the colder weather, much more than a hot summer day, so while wolf care staff may be affected by the temperatures, MacKenzie remains very comfortable. The Nanny Application deadline has passed, and Assistant Wolf Curator, Donna Prichard and I are meeting to organize teams. We will have the award letters mailed by February, 15th. The Behavioral Observation team has a few positions remaining, so, you will continue to see this program advertised.
Maya has been very social with Shadow and Grizzer, even though the images you see in Grizzer’s log might indicate differently. This is a good time of year for the pack to interact, agreed, sometimes it’s tense, but there’s always action in the pack. It will be interesting to see how Maya interacts with the newest pack members, the pups we will be raising in 2008. She takes her role as dominant female very intensely, and she will likely take on a maternal role as well. We have data to support Shadow’s behavior as a paternal figure in a social pack. The Nanny Application deadline has passed, and Assistant Wolf Curator, Donna Prichard and I are meeting to organize teams. We will have the award letters mailed by February, 15th. The Behavioral Observation team has a few positions remaining, so, you will continue to see this program advertised
Shadow has been very confident this winter; it’s hard to determine what influenced this the most. We did restrict all Behind the Scenes tours this winter for large groups, something that would lead to Shadow bark howling and showing a great deal of weakness. We will continue the Behind the Scenes opportunities in May, by this time, the summer hormones will be much calmer and with the pups on site, we believe the wolves will have heightened levels of prolactin, a nurturing hormone. The Nanny Application deadline has passed, and Assistant Wolf Curator, Donna Prichard and I are meeting to organize teams. We will have the award letters mailed by February, 15th. The Behavioral Observation team has a few positions remaining, so, you will continue to see this program advertised
It is amazing how pups change during this time termed the Transition period, before their hearing is fully developed. Noteable behaviors and physical developments that occurred today include: Ears standing erect for short periods of time, awareness of gate noise and human voices, pups very alert to the howling of the Exhibit Pack, growling and barking in their sleep, and teething, as the upper incisor teeth emerged early this morning. Wolf Pup # 1 also had a head-shake reflex, this will later be associated with predatory behavior, when hunting, wolves will vigorously shake something to kill it. At this age, this is likely a reflex, not a true behavioral response.
MacKenzie has been greatly benefited by a warm week of weather. Temperatures reached over 30 degrees this weekend and this makes her much more agile and comfortable. As I write this, she's been watching the Exhibit Pack as they race around the exhibit. Her desire for status has not decreased with age. She continues to maintain the dominant role in the Retired Pack and shows dominance through the fence at the Exhibit Pack. A few weeks ago, we wrote about Lakota losing her vocal chords and not being able to howl, but still goes through the motions. This is age related, not injury related. The one thing we have noticed, is that MacKenzie doesn't stimulate to howl, even when the Exhibit Pack is in full chorus. So, we don't know if she has lost her voice as well.
As we've stated in other logs, this is the breeding season for wolves. In our exhibit, we spay and neuter the pack to avoid breeding and to reduce aggression. Maya doesn't have another female to dominante, so her behaviors are more on the social side. One characteristic of wolves is to have strong associative behaviors between the dominant pair, in the Exhibit Pack, this is Maya and Shadow. In this week's image, you will see some of that pair bonding behavior as Maya greets Shadow with a full face lick. Maya also controls most of the food in the enclosure, as shown in her video.
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.