29 Jan. 2020

In Retirement, the activity from the Exhibit Pack gives Grizzer some focus. He will often climb on top of the den in the Back Habitat, where he has a great view of the Exhibit. He can hear, see, and smell them, and when the Exhibit Pack is ramped up and running around, Grizzer usually gets excited and will run around his enclosures as well.  Although he has some vision and hearing loss due to his age, he continues to have great focus.  He will be 16 years of age in May, and staff are very pleased to see how clear his cognitive function continues to be. We are grateful to Kelly Godfrey, Ann Rasberry and Melonie Shipman who have all contributed to Grizzer’s fond desire for pork roasts.   At his age, we are not restricting his diet with the exception that his aging teeth make it hard to eat any bone, so traditional deer and beaver diets are limited.  Grizzer has a rotating diet of boneless chicken, bonedust, beef and pork roasts, all fed in small quantities to avoid having food taken by scavenging ravens.  We don’t mind feeding ravens in the main pack, but with Grizzer’s declining vision, having large birds swoop from the sky can be intimidating.

Grizzer carrying a pork roast from the pack holding area

Wolf Log written by Assistant curator, Leanne Martin

29 Jan. 2020

Midwinter dominance
The dynamics within the Exhibit Pack continue to shift. With the absence of a dominant male and female pair, the pack is not as settled as it would be in the presence of a dominant pair. It is likely that we will not see a fully settled pack structure until we welcome the 2020 pups into the Exhibit. Once the new pups have matured, we expect to see a male/female pairing that will create solid leadership within the pack.

Staff are working with Axel, helping to assert a little bit of dominance over him, encouraging him to submit and providing a positive reinforcement when he does. Staff must be mindful to not have him submit when Grayson is nearby, as we do not want Grayson to take advantage of him while he is in a vulnerable position. Distractions such as deer hides and legs, play a key role in helping keep Axel’s attention on something other than Boltz. These techniques have proven successful in reducing Axel’s focus and overall intensity of interactions.  He still has some issues with personal space, often standing or lying inches away from another wolf despite their lip curl and growl warning him that he’s in their bubble.

Over the weekend, Denali controlled the carcass during the weekly “What’s for Dinner?” program. What was interesting was that he allowed Boltz to feed on the carcass with him, but he didn’t let the arctic’s on the carcass.  It is always a challenge to assess correlation and causation in science, but within a day after the feeding, Boltz seemed to gain a little bit of power. Boltz has been steadily gaining confidence ever since and participates in pack rallies, yet he still isn’t fully comfortable around Axel.  Denali seems to be source of security for Boltz and each morning, Denali and Boltz emerge from the main den together.

Written by Assistant Curator, Leanne Martin

Jan. 19, 2020

As we reported last week, wolf care staff have been diligent in monitoring Boltz as he chose to isolate himself in the den. We had been hand delivering food to him, watching for his use of the heated water source close to the den and added another layer of hay in the den.  In some sense, this densite is prime real estate in the Exhibit, but not if you have anxiety that keeps you isolated from the pack.   We are happy to report that on Saturday January 18th’s “What’s for Dinner?” program, staff arrived to find all 4 wolves at the gate.  Our management tactics of working on Axel’s dominance over the last week was enough to give Boltz time to build his confidence.  This is not the first time we had confidence issues with Boltz. If you follow our wolf logs, you may recall we have some issues with flying insects that can result in the same response from Boltz during the summer months.   Why is Boltz so sensitive? In 2012 when we adopted Boltz, he was almost 30 days of age before we met him.  While he was socialized to humans at his source facility, he didn’t have the broad socialization process to life at a high traffic public facility, so stress influences him differently than our other wolves.  Due to the neophobic nature of wolves (fearful of new things), the Center’s management policy prefers a pup adoption during the neonate stage of pup development between 10 -14 days of age.  The wolf care team is a group of dedicated, well-trained individuals that will work on the 2020 pup’s exposure to new stimuli with a goal of positive conditioning.  Our priority is to develop social alliances between the pups and the adults as well as the humans that will care for them throughout their lives.  The playful antics of pups can create a positive distraction during stressful times.  We definitely look forwards to the influence of Boltz’s future packmates.

 

Jan. 19, 2020

Ely has had some fresh snowfall this week, which Grizzer enjoys. He has been seen excitedly rolling over in the snow, near the East Side den. Grizzer’s undercoat is quite thick and dense, which provides him with ample protection from the cold.  Despite the fact that we have five heated water sources throughout the two enclosures, You may see the wolves on the webcam eating snow.  The warm, wet snow has moisture and can meet their needs.  Grizzer also likes to do a face-wipe in the snow after his morning breakfast, a method of cleaning his face.

Whenever there is significant snowfall, staff shovel out pathways for Grizzer throughout all the retirement enclosures. The paths help Grizzer navigate his surroundings easier. Staff also make sure there is extra hay placed on the back sides of the dens. This hay provides extra traction for Grizzer as he climbs up onto the dens, keeping him active to maintain joint health.

Written by Assistant Curator, Leanne Martin

Jan. 9, 2020

In the Exhibit Pack, it appears that Boltz has lost some confidence. He has been spending a good deal of time in the den and comes out only when he is sure that Axel and Grayson are distracted.  Axel and Grayson have been testing their limits with the older packmates, Boltz and Denali. This is a seasonal issue  that has played out many times in the Center’s 30-year history of ambassador wolves.  By opening the Pack Holding Area and letting Axel and Grayson visit Grizzer, it diffuses some of the tension, keeps Grizzer stimulated and gives Boltz some time to move about the enclosure.  The leadership in this pack is in flux with tension between Axel and Grayson being observed as well. Axel will often ride up on Grayson, and the two of them have been engaging in face-offs. A face-off is a face to face confrontation between two wolves, with tense posturing. When Axel and Grayson are focusing on each other, that gives Denali a break from the tension.  It is always educational to look back at previous events when analyzing pack dynamics, Shadow and Malik, arctic brothers born on May 8, 2000 had their fair share of brotherly moments.

Logs written by Assistant Curator, Leanne Martin

Denali getting a restful moment from the pack activity

 

August 2008 – Shadow and Malik face-off with Grizzer watching

Jan. 9, 2020

Grizzer enjoys his daily interactions with wolf care staff. While greeting staff, he will play bow and then excitedly run around the Pack Holding Area. For a 15-and-a-half-year-old wolf, he is very mobile and active. Staff continue to open the Pack Holding Area for the Exhibit Pack to come in and greet Grizzer when feasible. Although staff aren’t always able to do this daily, a few times a week seems to work well for Grizzer.

The combination of staff interactions and fence line greetings with the Exhibit Pack provides Grizzer with the social stimulation he needs. Grizzer also utilizes the tops of the dens in the Back Habitat and Pack Holding Area to watch the Exhibit Pack. Just being able to hear and smell them from afar gives Grizzer additional engagement with his surroundings.

Logs written by Assistant Curator, Leanne Martin

Dec. 18, 2019

Recently, staff have noticed Grizzer engaging in what is known as caching behavior. Caching is when a wolf takes an object (usually food), and buries it under snow, soil, leaves, or other material, for later retrieval. He will cache small chunks of meat, using his nose to bury them in the snow. Now that he is the only wolf in retirement, he can retrieve his caches without having them taken by another wolf.

Grizzer is currently on a diet of 3 pounds of meat a day. We alternate between pork, beef, and other meat, to provide variety in his diet. Staff have been encouraging him to come into the Pack Holding Area vestibule to eat, to help him build a positive association in that space. Previously, that space had been where Luna came in to eat. Having that positive association was important for her on her last day, as she willingly came into the vestibule with minimal stress response.

We have limited numbers of Luna adoption kits left in our online store. Once they have sold out we will not be restocking, so if you would like to purchase an adoption kit in memory of Luna, visit https://shop.wolf.org/Ambassador_Wolf_Adoption_Kits_p/9809p.htm .

Dec. 18, 2019

The temperatures in Ely have been dropping below zero this week. Wolves are usually more active during the colder months, and pack dynamics are more intense. Axel and Grayson continue to test Denali for weakness and have been focusing on Boltz as well. Distractions are an important tool that staff use to ease tension within the pack. One of the most important distractions we use is food. If staff feel like things are getting too ramped up, we will feed a deer torso,  a bag of chicken, a beaver carcass, or whatever else we have on hand.  If you watch the Exhibit Pack webcam, you might be able to spot some of these food resources in the enclosure!

Written by Assistant Curator, Leanne Martin

Dec. 9, 2019

In an effort to give Grizzer some social stimulation, we have been opening up the Pack Holding Area and allowing the Exhibit Pack to come in and greet Grizzer through the fence. At first, they displayed some anxious behavior, with Grayson being the most anxious. Denali, Boltz, and Axel all calmed down after a while and had face to face greetings with Grizzer. Although there was some posturing between Denali and Grizzer with neither of them backing down, the interaction wasn’t aggressive, which is a good sign. Grayson stayed back and didn’t approach Grizzer at all. Grayson has always had more of a timid personality, and with the current lack of leadership within the pack, he struggles to maintain confidence.

Wolf logs written by Assistant Curator, Leanne Martin

 

Dec. 9, 2019

After Luna’s passing, staff are motivated to keep Grizzer stimulated.  One method is to open up the Pack Holding Area during morning wolf care, which allows the Exhibit Pack to come in and greet Grizzer through the fence. During these sessions, Grizzer is locked out of the Pack Holding Area, but has full access to the East Side and Back Habitat. Grizzer has not displayed any aggression towards the other wolves, in fact, he seems eager to engage with them. Although he could leave the fence line at any time, he chooses to stay and greet the others, often face to face. Once the Exhibit Pack is back in the main enclosure, Grizzer is let back out into the Pack Holding Area, and he gets to investigate the areas that the other wolves marked. This helps keep his cognitive ability stimulated.

Grizzer was weighed last week, and his current weight is 125 lbs. This is a great weight for him, especially going into winter.

Wolf logs written by Assistant Curator, Leanne Martin