Denali – Determines the Feeding Order

Denali has always been the wolf that controls the carcass, even though he wasn’t the wolf that controlled the pack.  In the wild, higher ranking wolves may be the ones that eat first because they may be directly involved with making the kill, but in captivity, when the food is wheeled in a wheelbarrow, personality dictates who possesses food.  One thing about Denali is that he has a lot of personality.  After Aidan was retired, Denali has not been showing much interest in Aidan, but he certainly has increased the amount of interaction with pack mates.  He has become far more possessive of food and is the main influence on who gets to eat first.  In the past, it was Axel, but as of July 28th, Boltz has come into favor.   Other noticeable behaviors are the jaw sparring and rallying behaviors displayed during the cooler parts of the day.   Denali also gets excited about any of the enclosure enrichment activities we provide.  We know we have a successful idea when Denali does a full tail spin in a 360 degree circle and hops on over to the enrichment window.  It’s nice to have feedback. 

Grizzer – Spring in his Step

When I began planning for Aidan’s retirement last winter, I was most concerned about how it would affect Grizzer’s life.  At 14 1/2 years of age, I didn’t want to alter his routine or make him intimidated by change. I wasn’t sure I was even going to put Aidan with Grizzer initially, but then, I saw them through at the shared fenceline as Aidan began using the Pack Holding Area.  Grizzer let out a series of social whines towards Aidan and Aidan reciprocated the greeting.  On July 28th, three days after Aidan made the move out of the Exhibit Pack, he was reuniting an old social alliance with Grizzer.  Grizzer initiated the nose-to-nose greeting with Aidan and in less than an hour was allowing staff to feed both wolves a bowl full of chicken with no competition.  The trust between Aidan and Grizzer was apparent and not only did they socially interact, it appeared that Grizzer retained a higher status over Aidan that modeled their relationship in 2011.  Grizzer has been actively displaying RLU behaviors, scraping the ground to spread his scent and taking carries a bit of a high sweep at the base of his tail as he walks throughout the enclosures.  We even witnessed Grizzer helping Aidan in a short Luna confrontation.  In the last few weeks, Grizzer has certainly perked up, with a social grin, he could pass for 12 years of age. 

Luna – Seeing the Effects

To manage Aidan and Luna in the same space, we need to separate Luna in a vestibule for her morning breakfast and keep her there long enough until Aidan and Grizzer have finished their larger meals.  Luna is still on a reduced diet to meet the goal of 100 pounds before winter and we are seeing the effect that the weight loss has had on her mobility.  She is far more active and showing less instability in her back right leg.  The other benefit of Luna needing to wait in holding until the other retirees are done with their breakfast is that staff get the opportunity to do some body work on Luna in the smaller vestibule.  She is less distracted and more willing to sit for longer sessions.  Staff are also seeing the effects of this extra work;  She is building muscle mass and her tail has more freedom of movement.  When we had our first consultation with a Practitioner about Luna she had significant concerns about her sacrum (tailbone) being locked down;  Without  spending any time with Luna she said “having her tail locked down like that is not only painful, it keeps her nervous system stuck in “alarm” mode.  With her hip weakness, she may display defensive aggression because she is not stable’.  To those of you who knew Luna as a pup and throughout her time in the Exhibit Pack, this statement is spot on.  So, the more body work we can do to relieve the tension of her sacrum, the better for Luna and those who live with her.  

Aidan – A Positive Experience

Aidan’s transition to retirement is much smoother than we anticipated.  This may be the best indication that he was ready for the change and ready to accept a lower ranking status.  The first wolf to welcome him into retirement was Grizzer.  The last time Grizzer and Aidan had been together was in 2011, when Aidan was experiencing a lot of dominance from Grizzer’s sister Maya. Based on the interaction we witnessed, Aidan appears to be responding in a subordinate behavior towards Grizzer.  This relationship may change when Aidan gets more acclimated to retirement, but for now, Aidan seems to defer to Grizzer showing no competition for food or space.  The next step in Aidan’s transition is to establish protocol for staff to interact with each individual wolf.  Aidan is still very needy seeking staff attention which can be a challenge for Grizzer to interact.  The design of our retirement facility allows staff to move wolves throughout the 3 specific areas we call retirement and make sure each wolf gets social interaction and a physical assessment on a daily basis. 

Axel

Axel- The Pack is Changing

Some of the behaviors that indicate a wolf is showing status is their tendency to mark with a Raised Leg Urination or RLU and when they carry their tail high above their back in what’s called a T-1 tail posture.   Axel has been displaying both, but since the retirement of Aidan, he’s had more resistance to his behavior from Boltz and Denali.  In this post’s photo, Axel was photographed on top of the pump housing during a weekly pack feeding.  Normally, he and Denali shared the carcass while the rest of the wolves waited.  On July 28th pack feeding, 3 days after Aidan was retired, Axel sat with his ears pricked and turned sideways, displaying a bit of intimidation as Denali and Boltz shared the carcass and kept him at bay.  We expect there will be more change in individual wolf alliances and subsequent dynamics before the pack decides on leadership, but for Axel, it appears to have taken him by surprise. 

Boltz- New Found Freedoms

Even though Aidan had been less involved in the Exhibit pack activities in the last few months, we knew his removal from the pack would change the dynamics in the Exhibit.  Initially, we thought Denali, as a sibling to Aidan, would show the most significant response to Aidan’s removal.  We were wrong.  The strongest responses were observed in Grayson, who increased the number of lone howls he displayed and Boltz, who was released from the tension between he and Aidan, making for some very social wolf checks and surprising feeding programs.  In this post, the photo shows Boltz doing a full lunge towards Axel while Denali continues to feed.  This was photographed on the pack’s first feeding after Aidan’s retirement.  In previous feedings, Boltz was always the last to feed, he was timid, more likely to be isolated by himself in the wooded area of the enclosure.  Part of that behavior was due to a phobia of biting, buzzing insects, but part was his experience as a pup.  Of all the wolves at the Center, Boltz has the weakest socialization with staff due to his age when we acquired him.  Although Boltz was bottle-fed and socialized during the neonate stage at his natal facility, he did not have the full 24-hour a day human experience that is standard protocol at the Center.  Wolf pups have a fear avoidance behavior that can be observed as young as 13 days of age; Acquiring Boltz at 30 days of age definitely shows a stronger avoidance of new or uncertain stimuli. On July 28th, during the What’s for Dinner program, Denali not only let Boltz feed with him, but actively kept Axel and Grayson off the deer.  This new found freedom at the carcass has resulted in Boltz showing more confidence and more willingness for staff interaction. 

Aidan Day 2

Day 2 Update

Aidan had a restful first night of retirement, but by dawn, as the Exhibit Pack started some social interactions, he started to show some anxiety, pawing at the gate towards the activity.  Grayson is coming to the fence line whining and that gets Aidan anxious.  Staff are able to calm Aidan down with distractions, but the challenge with social animals is they want to be social, regardless of the moments of tension that affected their confidence.  Aidan likes a thick layer of wood chips, so I placed a full bag on the den and for now, he is comfortable there. He has been swimming several times in the wading pool in the Pack Holding Area.  When in the Exhibit, he didn’t get much pond time because the stability of getting in and out of the pond made him vulnerable.  He also had a full meal of chicken with his morning meds, we know wolves like to rest after sleeping.  He will be going on a diet similar to Luna, but we won’t start that until he is comfortably settled with the new arrangements.  I am switching the webcams between the East Side Retirement of Luna and Grizzer and the pack holding area (we don’t have enough bandwidth in the lab to do 3 cameras).  If you watch the camera this morning, you may see him as he investigates the area, rests on the wood chips or focuses on the pack.  You may notice some shaved areas on Aidan; he had his belly shaved to get a clear view for the ultrasound, and the vets checked out some other residual growths and skin issues.  His hair will grow back before winter.  The next step in the transition plan is to share a fence line with Luna and Grizzer.  We need to do this carefully, if Aidan has too much anxiety, it can be viewed as a weakness and both Luna and Grizzer can take advantage of him.  The first initial try yesterday resulted in Aidan showing a tucked tail and running from Luna.  We will take this slow; forcing a situation could cause a negative circumstance that could affect a long-term relationship.

The rest of the pack is not focused on Aidan other than some limited activity at the fence line, but it is short-lived.  Denali has had no displays of interest in Aidan, but has been spending his time doing appeasement behavior (licking the sides of Axel’s face) and stimulating play bows and chase behaviors.  Boltz has had the most noticeable change in behaviors, without the tension between he and Aidan, he is socially interacting with the pack, feeding at will and thanks to a cold front, enjoying some cooler weather.  

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%.