Written by Nanny Team Leader Ann Rasberry: Today the curator, Lori Schmidt, brought her dog Jake in to work with the pups. It is crucial that the pups have exposure to a large, growly canid before they are introduced to the exhibit pack. Submitting willingly and not showing fear are important skills for integrating into the pack. Aidan saw Jake immeditately in the wolf lab. His response was precisely what the curator hoped for; he ran immediately to Jake and completely submitted. He rolled onto his back, wagged his tail, and pawed at Jake. Aidan ran in and out of the kennel, actively submitting to Jake each time; a positive sign for the introduction.
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The pups did well with the 4th of July sounds, as well as the sound of the natural thunderstorms that role through this time of year.
Written by Nanny Team Leader Ann Rasberry: Today the curator, Lori Schmidt, brought her dog Jake in to work with the pups. It is crucial that the pups have exposure to a large, growly canid before they are introduced into the exhibit pack. Submitting willingly and not showing fear are important skills for integration into the pack. Denali, not being as predatory at this point as his brother, bounded into the kennel in wolf lab before seeing Jake. By the time he realized that Jake was there, he was cornered and spooked. Jake was controlled by the curator, but Denali was not sure; he bolted from the kennel. He spent the rest of the session with a curved spine, ears back, a hackles response, and a T4 tail position, although his tail was wagging the whole time. He pawed at the fence and paced at the door; he seemed to want to go in with Aidan but was a little too afraid of Jake.
Written by Nanny Team Leaders Betty Magnuson and Jennifer Ell: Denali seems to be fascinated by water. He is often seen splashing with his front paws with digging motion in a large tub in the wolf yard. During a Pup 101 program, he took a drink from the water pail then started splashing with one paw. He stands in the stock tank in the pup enclosure and splashes and digs. If staff is using the hose he will often lap at the water to drink. Once he did a play bow to the water stream before approaching for a drink.
While the pup introduction was a major event, we must remember that Lakota had a special day as well. With the pups integrated into the pack, Lakota now has free range of the pack holding are at all times, except when the pack is held for projects or feeding programs. Also, with the wolf lab being restricted to wolf care staff and authorized volunteers, she can come and go in the wolf yard anytime during the day. She has her routine, coming out when wolf care staff arrive in the morning, then making a few visits during the mid-day. She spends the heat of the day in the Retired Enclosure staying cool, sometimes in her dug den hole. Then, as the evening progresses, she's back to the wolf yard to spend a quiet evening with the staff and get her evening meal (hand fed now, and it better be unique)… Then, she decides when she goes to bed, usually at 9 or 10 pm. At night, the gates are closed to the wolf yard, and she is safely locked in the Retired Enclosure until the morning.
Maya had a slow start as a maternal role model for the pups, but the Behavioral Team did see some improvements throughout the week. She is more inclined to roll over for the pups and has reduced her obsession with food, that may have been a response to a surge in hormones from the introduction. We also did recall, that Maya was the only female in a litter of all males, and there has been some research about lone females in a litter displaying more masculine behaviors. She also didn't have a maternal presence in the pack when she was introduced. Shadow had the great care giving behavior of MacKenzie, and even though the arctics later challenged MacKenzie, his first year in the Exhibit involved a strong social bond from MacKenzie.
Shadow continues to be very social with the pups and has a strong alliance with Aidan. He continues to be very social to wolf care staff as well and never displayed any guarding behavior towards the staff. He does go into holding every time the pups are fed and waits outside the pup pen until their return. This is very reassuring to the pups, and makes for a positive association for the pups to enter the pup pen daily.
As I write these logs, Lakota is in and out of the lab, and just walked out with a big bag of pup squeak toys… Of course, wolf care staff go after her to retrieve the bag, which we have decided is probably part of her motivation for taking things. She willingly drops most things she takes, with the exception of good food and the occasional water bottle that she caches. When wolf care staff comes to get what she’s taken, she stops and lays down, expecting a scratch and if she’s lucky a good body massage. This behavior goes on day after day, and is the routine of the day.
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