Maya doesn’t seem to be joining in on any aggression toward Malik or Shadow, but if Grizzer is in a compromised position, she seems to come in for some action. It seems that the littermate social behavior of wrestling is still strong in these littermates. We also notice that Malik and Shadow tend to lie together more frequently than any of the other pack members, except during the winter season. Even though our wolves are spayed and neutered, Maya and Shadow seem to display the pair bonding behavior of a dominant pair, lying close to one another, parallel walking shoulder to shoulder, and spending many social greeting moments.
Grizzer has been very excited about feeding lately, to the point where he’s becoming a bit anxious days, and especially the hour before the feeding program begins. He tests every gate, lock and chain to gain access to the food. This is likely caused by the cooler weather stimulating the wolves to put on winter resources. In an effort to maintain the best pack cohesiveness possible prior to the pups’ arrival, we will be adding a small feeding on Wednesday mornings that may become part of a Distance Learning program for participating schools. We will be watching the impact these feedings have on Grizzer’s behavior and weight gain.
The following logs were written by Nannies, Vicki Bomberger and Lynne Haines: <br> Malik was active the last few days during the cooler weather. While Maya and Shadow show extreme interested in the pups, Malik spends less time at the fence by the pups, however, Maya did a full body block of Malik from the pup den. Malik, Grizzer and Shadow spent some of Saturday afternoon near the viewing rocks. All three were relaxed. Malik and Maya were the first two wolves on the carcass during the Sunday feeding. Malik at one point successfully defended the carcass from Grizzer. Later, Malik started a pack howl.
Maya has been showing more anxiety about going into the pack holding area lately. One characteristic about wolves is their hesitance to go into confined spaces, and have any objects over their head. The holding pen gates are on a pulley system, and are pulled upright to allow the wolves to enter. She’s always been wary, but recently she’s shown much more whining and anxiety before entering the gate. There was no noticeable incident that wolf care staff can recall, but even the slightest negative event can trigger a negative association with an object, location or situation. To get Maya into holding last week, one of the staff member’s dogs was brought to the outer edge of the fence to entice Maya. Maya is very social and shows strong interest in meeting other canids. We anticipate that she will be a great maternal influence on the wolf pups joining the pack in 2008.
Maya's predatory instincts have been working overtime lately. As the weather cools, it's time for the fall migration of songbirds, and unfortunately for them, they land in the wolf enclosures to feed on seeds from the lush vegetation in the enclosure. Most birds feed for a while, then fly out of the enclosure, but Maya has been tuned into their presence and has successfully stalked and killed a few birds in the last week. After Sunday night's feeding, this stalking behavior will likely diminish. Four beavers were fed yesterday, and with the cooler weather, the wolves have been eating well. It appears that Maya has consumed a large quantity of the beaver, and her movements are quite slow today. That'll be good for the migrating songbirds.
Lakota is doing well, and the planning process is in full force for her Surgery on the 10th. In order to do a surgery on a wolf, previous drugging history’s must be reviewed, food calculations prior to the event must be evaluated, and staff duties identified. Our wolves do not willingly jump into a car for the trip to the vet, and any added stress prior to the event can send a wolf into heat stress. So, the process involves sedating Lakota and transporting her to the vet clinic for the surgery, while other staff members stay with MacKenzie to avoid any negativity during the separation period. It is also important that Lakota has no food in her system for at least 2 days prior to the surgery. This will require a slight modification to their Wednesday, Saturday food schedule and a 2 day hold on her daily vitamins. This week’s video shows Lakota actively plucking the hide from a deer carcass. She maintains a good appetite and good health, which is key when sedating a 14 year old animal. Of course, there is always risks with anesthesia at any age, so many hours of time thinking about scenarios is critical.
MacKenzie is nearly complete in her shedding with the exceptions of some neck hair and hair on her flank. She looks great, and seems to respond better to the cooler conditions. As with Lakota, MacKenzie’s appetite is good and she has been very responsive to staff lately. Last week, there were some individual days that she wasn’t doing well and was very irritable, but this week is starting out well. At this age, it is important to think of every day as the first time meeting her, since her behavior and attitude can change daily. Of course, that’s how we recommend all wolf handlers to interact. Never become complacent when working with a wild animal, as much as they are socialized to humans, they still have wild instincts that drive behaviors.
Lakota’s surgery is scheduled for September 10th; the wolf care staff will be meeting on Wednesday the 4th to discuss the plan and staffing assignments. We will likely post a log after the return from the Vet clinic that day, but it may be later in the afternoon. All the parameters we were hoping for have been met. The morning weather conditions are much cooler, the fly season seems to have ended, the growth has slowed and Lakota has shed all of her winter hair. She is in good physical condition and hope to see a good outcome, but as I’ve said before, there is always a risk with anesthesia, especially on a 14-year old wolf. But, the location of this growth and size determines that it should be removed.
MacKenzie has been shedding slowly, but she’s finally at that point of displaying a glossy summer coat, just in time for Labor Day. We have determined that her tolerance for large meals seems to be an issue. While she enjoys eating a full beaver and deer legs, the large volume that she generally consumes is putting a bit of a weight strain on her spine. We have been transitioning the Retired Pack to twice a week feedings for the last 6 months, and now will reduce the food sizes and feed 4 – 5 days a week. While behaviorally, MacKenzie would rather possess a deer leg or beaver and consume the whole amount, physically, it’s not her in best interest. It will be an interesting transition for the Retired Pack.
Maya is doing well, and while the male role seems very active, she manages to keep busy scouting the falling leaves, looking for rodent tunnels in the pen, responding to the chattering of red squirrels, and watching the last of the fall migratory songbirds as they rest before taking flight. The flocks of birds have decreased over the last few weeks as the falling leaves are increasing. It remains extremely dry here, and the hopes for good fall colors are fading as the leaves turn and drop to the ground within days.
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