Wolf care staff are always analyzing Shadow's activities. We constantly ask ourselves, is he comfortable, showing stiffness, as mobile as the other wolves, tolerant of the heat, tolerant of the attention from the young adults, socially interacting, isolating himself, holding his tail in a relaxed or stressed posture, what's his ear position, are his eyes clear etc. This is the daily thought process to ensure that Shadow's well-being, as a 10-year old in an Exhibit full of young, exuberant pack mates, is the first priority in our care. When the Youtube videos are processed, staff often pick up clues that may be missed while conducting wolf checks.
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Aidan has been receiving the most brushing and has the least amount of hair to brush. This may be related to the stress of being an omega which may affect coat condition or may just be his genetic pattern. His coat is soft and glossy, just sparse. Overall, Aidan's behavior is much more interactive with the pack, and other than short bouts of Maya dominance and jaw sparring, he rallies on a regular basis. His preference does seem to be Shadow, but lately, Denali and Aidan have been more social.
Staff have noticed an increase in Denali's testing, but overall, he's content to be a lower ranking male. We have been monitoring his interactions with Shadow and staff have noticed that every time Denali approaches Shadow, Shadow's ears drop. This could be a sign of waning confidence or just the mere acknowledgment that whenever Denali is around, it takes a lot of energy to interact.
If Aidan has the least amount of hair, Grizzer has the most. Brushing sessions with Grizzer just yield more layers. The undercoat is coming in out in long sheets, and there is much more to go. Grizzer may look like the largest wolf on exhibit, but under that coat is a lean muscular animal. It will likely be a month before we see this transition.
In the ethogram, there is a behavioral category for grin. Malik's photo this week is the true definition of this behavior. A grin appears on a wolf that is very content about a particular situation, either socially, or food related. In Malik's case, he had a great wolf check with his favorite staff. On YouTube, you will see a clip of Malik encountering a woodchuck on the back side of the enclosure. The woodchuck was actively hissing and growling at Malik through the fence. Malik was very cautious of the woodchuck, then as he was getting hissed at by the woodchuck, a fly landed on him, making him even more nervous.
It's been a very uneventful week for Malik, although he has been stimulated by the wolf care staff making measurements and getting the supplies ready for the Working for Wolves weekend. I think the improvements to his enclosure will be very beneficial, even though he may be a bit overwhelmed by all the help. He's much more accustomed to a small amount of wolf care staff or Vermilion Community College volunteers. Malik and Shadow turn 10 years of age on May 8th.
Maya had an interesting observation by one of the staff members. In a recent social moment with Aidan, she slid down the hill on her back, with Aidan standing with his front legs on her chest. The observations of these two wolves reveal far more moments of social interaction in the last few weeks that was recorded in the entire winter. The Ethology course students attending the June Wolf Ethology course will have some good opportunity to better analyze and define this relationship between Maya and Aidan.
Written by Working for Wolves participants Kathy Rundquist and Wendy Watson: In contrast to last winter, Aidan is regularly coming down off the upper hill and is frequently seen in from of the observation windows. Always remaining aware of Maya's presence, he is initiating social interaction with all pack members including Maya. His increasing confidence is evident through ear pricked forward position, tail wags and foreleg stabs.
Maya seems to be working on showing Denali some boundaries, and Denali seems to be showing Maya no respect. Certainly Maya has a challenge when Denali is nearly a foot taller than she is. We are pleased with the calming nature that warm weather and summer hormones bring to the exhibit, but as the photo shows, you never know when Maya is lurking around a tree.
Shadow is the only wolf that did not receive his annual rabies vaccination. He is so observant, he noticed the syringe within seconds of the cap removal. Last year, we had the same issue, and did a tag team of staff to distract him. A staff person greeted him while the curator laid on the ground and reached Shadow's neck from behind. The challenges of working with a dominant wolf.
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