Sorry for the delay in the logs, the spring semester started at Vermilion on Monday, and the Curator has a full teaching schedule on Monday and Tuesday mornings. The Priority for time at the Center was placed on the wolves, leaving other duties to wait until Friday. We will transition the logs to be posted on Friday's throughout the spring semester. The pack has been good, Aidan has shown more social interaction with Denali, Grizzer and Shadow, as the male rank order is very active this time of the year.
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Sorry for the delay in the logs, the spring semester started at Vermilion on Monday, and the Curator has a full teaching schedule on Monday and Tuesday mornings. The Priority for time at the Center was placed on the wolves, leaving other duties to wait until Friday. We will transition the logs to be posted on Friday's throughout the spring semester. Malik has really gotten comfortable with the staff visits, often rolling over for a full belly rub, something he never did in the exhibit pack. He's also fond of feeding times, and the fact that he doesn't have to share anything except with the raven population, which he is all too happy to chase. We have noticed one change, when there is dominance in the Exhibit Pack, he puffs himself up with high tail and races along the fence. He psychologically thinks he can get involved in pack dominance. It certainly gives him a confidence boost, rather than tucking his tail and running, which is what he did while a member of the Exhibit Pack. After he's postured for a while, he lies down in sphinx rest, with his head held high. While there may be a physical separation, psychologically, he's showing himself as a spirited pack member.
Denali has been unusually calm, with a reduced amount of the carefree wrestling that he usually displays. Maybe he's growing up, or maybe he had a slow week. We are very pleased with his staff interaction, rarely causing any issues, and if he does, they are easily put to an end. He also understands the necessary postures when dealing with Shadow, as the photo for the week clearly demonstrates.
Malik is the opposite of Shadow. Shadow appears to be aging every day, Malik appears to be regaining his youth, and displaying very excitable behavior. When his favorite staff people arrive, he raises around the pen like a juvenile, very excited and content. This must be what a stress free life feels like. I hope Shadow regains some of this energy when he gets to retirement.
The one noticeable thing from Maya this week is her somewhat obsessive interactions with staff. She wants to greet, roll over and be handled with a higher level of interaction than we've observed in a while. This could be a hormonal surge, or could have been in response to Shadow's issues last week. Now that Shadow seems to be back to normal, we will be watching to see if Maya gets the social attention she desires.
This is just a reminder that the wolf logs are now posted on Friday rather than Monday due to a change in the Curator's teaching schedule. The last posting was Friday, January 29th, but on February 1st, the January postings are automatically moved to the archive section, which is why the main log screen has appeared empty since the 1st of February. To see archive data, just click the month/year that you would like to review and you can see the log postings. Aidan has been extremely social in the last few weeks, and we are noticing more time Grizzer. Differing than Denali's relationship, Grizzer doesn't wrestle with Aidan, but usually greets, and sniffs, which is fine with Aidan.
This is just a reminder that the wolf logs are now posted on Friday rather than Monday due to a change in the Curator's teaching schedule. The last posting was Friday, January 29th, but on February 1st, the January postings are automatically moved to the archive section, which is why the main log screen has appeared empty since the 1st of February. To see archive data, just click the month/year that you would like to review and you can see the log postings. Denali has been observed in far more active tests of Maya, and earlier this week, Maya had some frustration with Denali, who continually for-leg stabbed her while she was waiting for her meds. Of course, the more Maya chased and lunged at Denali, the more eager he was to stab her. What we had originally attributed to youthful exuberance may turn out to be Denali's personality trait… He seems to enjoy the testing portion of life.
This is just a reminder that the wolf logs are now posted on Friday rather than Monday due to a change in the Curator's teaching schedule. The last posting was Friday, January 29th, but on February 1st, the January postings are automatically moved to the archive section, which is why the main log screen has appeared empty since the 1st of February. To see archive data, just click the month/year that you would like to review and you can see the log postings. Grizzer continues to be the calm, good nature wolf that we have observed all winter long. Wrestling with Denali continues, but he has shown much more social interest in Aidan, which is good for Aidan. Grizzer is also the first to claim some fresh straw and find a good place to rest and watch ravens.
Sorry for the delay in the logs, the spring semester started at Vermilion on Monday, and the Curator has a full teaching schedule on Monday and Tuesday mornings. The Priority for time at the Center was placed on the wolves, leaving other duties to wait until Friday. We will transition the logs to be posted on Friday's throughout the spring semester. Denali shows no signs of maturing beyond his exuberant desire to wrestle with Grizzer. His chasing, and wrestling sessions are daily and show no signs of aggression, just pure fun. He is still submissive to Shadow, but with so much high energy time, I think Shadow gets tired trying to monitor the activity. Denali has also increased time with Aidan, but he is still a bit more energy than Aidan needs. If the excitement level is too high, then Aidan gets focus from Maya.
This is just a reminder that the wolf logs are now posted on Friday rather than Monday due to a change in the Curator's teaching schedule. The last posting was Friday, January 29th, but on February 1st, the January postings are automatically moved to the archive section, which is why the main log screen has appeared empty since the 1st of February. To see archive data, just click the month/year that you would like to review and you can see the log postings. Malik had some fun this week, he stole the hat off the Curator's head, and raced around the enclosure until a pigs ear distracted him. He was very stimulated with the attempts to get the hat back, play bowing and inviting the chase in very social behavior. As is typical with wolves, the next time the Curator came in with the same hat, he focused on it, and made more attempts to repeat the fun events of Monday, but to no avail.
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