Written by Wolf Ethology Students; Jessica Durgin, Christina Meyer, and Kathryn Jaeger. During this week's enrichment, despite the rain, Maya was able to find hidden food items by using her strong sense of smell. She cached a few items in the den, although they were discovered by other members of the pack while she was off searching. Maya was also seen spending moments with Shadow. She would relax and fall asleep near his side after playing. They curled up together under plant covering during one of the morning wolf care sessions.
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In this week’s video, Malik is observed doing raised leg urination. It is a bit unusual that a lower ranking male does an RLU, since this is usually just a behavior of the dominant male in a pack. But, remember the history of our pack. The retired wolves were moved out of the Exhibit Pack in 2002, leaving Shadow and Malik as the only pack members until the 2004 litter was introduced. With no real pack, there was not a very clear distinction between pack roles. Malik began using an RLU posture, without much reaction from Shadow, now that there is a pack role, both adult males are using RLU, and now Grizzer has started the same pattern. There are several differences between life in the wild and life in captivity. Even though marking is part of the behavior of a wolf, it’s not as critical as the message that is conveyed when marking one’s territory in the wild.
MacKenzie was one of those wolves that was born a leader. Even in aging years, she still controls the pack structure of the retired pack, and sometimes with intensity. In this week's photo, Lucas came out of the den box and did a stand-over as a show of dominance. MacKenzie continued to tolerate Lucas's passive show of dominance for a minute or two, but when Lakota came over to see if she could try, MacKenzie reminded both of her packmates about who they were dealing with. Muzzle biting, which MacKenzie demonstrates in this week's photo, is a common form of wolf communication when an individual needs to make sure their packmates understand the message.
Maya, the most predatory in behavior, has been checking out the frog population that has settled into the pond. Maya is most quick to respond to movement, and with the recent 2-week spell of rain, amphibians have been very active. We are happy to report that we think we have solved the pond pump access issue, finally finding a method to keep Maya from the filter system. Of course, now that I am writing this, there's a good possibility that she'll figure something out. One thing people learn about wolves, both wild and captive, never say never. The minute we say wolves will never do something, there's new research data or a new study that finds out that they have. A recent example of that relates to fish consumption in British Columbia. Wolves in Minnesota are not known to consume fish, so the standard answer is that no, wolves don't eat fish. But, a recent study near Vancouver Island showed a very adaptive group of wolves that were consuming fish as a significant part of their diet.
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 didn’t need to be sedated for the veterinary exam, as she wasn’t likely to challenge the arctics for status like Grizzer would. She received her vaccination, and will get her ears cleaned on the next wolf check. In this week’s video, you will see how inquisitive Maya can be. After the staff installed the water pump and grate in the pond, Maya was very intent on digging the grate out to get to the pump. This is why we either use concrete or large rocks to protect the wolves from the hazards in the enclosure.
Written by Workin' For Wolves program participant Andi Nelsen: During the Workin' For Wolves program, participants cleaned the straw out of the enclosure, leveled off the main pathways, cleaned den boxes, spread cedar chips, planted grass seed, and set up the overhead mister for warmer weather. Mackenzie showed signs of stress by not wanting to go into the holding pen then pacing once there. At 14 years of age, her body shows increasing signs of age, both in her eye and weakness in her hind limbs. Potentially, the weather played a part in her mobility issues , being warm on Friday but cold and damp Saturday into Sunday morning. Observations will be important to monitor her mobility issues.
Malik is quick to show a threat display of growls and barred teeth when Grizzer gets excited, especially if Grizzer is in a higher vantage point, such as on the rock. In this week’s video, you see Grizzer searching for a food treat, while Malik is watchful of his behavior. While these threat displays are vocal, it doesn’t necessarily mean Malik is testing Grizzer, only telling Grizzer that he’s aware of his presence, so “Don’t try anything
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…
Grizz is 14 days old today. Staff started to feed Grizz with a new bottle but reverted back to old bottle due to nipple problems. He has been suckling vigorously and has to be slowed down by those feeding him. He has been steadily gaining weight and is more passive than his sister, Groan. His mobility has been increasing and he is walking well.
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