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.
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Lakota has been doing well; she has a good appetite and remains warm and dry in the den boxes during the worst cold. The issues with the cameras being off-line not only affects viewers who like to watch, but wolf care staff use it to monitor the retired wolves to get a sense of activity when we are not in the enclosure. Often with older animals, their excitement to see a handler may mask a pain or ailment. Being able to observe remotely, gives us a sense of how much a wolf is resting, who they are sleeping with, if there’s any stiffness when getting up and moving. We are happy to be able to keep the cameras on from our office to check in on the retired wolves as they near 15 years old. 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.
Without another female, Maya is somewhat left out of the dominant rank order displays. But, as previous videos have shown, she still wrestles with her litter mate, and shows bonding behavior to Shadow. It will be interesting to see how her behavior changes once the new pups arrive. She has intense social behavior, and we see her as being a strong influence with the pup introduction. I would also like to make a note to the Nannies selected for this year’s pups. We are still juggling teams, and once the teams are set, we will send out a briefing packet to each team member (probably by email), so teams can have some opportunity to converse prior to arrival and possibly offer to carpool to Ely.
Shadow has had a great winter; There appeared to be some early loss of status, but with restricted access to the wolf yard, he has had an opportunity to remain confident and Grizzer has responded well to Shadow’s status. Grizzer is very submissive to Shadow and continues to roll over and submit, even when Shadow is a bit intense. One other interesting note that we have observed is that Shadow will often get excited with tail wags, approach Grizzer and roll over in front of him, pawing at him to interact. They do get along extremely well. I would also like to make a note to the Nannies selected for this year’s pups. We are still juggling teams, and once the teams are set, we will send out a briefing packet to each team member (probably by email), so teams can have some opportunity to converse prior to arrival and possibly offer to carpool to Ely.
The video this week shows a short clip of MacKenzie showing some dominance over Lakota. It is not as physical as the younger wolves’ dominance rituals, but the eye contact says the same thing. MacKenzie is, and always has been the leader of her pack. But, we are acutely aware of the fact that they will be 15 years of age in April. Staff have noticed MacKenzie sleeping a deeper sleep this past week. We know Lakota sleeps soundly, but we believe her hearing is going, as she doesn’t respond to sound when she’s sleeping, But, MacKenzie is usually alert to the sound of a gate opening, or any vehicles driving up to the wolf lab. Twice last week, staff noticed her sleeping in a side rest position and she didn’t lift her head until the staff were right at the edge of the Retired fence. We certainly want to let her get her rest, but we also want to make sure everything is ok. So far, she has been, lifting her head to look at us with a look as to say “why are you bugging me again. It could be because the temperatures have been very warm (+30 degrees Fahrenheit – warm for a full coated wolf), or there may be the start of something more. The Plasma TV’s in the building are tuned into the Retired Pack all day so they can be frequently monitored. As a reminder, the Nanny and Behavioral Team applications are on the website under the Programs tab… the deadline is February 1st.
When we say that we feed the wolves once a week on their natural pattern of feast and famine consuming, that doesn’t mean they only eat on Saturday night’s “What’s for Dinner program. Other behavioral issues that come from large carcass consumption is caching and visiting caches the many days following a feeding. While some of the larger carcasses such as beaver, are not easy to bury, the wolves due stash them and come back to them. The pack is often observed feeding mid-week, and wolves like Maya, are very keen on caches within the enclosure. Maya marks caches and is very defensive of them, and is more likely to carry them around the enclosure than any other wolf. As a reminder, the Nanny and Behavioral Team applications are on the website under the Programs tab… the deadline is February 1st.
Wolves are opportunists, you will hear this statement about wolf predation, taking whatever prey is available and weak at the moment, and we will say this over and over again when referencing social interaction. If a higher ranking wolf looks weaker, a lower ranking wolf will take advantage of it. This is the nature of social rank hierarchies and why we are diligent with the management of Behind the Scenes situations that alter an individual wolf’s status. Malik is doing well, interacting with his pack, and doing what lower ranking wolves do, watch and act when possible. Of course, when Grizzer gets up, he may redirect based on Malik’s actions, but it is all part of the social dynamics of a wolf 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
Lakota’s been very comfortable, utilizing the den boxes throughout the day as well as evenings. She doesn’t seem to require as much food as MacKenzie, and spent much of Saturday nights feeding caching her food. Her health is good, with the only noticeable issue related to the growth on her right left leg. This growth has been there for several years, and has yielded very little fluid or cells. It had very little growth after being initially identified. This past week, the wolf care staff noted either a pronounced growth or the arrangement of her winter hair making it appear larger. Lakota shows no problem with a full inspection of the growth and it doesn’t seem to bother her. Staff will continue to monitor this
Shadow has been very calm lately. It probably has a lot to do with Grizzer being occupied mid week by a beaver or two. One thing that is noticeable about Shadow as the dominant animal, he has a calm personality, he is social but assertive when necessary. Malik gets anxious and spends a significant amount of time in a ruffled state (hackles up…) Shadow always appears to be in control. In this week’s video for Shadow, you will notice one specific wolf social rule… Possession is based on who is on a carcass, not based on who is more dominant. Any pack member, regardless of rank can guard food from another pack member, as long as they maintain possession. Grizzer demonstrates this in Shadow’s video clip.
In this week’s photo, you will see Malik doing a threat display to Grizzer. Maya intently watches, and only gets involved if the excitement level escalates. This was a short, but noisy dominance ritual, that was likely caused by some anxiety over holding pen use and a large truck in the wolf yard that delivered rocks. Initially, we thought Grizzer started this dominance, but as we go through the photos, it appears that Malik went after Shadow, with Grizzer on Shadow, then switching to Malik. There was one bite wound behind Malik’s shoulder and on Grizzer’s muzzle. As a precaution and because Malik is nearing 8 years old, he was started on anti-biotic. The wolf care staff is very aware of the negative influence of activity in the wolf yard, and is doing a significant amount of planning to reduce the stress as much as possible, yet be able to get the necessary work done.
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