Grizzer is feeling the warmth of spring as his full winter coat is intact, and temperatures in the 60's make it difficult to cool off. He's been digging in Lakota's old den, and we are thankful for the shade of the pack holding area, but we need to get him some access to water for wading. While a full pond is probably not in his future, we hope to try a small rubber made wading pool, similar to Lakota, MacKenzie and Lucas's first pool.
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We have a Working for Wolves program next weekend and the wolf that has the biggest issue is Shadow. He will bark howl if he feels his area is threatened. I have been watching this closely trying to figure out the triggers for this behavior. Last fall, he was fine on Friday and Saturday, but wouldn't tolerant anything on Sunday. So, we thought maybe it was length of time, but when I have had student workers from Vermilion Community College, he seems to tolerant them better than our Working for Wolves groups. The only difference I can see is that the student's are involved in their own conversations, are relaxed and joking amongst themselves. They don't take pictures of the wolves, they don't talk to them, they don't even look at them. So, it appears that if you are just there and not directing attention at Shadow, he doesn't respond in a territorial nature. So, if you are on the Working for Wolves crew next weekend, we're going to test this theory.
This weekend is the Working for Wolves weekend, and due to the significant amount of preparation work, we will be posting the same text for all the logs. The main priorities for this weekend include straw removal, cleaning and filling the ponds in the Exhibit and Retired Enclosure, putting a roof and protective walls on the medical enclosure and starting the fence layout for Grizzer’s new enclosure. It will be a busy weekend, and work will continue in the upcoming weeks on Grizzer’s habitat. The goal is to get him into the new area by June 15th. All the wolves are doing well. Aidan and Denali are having no problem eating their entire deer carcass on weekends, and Shadow and Malik are transitioning to more food carcass meals with chicken on Tuesday and Thursdays. Grizzer gets chicken on a daily basis as he has a small area left to heal from his head and we want to maximize his nutrition to keep is immune system strong. Someone emailed with concern about Malik in the den, because he sleeps so soundly, they were concerned that there was something wrong. Old wolves do like their sleep, but we keep the camera on the wolves and staff are aware of their condition.
Aidan did extremely well with the work activity during the recent Working for Wolves program. He positioned himself right next to the chainlink fence and watched as crews diligently constructed the protective walls around the medical enclosure. He even crawled under a white pine branch and entertained the crew with his antics. We are putting walls and a roof on the medical enclosure to prevent snow build up, but we are always mindful of change and how it impacts the wolves. We have not completed the roof, but so far, Aidan has no problem with going in and out of the enclosure with the new panels.
Grizzer did well with the work crew considering he was at times, surrounded by work crews. We did resort to a dose of valium to take the edge off, and are hoping to get a fence company in soon to get his new habitat ready. Our goal is to have him settled by early June, before the Behind the Scenes programs start. We want to offer as much privacy for him as possible when the wolf yard gets busy. We did resort to a lot of pigs ears for distractions last weekend, and we are always grateful for the donations. We have 2 boxes of pigs ears, so we should be set, but they are Grizzer's favorite distraction. In the photo, you will notice a little white spot on Grizzer's head, he has a very small portion that needs to grow hair. Based on his rate of hair growth, this should be covered by June.
Aidan and Denali have started to really socially interact. This behavior is very similar to their behavior as pups and the primary reason why we prefer to have two pups socialized together. There doesn't appear to be any clear indication of dominance when they are socializing. We see Aidan doing ride up behaviors and mounting, but in the next moment, Denali will display the same behaviors. Of course, this is the season for calmer wolf behavior, and we are not likely to see dominance testing as the summer approaches. We are dealing with some Aidan insecurity issues, where he needs to be with wolf care staff and will grab the staff if they try to leave him. The best course of action is to stay with him until he wanders off. In the last several days, we have observed several passive submissions towards staff. This means, with no prompting from staff, he roles over in a submissive posture.
The pack has had a quiet week, so there's not much news to report and all logs will be the same. The Center is moving forward on an additional habitat for Grizzer with a design that will allow continued access to the current pack holding area. He has become quite comfortable in this area and its' location is right in the Center of Wolf Lab activity which seems to be of interest to Grizzer. This is a bit reminiscent of Lakota.
The pack has had a quiet week, so there's not much news to report and all logs will be the same. The Center is moving forward on an additional habitat for Grizzer with a design that will allow continued access to the current pack holding area. He has become quite comfortable in this area and its' location is right in the Center of Wolf Lab activity which seems to be of interest to Grizzer. This is a bit reminiscent of Lakota.
Aidan has been very social with Denali, letting Denali show some active dominance without much response except submitting, pawing and grooming. Aidan's need for attention has diminished, although, he will likely be the one with wolf care staff at the greeting rock. We started the brushing process with Aidan and Denali, trying to stimulate some of the under coat to shed. Wolves typically shed once a year during late May and June. Aidan has a significant amount of burrs in his coat and fortunately is very tolerant of grooming. These two young adults are very tolerant of hands on management and make the job of wolf care staff a bit easier.
This weekend is the Working for Wolves weekend, and due to the significant amount of preparation work, we will be posting the same text for all the logs. The main priorities for this weekend include straw removal, cleaning and filling the ponds in the Exhibit and Retired Enclosure, putting a roof and protective walls on the medical enclosure and starting the fence layout for Grizzer’s new enclosure. It will be a busy weekend, and work will continue in the upcoming weeks on Grizzer’s habitat. The goal is to get him into the new area by June 15th. All the wolves are doing well. Aidan and Denali are having no problem eating their entire deer carcass on weekends, and Shadow and Malik are transitioning to more food carcass meals with chicken on Tuesday and Thursdays. Grizzer gets chicken on a daily basis as he has a small area left to heal from his head and we want to maximize his nutrition to keep is immune system strong. Someone emailed with concern about Malik in the den, because he sleeps so soundly, they were concerned that there was something wrong. Old wolves do like their sleep, but we keep the camera on the wolves and staff are aware of their condition.
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