MacKenzie is on her 3rd reduction of medication this morning, and seems to be maintaining mobility as the medication is reduced. This is very critical as it indicates she has been healing and the relief is not solely tied to the anti-inflammatory. As many of you know, medication can be hard on the body functions of older animals, and it’s our hope to reduce the medication to a maintenance dose that helps retain mobility without risking other side-effects.
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Malik continues to show more acceptance of a possible change in male rank position, although he will still take an opportunity if Shadow’s compromised. In this week’s video, Malik learns to avoid Shadow and Grizzer if Shadow’s in command, because it usually means Grizzer will redirect to Malik. Overall, these dominance rituals are noisy in terms of growling, but there has been no indication of hard bites between the males. This is very different than female ritualized dominance, which is much more physical.
Often times, the wolves don’t consume a full deer carcass, especially if the weather is warm. Wolf care staff will leave the deer in for several days, allowing the wolves to scavenge on the carcass until a few days before the next feeding. This also gives ravens a meal or two. In this week’s video, you will see Maya really getting serious about the carcass.
The wolves are all doing well, and the wolf care staff certainly are appreciative of all the support from members and viewers of the wolf logs. As always, the wolf care staff will be doing wolf care throughout the holidays and people can rest assured that the wolves and wolf care will always main our first priority at the International Wolf Center. Have a great holiday season, and check out the Youtube video, it shows the pack in good spirits, especially Grizzer and Denali who have become great pals. Malik is joining in on pack howls, and has adjusted well to life in retirement.
Denali really enjoys a chase around the enclosure, and since Aidan is more reserved, he picks Grizzer as him running mate. This usually gets the pack excited, but most of the time, Shadow just watches. If Grizzer shows too much dominance over Denali, Shadow dominates Grizzer, leaving Denali free reign to do whatever he wants. Denali may have reached adult size, but he still has moments of juvenile behavior.
Grizzer and Denali certainly have a strong social bond, and Denali's constant desire to chase and wrestle has improved Grizzer's physical shape. He seems to be slimming down a bit, but still has his wide statue that helps us ID the wolves. Someone recently asked how to ID Grizzer and Maya other than size. If you look closely at the Youtube video this week, there is a clip towards the end that shows Grizzer's face, he has a white patch between his eyes, while Maya has two dark lines that accent her face.
Shadow has been very social and playful, especially with Aidan. This is good for Aidan, as his interactions with Denali get a bit rough. Denali has been mainly wrestling with Grizzer, and when that's your standard for interaction, it can be a bit much for other smaller wolves. Aidan prefers less physical and more social, and that's what Shadow offers. Shadow does like a fresh snowfall, and has been observed in behaviors such as snowplowing, roll on back, and overall burying his head in snow. Shadow watches Denali and Grizzer's wrestling matches, but when Grizzer shows too much dominance and possible increase in status, he puts an end to the show quickly.
The weather here has turned cold, with morning temperatures for the last several days ranging from -25 to -30 below zero. Wolf care staff have increased the amount of straw in the enclosure to give the wolves more insulation. Wolves in the wild bed in the snow for insulation, but in captivity, the snow is compacted, leaving it ice cold. Aidan enjoys the straw on the top of the den as well as a bed in front of the den. He was observed sharing his straw with Shadow and Denali in the last few weeks. He has another interesting behavior, when he's excited about joining in on pack activities, but anxious about Maya, he pounces, landing his front paws on a deer hide and surfs the hide a few feet. We haven't recorded it on video yet, but hope to capture it soon. The Youtube for this week has some 2009 footage, in comparison of pack dynamics a year ago to life today. Aidan definitely is more cautious, but he still gets social time, especially with Shadow.
The weather here has turned cold, with morning temperatures for the last several days ranging from -25 to -30 below zero. Wolf care staff have increased the amount of straw in the enclosure to give the wolves more insulation. Wolves in the wild bed in the snow for insulation, but in captivity, the snow is compacted, leaving it ice cold. By watching Denali, one would never know it was cold. He is as active on these cold mornings than any other time. He continues to be a bundle of energy, always needing to be involved with activities in the enclosure.
The weather here has turned cold, with morning temperatures for the last several days ranging from -25 to -30 below zero. Wolf care staff have increased the amount of straw in the enclosure to give the wolves more insulation. Wolves in the wild bed in the snow for insulation, but in captivity, the snow is compacted, leaving it ice cold. Malik fares the weather well, he is most often on top of his den. Being alone has some advantages, on the coldest morning of the weekend, wolf care staff fed all the wolves extra meat. While the main pack had to compete, Malik had his fill and more. His Youtube video footage this week shows a satisfied wolf doing a facewipe after feeding on 10 lbs of beef and 3 lbs of chicken.
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