Aidan’s Transition into Retirement

For those of you who have followed the pack dynamics of the Exhibit Pack at the International Wolf Center, we have reached a milestone today.  Aidan our pack leader for the last 7 years, was brought to the vet clinic for a complete health assessment this morning and will be transitioned into retirement when he recovers from the anesthesia.  He is currently recuperating in the wolf care kennel adjacent to the pack holding area and will be moved to the Pack Holding area later today as the anesthesia wears off.  Aidan became the pack leader in February 2011, when Maya, the dominant female at the time, chose Aidan over Denali and Grizzer to be the successor of our former pack leader, Shadow who was retired at 10 years of age due to health reasons.  This decision to retire Aidan was months in the making, there was no event today that made this change happen.  It was a series of interactions that affected his confidence and ultimately resulted in a pack that started to form around him.  The first sign of testing for status started with the maturation of the Axel and Grayson who began testing for rank last September and continued as they reached maturity between 18-24 months.  You may have watched the media coverage this spring about the change in dynamics or you may have witnessed dominance issues with Aidan while visiting the Center’s facility in Ely.  Many people had contacted me to ask why I didn’t pull him out  of the pack last winter when the tensions increased.  It is important to understand that Aidan needed time to accept a lower ranking position.  We want his transition to retirement to be comfortable and less stressful, if he thinks he still leads the pack, it’s been our experience that they will do what they can to get back to the pack.  Aidan needed to be ready to let go of leadership and in the last few weeks, we believe that time is right.  For those of you watching the cameras, YouTube and the Wolf Care Webinars, he still had social interactions with the pack, especially Grayson, but when it came to Boltz and Axel, the tension was there.  He let the others do the leading and he did the following, so in essence, the pack was starting to form a new leader.  Which wolf will take the lead is the next stage of this transition.  Aidan’s brother Denali is going to stay with the pack, at this time, he is an important member of the social group.  We will definitely watch this closely, Denali is 10 years old even though he acts like a 2-year old on occasion.    Staff will be on site 24-hours a day during this transition time and we will be testing some shared fence lines to see if Aidan wants to join Grizzer and Luna. 

 

Axel – Webbed feet

Axel is climbing out of the pond after a summer enrichment program designed to keep the wolves cool during the warmest parts of the day.  These enrichment’s include items such as beaver tails and deer feet frozen in an ice block and thrown into the pond.  If you zoom in close you will notice the webbed front paw that aids wolves not only in swimming, but gaining traction in uneven terrain and helping walk on snowy conditions. 

Denali- Clear Pond – Deep Diving

Thanks to Anika Hahn’s donations a few years ago, we are able to maintain a relatively algae free pond through the use of UV filters attached to our pond pump.  The result is a clear view to the bottom of the pond.  This is enticing to Denali who has retrieved items from the pond by use of his over-sized front paws and an inhibition to dunking his head.  Not only is this good stimuli for Denali, but it also gets him into the pond on some warmer than usual Minnesota days.  As the largest wolf on Exhibit, Denali does have some issues with the heat; staff need to be very  observant to his mobility and general attitude, especially when the humidity is over 80%. 

Grizzer – Growing a Winter Coat

It seems like just yesterday we were brushing the wolves and now Grizzer is growing his winter undercoat.  In Minnesota, this could be a definite advantage as weather can change quickly.  Last week, we had a few days of cooler weather and something in the wolves changed.  Grizzer certainly became more alert to Luna’s presence in the enclosure, especially during feeding time.  Grizzer continues to show strength in his back right leg with a demonstrations of “Raised Leg Urination” or RLU’s that have a lift height well above his back, all supported by his back right leg.  We are definitely pleased with his mobility and every day is cherished at this age.

Luna – In the Mist Zone

Luna’s most common resting spot is in the cool soil near the Exhibit Pack misting system.  We manage the vegetation to provide a significant amount of shade to add to the cool soil and that makes a comfortable spot for a dark color phased wolf that absorbs heat quickly.  We don’t know what Luna’s reaction will be to Aidan’s appearance in an adjacent enclosure.  As with all of our retirement plans, wolves will share a fence line to look at compatibility issues before a reunion is planned.  We know Luna’s medical assessment and too much activity could have a negative impact on the progress we have made with her over the past two years. Luna’s not the best judge of moderation in food possession or heightened play bows and chase scenes with pack mates. 

Grayson – Bonding Brothers

Earlier this winter we had some concerns about Grayson being too attached to Aidan to make a change in pack leadership.  This concern has diminished as Grayson is getting a significant amount of social reassurance from his litter mate, Axel.  There is no doubt, these two still spend a fair amount of time wrestling, pinning, squashing and jaw sparring like they did when they were pups, but we have many observations where Grayson seeks out Axel and even uses him as a pillow. 

Aidan – It is Time

On Wednesday, July 25th, the Center wolf care staff will implement a medical plan that involves a number of tests and exams to  get a good assessment on Aidan’s health.  Behavioral observations tell us that he still has a physical presence in the pack, but his leadership has been impacted over the past winter of seasonal activity and we need to know if that declining leadership has a medical reason.  While we are concerned about the testing for status of the remaining Exhibit Pack members, but we know that it is time for Aidan to transition into retirement.   This is the calmest time of the year on a wolf exhibit, so action now is appropriate.  Based on our experience, by mid-august, the seasonal hormones change and make for some challenging dynamics.  We are prepared to have at least a week of overnight observation after the move, but suspect there to be heightened activity in the Exhibit Pack for the upcoming season.   At this time, we will not retire Denali until we see behavioral issues that make that an appropriate move.  Check out our Youtube channel and our August 10th webinar, where we will include a view of Aidan’s circumstances.

Boltz- Safety in the Den

As you can see, Boltz still has some phobias with the summertime buzz of the exhibit.  He is improving, but the others still see his behavior as weak and a source of some dominance targets.  We have several overnight groups that have provided some good information on pack dynamics.  On July 13th, we had a program called “Wolves After Dark”, where people sleep adjacent to the wolf enclosure and have a first hand view of the action. This program was critical to provide insight on pack dynamics as were making plans for Aidan’s medical exam and upcoming retirement.  It is important to have a good assessment of the pack before any major changes occur.  Based on their data sheets, it does appear that Grayson is less dependent on Aidan, making the transition in leadership a little less stressful.  Since most of the tension in the pack is between Boltz, Aidan and Axel,  there should be less intensity that will likely change Boltz’s demeanor. 

Grizzer – Grinning

Grizzer is doing well, despite some hot humid days and a bit of stability issues during these heat spells, he has a great appetite, has been spending more time with staff and has allowed us to remove most of his undercoat. He’s displaying a behavior called “Grinning” in this post’s photo.   Based on our interpretation of events, Grinning is displayed when wolves are satisfied with circumstances.  What circumstances cause Grizzer to grin?  The mist from the Exhibit Pack is one circumstance.  A full belly of food and a sleeping Luna would be two others that come to mind.  The main issue we are watching is his response to stimuli, both sound and visual.  His hearing seems to be great, but we do seem him struggle with visual distance, especially recognizing individuals at the fence. He recognizes the voices of the wolf care staff and whines to greet them, but if staff come in quiet and don’t vocalize, Grizzer is uncertain of their identity.  Grizzer weighed in at 112 pounds, so we increased his diet a bit.  We want to make sure he enters the winter between 115 – 120 pounds, giving him a buffer for calorie use on those cold winter nights.  Although, Grizzer has been using the heated building on several occasions during recent thunderstorms, so he may be our first retiree to sleep indoors at night.  We do have to be a bit cautious that an indoor, outdoor lifestyle doesn’t reduce his undercoat development, nor impact his social relationships with his pack mate or maybe pack mates depending upon Aidan’s transition.

 

Denali – Testing Grayson’s Patience

Each pack member has a different relationship with the other individuals of the pack.  Since the 2016 introduction, Grayson has been on Denali’s radar.  We know wolves identify weakness as a basis of prey selection, but in social relationships, we also see weakness being a target for rank order dominance.  Since joining the Exhibit Pack, Grayson has been the frequent recipient of fore-leg stabs, inhibited scruff bites, jaw spars and the occasional chase behaviors.  Now that Grayson is two years of age, Denali is learning what goes around, comes around.  Despite Grayson’s 89.5 pound stature, when he decides to reciprocate Denali’s attention, Denali gets the message.  But, summer is the calm time; most of Denali’s interactions with Axel and Grayson involve three masses of fur running, jumping, tail wagging and grinning.