Written by program participant Stephanie Lasley: Maya spent a lot of her time up in the tree line snoozing. Once in a while she would stalk Grizzer and ambush him. Saturday the wolves were let back into the enclosure after the enclosure enrichment items were set in, tuna, chicken and bacon. Maya was the first to find a stip of bacon floating on a stick in the pond. She swam out to get it and gobbled dit down not waiting to bring it back to shore. After staff checked the pond filter, three minnows were found dead and set on the grass. Maya found one and proceeded to enthusiastically roll around in it over and over for 5-10 minutes, with Grizzer and Shadow following suit.
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As you may have noticed, the retired webcam has now been placed on our site with the 2 new cameras on the Exhibit Pack. Unfortunately, when the retired camera was switched to our site on Friday, the image at Elyminnesota.com froze on two of our wolf care staff grooming and treating Lakota's growth. So, over the weekend, this was the image portrayed on Elyminnesota.com, camera 3. Even though people saw that image all weekend long, the staff didn't spend the weekend with Lakota. The image was a still image recorded on Friday morning and was stalled on that site. The Retired camera on www.wolf.org is working well and posting new images. It is the wolf care staff's first daily task to brush Lakota out to remove excess hair and to clean the growth and apply antibiotics and sun protection to the growth. This week's image will show a clear view of this growth, as said in previous logs, the vet has determined it to be benign, and we will be removing it after the weather cools, Lakota sheds the thick layer of hair and the fly season is decreased. All of those environmental factors must be considered before surgery is done. This growth doesn't appear to affect Lakota in any physical or behavioral way. She has good mobility, she has a great appetite and she is very willing to allow us to inspect it daily.
As a new summer program, the wolf care staff have been providing enclosure enrichment activities for the wolves every Wednesday at noon. These activities vary from new minnows in the pond, food treats, scents and smells to stimulate the wolves to use their sensory abilities. During one of these enrichment sessions in the summer of 2006, staff put items in a tree, only to have Grizzer damage several young trees in the search for treats. This year, we decided to save the trees and avoid placing treats in any trees, but Grizzer still looks there. In this week's photo, Grizzer climbs up the side of a maple tree. One other behavioral observation about Grizzer, he usually follows the other wolves when looking for stimulus, rather than adventure out on his own.
In last week's logs, we noted the growth on Lakota's face that started increasing in size. Staff have been cleaning it with peroxide, treating with topical antibiotics and zinc oxide for sun protection. We are happy to report that the growth has been decreasing, and it seems less infected than last week. Lakota is using her front dewclaw to scratch it and had opened the lump causing some draining. During this morning's check, the wound is much dryer and seems to be improving. The video this week shows Lakota in the den box watching the activity in the wolf yard.
Malik is showing some signs of gaining confidence and attempting to increase status, but if Grizzer is behind him, he becomes nervous. In this week's image, you will see Malik following Shadow with the same tail posture, but if you look at the ears, you will see a less confident, backward ear position versus Shadow in the front with ears pricked to the side. In Malik's video clip this week, you will see him at the edge of the pond, displaying a startle reponse when Grizzer comes up from behind.
Grizzer has been doing a fair amount of testing behavior, but continues to be limited in his follow through for more assertive postures. He is often spotted facing off with Shadow, but shows submissive ear postures, even though he is attempting to show a direct stare confrontation. These testing bouts seem to go on daily, but are strongly influenced by Malik and Grizzer’s relationship. When Grizzer begins following Malik, Malik gets very vocal and whirls around quickly to avoid Grizzer. This adds to Grizzer’s excitement and when Shadow comes in to intervene on that encounter, Grizzer redirects.
Lakota continues to show no sign of adverse effects from the benign growth on her face. As you can see from this week’s short video clip, she still has the stamina to run laps around the den box. One other noteworthy event this week, after wolf care staff cleaned and filled the water tank in the retired pack, Lakota carefully climbed down the rocks and stood in the cool clean water for several minutes. While she frequently used the tank early in retirement, we haven’t been observing this behavior in over a year. It must have been the sparkling clean water that was too inviting to miss.
When Malik became the lowest ranking wolf this winter, we weren’t certain how he’d take to the new role. While he does show anxiety around Grizzer and hesitancy about having Grizzer behind him or following him, Malik is clearly still a cohesive member of this pack. He rallies with the pack and doesn’t hesitate to show a high tail position when the social rallying occurs. In this week’s video, Malik joins in the pack howl, but stays on the ground as the dominant female; Maya takes the higher vantage point on the rock.
Written by Planning for Pups participants Awen Briem and Janice Klink: Grizzer continues to test Shadow for dominance, but as shown in this photograph, he lacks the confidence to follow through with the challenge. Grizzer is averting his gaze from Shadow's in order to avoid making eye contact, as this would escalate the interaction. His ears are pinned back, indicating intimidation. Shadow is in full threat display towards Grizzer, with direct eye contact, ears pricked forward, and lip curl. Maya, who is pair bonded with shadow frequently, as in this picture, demonstrates appeasement behavior toward Shadow. Despite grizzer's ongoing testing of Shadow, he continues in the position of second ranking male in this Pack.
Written by Planning for Pups participants Lauren Parker and Dena Arntzen: The summertime heat continues to affect the wolves daily behavior. This heat affects mackenzie a great deal, as she still has not shed much of her undercoat. This week's photo shows Mackenzie digging in the soil, possibly to make a cooler place to rest. Note the fur in the branches in the foreground of the photo; it is reflective of a natural occurance in the wild. As wolves move through the dense underbrush of the forest the branches grab loose clumps of their fur and helps them shed. Mackenzie, however, seems to need some extra help shedding this summer. Wolf Care Staff have been using their new Furminator brush donated by Lori Rhodes, and they have brushed a whole bag full of hair off Mackenzie. Despite her age, the heat, and her thick coat, she remains limber- as can be seen in this week's video of her rolling on her back.
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