Mackenzie is doing very well, in this week’s video footage, you will see her caching extra moose meat after a recent feeding. She is been much calmer and seems to getting back some courage during feeding time. We no longer have to guard food from Lakota or feed MacKenzie separately as we did in the past. Of course, thanks to the local moose hunters and their discarded scraps, we have plenty of meat for the both of them.
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Lakota is doing very well. She's been eating a soft diet of food mid- week, and seems to be having limited issues with her tooth. She does continue to feed on the beaver and deer carcasses given sometime during the weekend. She's been very active and spends a fair amount of time on the denbox. In this week's video, she is observed doing a behavior called a snowplow, a common wolf behavior when fresh snow arrives.
With the Memorial Day holiday, all wolf logs will contain the same text content with different video and images. The most noteable event this past week involved a bit of tension between Grizzer and Malik that escalated into a short, but noisy dominance display involving the entire Exhibit Pack. Staff had noticed during the "Workin for Wolves" weekend that Grizzer was stalking Malik, but Grizzer is a bit shy around strangers, so he didn't have too much action in front of the working group. As time went by, this tension was noticeably increasing, and on Thursday morning's wolf check, Grizzer became agitated with Malik and in an instant, forced Malik onto the ground. The entire pack was involved, with varying degrees of intensity, note Maya's hesitant stance. This was Grizzer's way of reasserting that he is now the #2 male on the Exhibit, taking over Malik's role this winter. This interaction is shown in Malik's video. In Grizzer's video, you will see another wolf communication to assert dominance, in a more passive manner. Grizzer is following Malik, causing Malik to be intimidated. When the male rank order has some strife, Maya gets a bit anxious. In her video clip, you will see her seek reassurance from Shadow, and toward the end of her clip, she actually climbs on the rocks to the wolf care staff to get out of the dominance mix. Shadow is watchful of the rank order issues between the #2 and #3 males, as Grizzer may try to increase rank farther by taking him on for the dominant role. But, in Shadow's clip, you do see Shadow with Maya doing a ride-up on him and Grizzer showing submissive ears. The Retired Pack is continuing to do well, as the weather warms, staff are making an extra effort to remove the excess undercoat of hair to help cool them. Lakota enjoys a brushing, Mac is not as enthusiastic. MacKenzie cools herself by finding a shady area in the enclosure or by panting.
With the Memorial Day holiday, all wolf logs will contain the same text content with different video and images. The most notable event this past week involved a bit of tension between Grizzer and Malik that escalated into a short, but noisy dominance display involving the entire Exhibit Pack. Staff had noticed during the "Workin for Wolves" weekend that Grizzer was stalking Malik, but Grizzer is a bit shy around strangers, so he didn't have too much action in front of the working group. As time went by, this tension was noticeably increasing, and on Thursday morning's wolf check, Grizzer became agitated with Malik and in an instant, forced Malik onto the ground. The entire pack was involved, with varying degrees of intensity, note Maya's hesitant stance. This was Grizzer's way of reasserting that he is now the #2 male on the Exhibit, taking over Malik's role this winter. This interaction is shown in Malik's video. In Grizzer's video, you will see another wolf communication to assert dominance, in a more passive manner. Grizzer is following Malik, causing Malik to be intimidated. When the male rank order has some strife, Maya gets a bit anxious. In her video clip, you will see her seek reassurance from Shadow, and toward the end of her clip, she actually climbs on the rocks to the wolf care staff to get out of the dominance mix. Shadow is watchful of the rank order issues between the #2 and #3 males, as Grizzer may try to increase rank farther by taking him on for the dominant role. But, in Shadow's clip, you do see Shadow with Maya doing a ride-up on him and Grizzer showing submissive ears. The Retired Pack is continuing to do well, as the weather warms, staff are making an extra effort to remove the excess undercoat of hair to help cool them. Lakota enjoys a brushing, Mac is not as enthusiastic. MacKenzie cools herself by finding a shady area in the enclosure or by panting.
Written by Planning for Pups program participants Linda McCormick and Don Gossett: During Saturday's feeding, Malik showed reluctance to enter the holding pen and needed to be coaxed in. Malik joined Grizzer and Maya after the "What's For Dinner" program while Shadow stayed in the distance. Malik continues to demonstrate a non-flight behavior and receives more than his fair share of the meal.
Written by Planning For Pups program participants Cathy Jents, Andi Nelsen, and Laura Walters: Through the Planning for Pups program, we were able to observe the Retired Pack being fed beavers. Mackenzie took her position readily to the corner of the enclosure. The following morning she was notice to have a full belly and was comfortable with weekend participants. Despite the high humidity, she appeared very relaxed and comfortable.
Written by Planning for Pups program participants Alexis and Kerry Sharp: Prior to the "What's For Dinner" program on Saturday night, Maya was observed stalking and chasing Grizzer. When Grizzer became aware of her presence, he would circumvent Maya's hiding place, only to be stalked again by his sister. As the pack was placed in holding, Maya was reluctant to enter the holding pen. When the pack was released, Maya was one of the first to reach the deer carcass to begin feeding. On Sunday morning, minnows were placed in the pond. Maya exhibited great interest, frequently submersing her head in the water to catch the fish.
MacKenzie’s dark pelage makes her a bit warmer during the summer months than Lakota. She’s been taking advantage of some of the more shaded areas of the enclosure, such as the log lean-to created by staff. Staff did observe her coming out of one of Lakota’s dug holes in the enclosure. This is new for MacKenzie, she normally stays above ground, but she seemed to have no problem maneuvering out of the hole.
With the Memorial Day holiday, all wolf logs will contain the same text content with different video and images. The most notable event this past week involved a bit of tension between Grizzer and Malik that escalated into a short, but noisy dominance display involving the entire Exhibit Pack. Staff had noticed during the "Workin for Wolves" weekend that Grizzer was stalking Malik, but Grizzer is a bit shy around strangers, so he didn't have too much action in front of the working group. As time went by, this tension was noticeably increasing, and on Thursday morning's wolf check, Grizzer became agitated with Malik and in an instant, forced Malik onto the ground. The entire pack was involved, with varying degrees of intensity, note Maya's hesitant stance. This was Grizzer's way of reasserting that he is now the #2 male on the Exhibit, taking over Malik's role this winter. This interaction is shown in Malik's video. In Grizzer's video, you will see another wolf communication to assert dominance, in a more passive manner. Grizzer is following Malik, causing Malik to be intimidated. When the male rank order has some strife, Maya gets a bit anxious. In her video clip, you will see her seek reassurance from Shadow, and toward the end of her clip, she actually climbs on the rocks to the wolf care staff to get out of the dominance mix. Shadow is watchful of the rank order issues between the #2 and #3 males, as Grizzer may try to increase rank farther by taking him on for the dominant role. But, in Shadow's clip, you do see Shadow with Maya doing a ride-up on him and Grizzer showing submissive ears. The Retired Pack is continuing to do well, as the weather warms, staff are making an extra effort to remove the excess undercoat of hair to help cool them. Lakota enjoys a brushing, Mac is not as enthusiastic. MacKenzie cools herself by finding a shady area in the enclosure or by panting.
Written by Planning for Pups program participants Kelly Godfrey and Ed Stimpson: "Lakota is losing her winter coat slowly. Saturday she ate her beaver carcass after trying to take Mackenzie's beaver away, to no avail. Lakota spent much of the day napping inthe warm sun. Sunday Lakota was somewhat active, walking and running around the enclosure."
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