Sorry for the delay in the logs, Wolf Curator, Lori Schmidt was in Anchorage Alaska last week for the Wildlife Society National Meeting and general wolf care was the main priority in her absence. The dominance behavior from Malik seems to be taken in stride by Shadow. While Shadow will show a high tail and give chase, he doesn't show a hackle response and doesn't always follow through with the chase. This is the sign of a very confident dominant wolf, that doesn't feel threatened when his authority is tested. He remains close to Maya in social behavior and plays along with Grizzer's attempt to ride up and show that he's an adult now.
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Grizzer gave the wolf care staff a bit of a scare on Sunday morning. Saturday night the wolves were fed a full deer carcass, as you can see from the Exhibit packs video, they all ate well. On Sunday morning, Donna Prichard came in to do morning meds, and there was no sight of Grizzer. She walked the enclosure perimeter and called, but he didn’t appear, nor would did he come down for meds. Curator, Lori Schmidt came in entered the enclosure with Donna. As Lori walked up the hill, she saw Grizzer’s head pop out of a den hole, looking full, but good. With the ability to eat up to 20% of their body weight, Grizzer was probably just full and there wasn’t enough stimulus in a meatball to disturb him. In this week video, you see Grizzer as the first wolf out of holding going for the deer carcass. Malik is growling at him a keeps Grizzer off, but only for a few seconds.
Shadow is still maintaining very strong social behavior, but in previous feedings, seems to stay away from the “What’s for Dinner crowd at the window. As shown in this week’s video, the presence of Curator, Lori Schmidt who was filming inside the enclosure, seems to have given him some courage, he initially was intimidated by the windows, and came to the camera for reassurance. Later, he fed on the carcass and even guarded the carcass from Malik. On Sunday morning, there was no deer carcass to be found, just a few scarps of hide and some deer legs. It was apparent from the wolves stomach’s that everyone got a full meal.
It's been a busy week in wolf care. The colder weather and snow arrived late last week, creating a few issues in the Exhibit Pack. The first and most obvious issue was the pond. The temperatures were low enough to cause the pond to ice over and the pump and waterleveler to be in danger of freezing underground. In previous years, we were able to keep the water in the pond until after the "Working for Wolves" weekend during the last weekend of October, but no luck this year. Wolf Curator, Lori Schmidt and assistant curator, Donna Prichard spent last weekend dealing with pond draining and pump removal. The second issue that kept staff busy was the increase in aggressive behavior caused by the natural cycle of hormones and probably stimulated by the cooler weather. Grizzer, who in past weeks, had been asserting status over Malik, had begun to test Shadow. He had a rather intense display of dominance that pinned Shadow to the ground, with Malik coming in to assist. Staff were in the enclosure at the time, and provided beaver tails as a distraction. Behaviors have calmed considerably since that first snowy day, but we know maturing wolves are going to test their older packmates if they detect weakness. Shadow was able to maintain status, and as shown at the end of Grizzer's video clip, still actively dominantes Grizzer. It is imperative that wolf care staff keep the wolf yard as calm as possible. Any out of the ordinary activity behind the enclosure can affect the delicate balance of this male order.
Shadow again portrays the leader of the pack in this week’s video, as he watches the wrestling match between Maya and Grizzer, he watches Grizzer roll in the snow, and positions him on top of the den for a good vantage point. Behaviorally, the male rank order has settled down as Maya gives them all something to focus on.
The retired pack has been about the same… Lakota has been very excited and runs around a lot when staff great. MacKenzie enjoys the comforts of a straw bed.
This has been the summer most noteable by Shadow's increased social behavior. We're not sure what set it off, maybe the start of the season with a full-ear cleaning and clean bill of health; the presence of inuit sled dog pups that stimulated some prolactin, the switch to once a month fly treatment and not the daily cream's; regardless, he's been a very social animal to work with. Not only to human staff, but he's frequently playbowing to Maya and Grizzer, grooming them, pawing them, sleeping near them and trying to start a chase scene. He's very relaxed and confident, even when Malik tries to come in and do a grab bite while Shadows focused on the young adults.
Wolf care staff have noticed a bit of a restricted gait when MacKenzie moves. It could be an arthritic response to colder weather, but it doesn't seem to have the same appearance as we've observed in the past. Staff video taped her for further study, and a veterinary check has been scheduled for Tuesday. She was weaned off the chlomipramine in August, since the construction noise and traffic around the Center has been reduced. She seems to be remaining relaxed, but does have her bouts of anxiety if there are too many people in the wolf yard. We are making all attempts to keep the traffic away from the Retired Enclosure.
It's hard to believe Shadow and Malik are 6 years old, but it is starting to show a bit. Staff have noticed Shadow slowing down a bit, and having some moments where he looks like he needs a rest. It is critical to this pack that he is as strong as he can be. We continue to give both he and Malik Cosequin supplements, and are careful to make sure there is no external influence making him vulnerable. As the fall approaches, there may be restrictions on Behind the Scenes programs and individuals near the fence that seem to agitate Shadow.
Lakota is as active as ever, she certainly inherited the good joints of the litter. She's got an excited gait, when staff enter the enclosure or MacKenzie investigates something, she bounces over, then springs away, making a loop around the back side of the den boxes. As the webcams often portray, she sometimes includes the top of the boxes in the loop. In this week's photo, she takes advantage of the new straw bed we placed in the enclosure for MacKenzie.
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