This log written by Working for Wolves Participant: Ann Briem Ever curious, Maya greeted us at the fence upon our arrival for the progam this weekend, that is until Shadow expressed his discomfort with our presence in his space by bark howling. Maya greeted Shadow with muzzle licking which was not well received. Saturday evening, the Ambassador pack was fed six beaver carcasses. Maya displayed great anticipation by jumping several feet at the fence and mouthing the chain-link. Once released back into the enclosure, she sniffed each carcass and seemingly settled on a pile of three on which she scent marked by urinating on them. Her interest in eating seemed to increase only when Grizzer attempted to steal one. The two of them eventually dragged it behind the greeting rock. Sunday morning, Lori released a bucket of minnows into the pond and as I write this, Maya is standing knee high in the pond watching and pawing at the minnows; a well earned treat for putting up with so much activity this week-end.
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Sorry for the delay in the logs, Summer programming started last week and there were many hours dedicated to training new education staff members as well as hosting a board meeting in Ely. The wolves have had many new stimuli over the last several weeks. Grizzer is still a bit shy when it comes to strangers next to the fence, but he seems to be fine with the new group of interns. Summer heat has driven the wolves into the den for most of the viewing day, so the interns are making regular visits to the wolves to bring them into view after the Wolf 101 program. To make this a positive experience, the wolf care staff have chopped up a variety of small treats including chicken, burgers, fish and sausage. These small treats serve as incentive for them to visit the new interns, and keeps the wolves in view for the public display. If you visit the Center, it is strongly recommended that you schedule your visit early in the day or late in the day to maximize viewing potential. We are offering weekly member's-only Behind the Scenes programs on Thursday's in June, then twice a week Behind the Scenes programs, one for members and one for non-members in July and August. Grizz likes the treats, but chooses to keep his distance during the Behind the Scenes programs.
Since the retired pack are being fed twice a week, wolf care staff did not expected them to be really interested in the beaver given to them yesterday. It is always good to see Mackenzie with good appetite, finishing her beaver, and caching some meat for later in the day.
MacKenzie had a good day with staff yesterday. For the first time since this issue started, she did a complete roll over on her back for staff to scratch her belly. She then wiggled around on the ground like a 2-year old, got up to shake and didn't stumble. We're happy with the maintenance dosage.
Today is a special wolf log reporting the results of the arctics veterinary check. As you've read in previous logs, the arctics have had trouble with ear mites. As the summer season approaches, we wanted to make sure they were healthy and ready for a summer of viewing. Wolf care staff joined veterinarian Dr. Chip Hanson for an immobilization of the arctics to get a scope of their ears and do some intensive cleaning. Grizzer and Maya weren't immobilized, since they are very tolerant of ear cleaning (thanks to the Nannies…) We are happy to report no signs of mite, just some slight debris and a possible response to allergeries. Their ears were cleaned, the drugs were reversed and they successfully rejoined the pack. Care was given to ensure no loss to Shadow's status by placing him in the main enclosure first while Malik, Grizzer and Maya waited in holding. Grizzer spent most of the exam whining outside of the holding pen waiting for the arctics to return. Maya whined a bit, but was distracted by a variety of things to chase in the enclosure. All went well, and as a precaution to not single out the arctics, Maya and Grizzer had their ears cleaned and smelled of the same medication. I'm posting several pictures of the reunion back into the pack.
In the interest of saving time, all wolf logs will be the same today. Most of the wolf care staff time is spent attempting to keep the wolves cool during an unusually warm stretch of weather. The temperatures over the Memorial Day weekend soared to 90 degrees with high humidity. This is problematic weather for wolves that have not completed shedding, and who's primary method of cooling is through panting. Wolves pant to evaporate heat from their system, when the humidity is high, little evaporation occurs. This is why wolves in the wild are commonly termed nocturnal animals, meaning they are active mainly at night. Here at the Center, sprinkler hoses were installed to keep the temperatures cooler. In the retired enclosure, modifcations to the hose installation were made, when MacKenzie became anxious about the hose over her head. Her vision is declining, and the hose over her head must have been too much. The hose was re-installed to follow the north fence line, which will also spread a nice layer of water over the newly planted vines. To add another summer task, biting flies hatched over the weekend, requiring the first application of fly ointment. All wolves were treated, except of course, Shadow, who heads for the hills when fly ointment appears. The arctics were started on a dose of brewer's yeast with garlic in hopes of providing some natural repellent. This gift of garlic as well as a long list of other treats and equipment was generously donated by Miss Susan Sweeney's Biology I class – period 2+3; from Pennsylvania…
Maya has completely shed, except for a ruff on her neck. In the last two weeks, staff have added fish oil tablets to her diet in hopes of improving her coat. She has always had a coarse layer of guard hairs compared to the other wolves. When she was younger, staff would add a can of tuna to her diet twice a week. As she feeds with the pack on weekly carcasses, it's difficult to add tuna, so the fish oil capsules are added to a meatball and given with her daily vitamin. Grizzer is also getting fish oil, and so far, the coats seem to be improving.
With the addition of Clomiprimine to her daily regimen of vitamins, Mackenzie is much a more relaxed and confident wolf. The use and function of Clomiprimine can be read in last week's wolf logs. During today's wolf check, a new member of the wolf care staff, Bryn Fadum, was in the enclosure with the retired wolves for the first time. With Mackenzie's increased confidence level, staff were very diligent about observing her behavior towards Bryn. Mackenzie seemed to do well, although she was more reluctant to being submissive while being brushed.
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