This past weekend was the first in a series of three Planning for Pups programs. Denali and Aidan did an excellent job of demonstrating the value of socializing pups. Grizzer was tolerant, although we were very careful to give him his privacy. Shadow started a bark howl on Sunday morning, but that was probably more directed at the Curator for applying fly ointment to his ears. Due to the extra work load this weekend, all wolves will share one log posting.
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Sorry for the delay in logs, we are working on Grizzer's new habitat and that takes precedence over all other duties. Aidan has had more trouble with the construction than Denali. His personality is a bit more sensitive to noise and strangers, which requires us to be a bit more cautious in activities. Because the fence work requires people on ladders, there is more anxiety about things over his head. To complicate things, the tree that came down last week may have caused some additional anxiety. The fence contractors should be done by tomorrow, and the rest of the work will be completed with wolf care staff, reducing anxiety for all.
Our biggest surprise during the medical exam was Grizzer's response to one of the Veterinarians. During a 2008 medical exam, the vet was checking Grizzer's abdomen for any signs of bloating, and Grizzer was alert enough to snap and grab the vet. The incident happened in less than 5 seconds, but Grizzer developed a negative conditioning to the vet. Prior to that exam, Grizzer had no issues. When we immobilized Shadow and Malik, Grizzer did a threat display with barks and howls, scraping the ground in a confident defensive manner and showing a high tail. He was adamant about the warning to get out of the territory and he stopped as soon as the vet left.
Attila is 24 days old today. Attila is back on the path of weight gain. His growth rate slowed after a bout of teething and some preference issues with the bottle and bottle feeders. At this point, only wolf care staff are feeding Attila until we see a significant change in his attitude toward the bottle. Another notable behavior is the pups are showing some very strong associative bonds with the human handlers. In the first week of their care, they were inclined to retreat to the corners of the enclosure or burrow deep in one of the many comfortable sleeping pads in the enclosure. On the night shift last night, it was the first night that both pups stayed with the handlers the whole night. The socialization process is critical for wolf care staff to handle adult wolves, while we still have fear avoidance issues with strangers, crowds and loud noises; the bond is being established with those people who will care for the wolves the rest of their lives. Attila is very exploratory in personality, investigating the enclosure and jaw sparring with Red Paw when the opportunity arises. The pup’s premolars are irrupting and causing some teething pain. Both upper and lower canines have erupted, but are still too small for the calipers to measure. For the first time, staff have recorded grooming behavior. The audio clip represents more sounds of pups dreaming.
The pups had a busy today with a media event at 4 pm and an open house for Ely residents at 5 pm. Red Paw showed some anxiety with the camera crews, but relaxed a bit, but didn’t calm down until he returned to the lab. Earlier in the day, after Attila did a head-butt at the gate, the staff let the pups out to explore the lab. Red Paw was very calm and explored every corner of the lab, as it’s a familiar place. In contrast, Attila, who deals with unfamiliar things well, became very nervous and whined. Red Paw ignored him, and continued to explore. Jess Edberg was raking straw in the pup pen, and neither pup showed any anxiety to the motion of the rake. These are all conditioning items that the pups need to be exposed to, as raking is a big part of wolf care. The pups started lapping formula from a bowl today, and will be getting a gruel mix of weaning formula and esbilac. This will help the bottle feeding issues and should increase the pup’s weight gain. The video clip for today shows Red Paw dragging the stuffed wolf pup into the den box, doing a head shake. His audio includes the sounds of both pups lapping formula for the first time.
Red Paw is 22 days old today and continues to be a bit more timid than Attila. In anticipation of the summer pup programs that begin on Thursday, wolf care staff have been taking the pups into the auditorium each evening to get them used to the environment before they meet a crowd of people. So far, Red Paw has demonstrated some whining behavior, seeking comfort from wolf care staff and the stuffed moose, although he was less anxious than the first time he entered the auditorium. If he continues to have positive experiences, he will adjust to the program schedule well. This is a significant difference between wolf pups and dog pups. These wolves are 3 weeks of age, and the fear avoidance behavior, or what some term as Flight Response is very strong. Dog pups generally don’t start showing this type of behavior until 7 – 8 weeks of age. The stuffed moose was brought in specifically as a distraction for programs, and is the same moose we used for the 2000 and 2004 litters. It has served its’ purpose as the pups are very intent on grabbing the moose aggressively, pawing it and biting it. Red Paw attempted to pounce on the moose, but his coordination is still lacking. There is one new behavior to report today, both Red Paw and Attila demonstrated a Play Bow, a behavior where they lower themselves on their front legs, and spring up to pounce on something. Red Paw did this to the moose, and he also did it to one of the wolf care staff. With the growth rate of the pups nearing nearly .5 lbs per day, they need all the rest they can get. In the audio clips this week, you will hear snoring, and moaning when the pups are sleeping in the dream response.
Attila is 25 days old today. The pups had a busy today with a media event at 4 pm and an open house for Ely residents at 5 pm. Attila was a camera ham… he was running square into the camera lenses with no fear at all. There will be many photos of this wolf in the future. Earlier in the day, after Attila did a head-butt at the gate, the staff let the pups out to explore the lab. Red Paw was very calm and explored every corner of the lab, as it’s a familiar place. In contrast, Attila, who deals with unfamiliar things well, became very nervous and whined. But, when the pups were outside in the grassy area for the media session, Attila had no fear of anything new. It’s interesting to see how the pups process situations differently. During the public program, Grizzer came to the window to watch the pups, and Attila was right there staring back at him, he even put a paw up on the window towards Grizzer. This can be perceived as a dominant paw, toward Grizzer, certainly these males will have some rank order sorting to do, but not until the pups are near 2 years of age. Attila also howls to the Exhibit Pack, and has been pawing at the gate and howling loudly facing the pack. Their ears are still not erect, so directional hearing is questionable.
Pups have been more inquisitive, licking rocks and chewing on paws, staff arms, staff hair and birch bark. The pups started to transition to a gruel mix, Red Paw took a few bits from staff fingers, but then became more interested in staff hair. He is lapping formula from a bowl, but the bottle is still a source of comfort. Red Paw takes the bottle from just about any staff, but Attila is pretty particular about who feeds him. Red Paw did a stand-over Attila in play behavior, and rolled him over on his back. Red Paw did a headshake, and Attila pulled Red Paws ears and responded with a whine and a growl. The pups ears are about to stand up, and are showing more ear postures, especially during play behavior, turning the ears back in submissive behavior. We’ve been having some database issues when posting the audio. Hopefully, you will hear Red Paw snoring, and in the video, you will see Red Paw doing a head shake, as a predatory behavior during play behavior. These play bouts help wolf pups develop skills that they would need as an adult.
The programming with the pups is going well, we do need to have some modifications about protocol. Shadow is not taking to any new people in the wolf yard and is bark howling when Nannies are present. So, nannies wait inside the auditorium, while wolf care staff who are on a pup shift, walk the pups to the back door of the auditorium, through the wolf yard. Layers of fencing were added around the Exhibit Pack fencing to keep the pups from getting direct access to the adults at the fence. The pups run up to the edge of the fence and greet, but have a safe distance to avoid any noses or paws through the fence. Red Paw has had a full tail wag when greeting the adults. Attila is a bit more nervous. While waiting for the program, the pups have a chance to urinate and defecate before going indoors. They also start wrestling when they are outside the auditorium, and are getting a more positive experience walking to and from the wolf lab. In an effort to get them used to canids larger than themselves, we have introduced the Curator's dog Jake, he is very tolerant of pups and will help apply discipline to the pups and get them used to the sounds of growling and dominance before they enter the Exhibit Pack. The video clips you see today are of that introduction. There are no audio clips today.
This will be the last log as a Retired Pack wolf before she moves to the Gone, But Not Forgotten pack. I would like to thank the people who have sent emails about MacKenzie, I will be posting those in her pages in the upcoming weeks. I regret not getting video footage when Lakota returned to the pack and the subsequent days when MacKenzie and Lakota were the happiest they had been in years. Our focus was on getting Lakota back to the pen and healing her foot. As her log states, she had a remarkable recovery and never touched her sutures. I'm sure the lack of pain from that tumor made her feel great, and MacKenzie responded with social interaction. On the morning of the 21st, MacKenzie ate well, cached food, rolled over for staff and interacted with the staff raking straw in the enclosure. Staff were in the enclosure until about noon, when MacKenzie went to the back of the pen in the shade to sleep. This is where we found her, in the same sleeping position. The necropsy showed a tumor in her lungs, and it is likely that she had a Pulmonary embolism, but that may never be known. We are waiting for the lab reports, but what we do know, is that there was very little sign of struggle. It was a shock to say the least. We know that every day at this age could be their last, but it's still a shock. To say that she will be greatly missed by wolf care staff is a gross understatement. She was the matriarch of this facility who taught us so much about wolf behavior, dignity, status and retirement. The video is a small clip of a memorial video produced for MacKenzie, the web size restricts the entire clip, but please know that we have fond memories and photos of her life.
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