Sorry for the delay in logs, the Wolf Curator took her first day off since May 2nd. The pups are starting to gain guard hairs, these are their permanent hairs that will dictate the color of their pelage. The hairs are starting at the base of their tail and they are very silver in color. The pups are responding well to the antibiotics for the bladder infection and are gaining weight again. We are still going back and forth between the gruel and the bottle, some of this is related to the pup preference. Red Paw still enjoys a full meal from the bottle. Their canine teeth have grown enough for us to start taking measurements. We avoided it until know to not cause any gum irritation with the calipers, but we are definitely seeing canine teeth.
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Red Paw became very excited when the Nannies left to go set up the enclosure for the 11 am program today. He was doing multiple single howls in a very low throated tone. They enjoy the chance to get outside, but we need to balance this with programming time. Let them out too early, and they wear themselves out before the program starts. The favorite program distraction is a deer leg, they truly have wolf genes when it comes to food possession. Both Red Paw and Attila have an intense growl. They are both responding to the pack howls and both ears are erect on both pups.
Attila is 32 days old today. Here are some items from the past 24 hour behavioral notes. <br> Exhibit play behavior, growling. Lori had to put him on his back two times, because of aggressive growling. Lori picked up a roadkill and the pups started pulling at Lori's shirt that had some residual deer blood. <br> Lots of playbowing and wrestling early in program. Attila submissive paw to Red Paw. After the program, Attila is really exploring the wolf yard, with play bows, stalking and pouncing in yard. The pups woke in response to adults howling, but did not respond with howls, the pups groomed themselves after play behavior. Much more predatory behavior, pulling then shaking Red Paw repeatedly for several minutes. Attila is really taking to the bowl, he lapped formula so fast that he would not let Red Paw at bowl. <br> Attila had an intense facial greeting with good begging behavior to Donna Prichard, and did a Stand Over Red Paw. He straddled and dominted the stuffed moose.
Sorry for the delay in logs, the Wolf Curator took her first day off since May 2nd. The pups are starting to gain guard hairs, these are their permanent hairs that will dictate the color of their pelage. The hairs are starting at the base of their tail and they are very silver in color. The pups are responding well to the antibiotics for the bladder infection and are gaining weight again. We are still going back and forth between the gruel and the bottle, some of this is related to the pup preference. Red Paw still enjoys a full meal from the bottle. Their canine teeth have grown enough for us to start taking measurements. We avoided it until know to not cause any gum irritation with the calipers, but we are definitely seeing canine teeth.
Attila continues to show some strong fear avoidance behavior towards the adult wolves when they get very excited, towards fast movement by caretakers, by anything out of his comfort zone. This is apparent during programs as well, and wolf care staff and Nannies have a lot of socialization work to do with him in particular. We start by trying to create anxious situations into positive situations, but that is easier said than done with a wolf pup.
Maya continues to show high pitched whining any time the pups are nearby, and she displays the same behavior towards Lakota. We are very fortunate to have such a nuturing female in the Exhibit Pack and she will be a great influence on the introduction. Maya and Grizzer are in full shed, we are pulling bags of hair off of each wolf. Shadow and Malik began to shed on their legs, but have since slowed. Lakota has no signs of shedding her thick winter coat.
Shadow is getting better with Nannies in the wolf yard, but we did have to alter protocol a bit. To those Nannies who are scheduled to come, the itinerary called for a closing BBQ in the wolf yard, to celebrate a week or weekend of pup work, but unfortunately, Shadow is not so willing to have this kind of activity in the yard, and wolf care staff are stretched so thin, it was a challenge to spare the staff time away from other duties, especially since Lakota needs extra staff time for social interaction. So, nannies will need to do a wrap-up with left over pizza. It is critical that Shadow remains calm and does not get agitated at all this summer, for concern that there's redirection towards the pups. Week # 10 of the Nanny team was carefully chosen to have his most favorite people in the wolf yard. In this week's picture, Shadow is eating from a deer carcass. This is a noteable change from previous summers, it might be the influence of prolactin.
Thanks to the many people who have been sending emails concerning Lakota's health and adjustment after the surgery and MacKenzie's death. She did have a difficult time, and was off food for nearly 10 days. The Vet did a complete blood panel to rule out any medical issues, which left us with the expected, psychological seperation anxiety. To overcome this, we have been giving Lakota free reign of the Retired enclosure and the pack holding area. In the pack holding area, she is allowed to go nose to nose with the Exhibit Pack and the wolf pups when they are in the wolf yard. She has delivered food to Maya and is very keyed into to Maya's whines. We thought long and hard about letting her rejoin the Exhibit Pack since they are so calm from the prolactin, but we still can't be sure that Malik wouldn't take advantage of her. He is the only wolf that exhibits high tail when Lakota is at the gate. We also thought that it would be more traumatic for her to let her in for the next two months, only to remove her again when the Exhibit Pack goes through the hormonal change from prolactin in the summer to testosternone in the winter. We are certain that she would be the target of dominance from the pack as well as the growing pups. So, for now, she gets free reign to come and go in the two enclosures, and when the pups are secured in the lab, she can come out into the wolf yard and hang out by the lab door and by the bleachers. We will continue to offer her staff time, and visits from the curator's dog. We have ordered new video editing software and hope to resume video of the individual wolves by next week.
The pups are doing better in programs, but Attila still has some anxiety. It is important that wolf care staff and nannies help reduce that anxiety by providing a good distraction. The behavioral logs note increased play behavior with more intensity and better coordination. Attila is still the most likely pup to do a stalk and pounce behavior. He does seem to exhibit more predatory behavior than Red Paw, but with the deer tail in the program today, it is clear that Red Paw has some good wolf traits. Attila is still uneasy when in the wolf yard, although some outside play after the 3 pm program made Attila more confident. He spends a fair amount of time sniffing the areas where Lakota walks when she has free time in the wolf yard. The pups both enjoy free time in the lab, but Attila still seeks refuge under the desk.
Grizzer has been experiencing what we call the prolactin high. He is extremely dosile with all wolf care staff, and just has that feel good look to him. He even overlooks the many Malik postures that will likely be addressed once prolactin begins leveling off and decreasing around August. This week's photo shows Grizzer averting Malik's gaze after Malik jumped on the rock when Grizzer was sleeping.
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