Denali – Bonding Order

While Denali has displayed a fair amount of antagonistic (grab-biting, foreleg stabbing, pouncing and lip curling) behaviors towards Grayson, when it’s time to socialize with the pack, Denali is a key member.  In this image, Grayson and Denali are sharing the top of the den with Aidan.  During Aidan and Denali’s birthday webinar, someone inquired as to the order of the pack bonds in the Exhibit Pack.  Siblings bonds are always strong, but Grayson seems to look for Aidan and seek his interactions,  possibly indicating a stronger bond.   These two wolves have helped Aidan tremendously over the past few months.  While there are still moments of tension in the pack, moments of relaxation with ears pricked forward in confidence are becoming more common.  

Axel – Different Stresses

While Axel is right in the mix and shows no stress of facing off with the other pack members for some status, he has a different response when it comes to other elements in the wolf yard.  A recent work crew in the Exhibit required a temporary holding arrangement for all Exhibit Pack members (except Aidan), to be moved to the East Side Retirement.  Grayson seemed to do quite well with the time in holding, while Axel seemed to Exhibit more stress.  We try to keep these moves off Exhibit to a minimum, they are an important part of facility maintenance and emergency protocol. Other noteworthy items in this week’s staff logs include a renewed focus on Denali for chase behavior.  Denali will usually instigate activity with Axel and Grayson, which results in back and forth activity hiding around the large white pine snag or lunging from the top of the pump housing.  

Grayson- Standing Tall

We have had a lot of opportunity to photograph and videotape Grayson “standing tall” in the last few weeks.  There seems to be a pattern of his confidence increasing and his desire to gain some height.  In this week’s photo, he is in the East Side Retirement area with Denali waiting for the Vermilion College Natural Resource students to finish cleaning hay out of the Exhibit Pack area.  Wolf care staff have witnessed Grayson taking the opportunity to display some dominance  over Denali when he rolls over for the wolf care staff.  Although dominance doesn’t equate to food possession.  Grayson is still timid around feeding, especially when Denali takes possession of a carcass.   Grayson and Axel will be two years old on Wednesday, May 2nd.  Please consider a donation to the Wolf Care Fund in honor of Axel and Grayson as they find their way into the pack. 

Grizzer – Looking Good

Grizzer will be 14-years old on Saturday May 5th and he seems to be in better shape after this winter than he has for the past several winters.  We weighed him last week and he is still maintaining about 114 pounds of body weight which is a good value for him.   There have been a lot of variables that may have contributed to his status. Certainly, the “Working for Wolves” crews construction of the roof  between the East Side Retirement significantly reduced ice build up in an area that he frequently travels.  The protective area also allowed for additional cover hay beds out of the wind, but still receiving direct sunlight.  Luna’s been far more socially interacting and less obsessive since the change in feeding protocols; this allows Grizzer more interactions and more exercise with less stress.  In the last year, he has been taking daily Turmeric gel caps.  In a recent ad for Tumeric, the benefits included “A Stronger Heart, Sharper Brain, Pain-Free Joints and Youthful Energy” … could Grizzer be Tumeric success story?  We don’t have any way to measure that other than noticing that Grizzer looks good, but I guess that’s all we need and all we can hope for at the age of 14.  If you would like to honor Grizzer on his birthday, please consider a gift to the Wolf Care Fund. This fund goes directly to the continued care of current and future wolf pack mates.  Select Wolf Care under the designation tab; Feel free to write a note in the comment if you want a special treat for Grizzer. 

Boltz – Summertime Mode

Boltz is back on the greeting rock lounging like a summer day.  With the tremendous help from the Vermilion College Natural Resource students, most of the wet winter hay has been removed from the Exhibit Pack area.  The greeting rock was pressure washed to remove the winter effects of ravens that lingered in the exhibit.  Boltz continues to show subordinate tendencies to Denali, especially during the feeding program.  On the April 27th feeding, Denali allowed Axel to feed, but wouldn’t allow Grayson and Boltz near the carcass. This prompted Boltz to food beg to Denali in order to approach the carcass.  While rank order and food possession are independent behaviors, Boltz displays similar body language.  Staff monitor feedings and scat coloration to indicate which wolf may need supplemental food to meet their needs. 

Luna- Working on a Vet Assessment Plan

In last week’s log, we talked about some training plans for staff when interacting with Luna. We’ve had some good success, but because of Luna’s history, we have decided to schedule a complete medical exam of x-rays and blood work.  It has been two years since her last complete veterinary exam and the focus will be on any degenerative bone issues, vitamin D and ionized calcium levels.  We will also test her thyroid as part of the diagnostic work that may help determine her skin irritation that has caused an increase scratch reflex documented by the wolf care staff during interactions. 

Luna – Working on a Training Plan

Luna has been bringing on some additional challenges and training for wolf care staff. If you have followed Luna’s story, she has some medical reasons behind her history of obsessive behavior often viewed by fellow pack members as unstable energy.  There’s  been a lot of medical, physical and behavioral assessments over the last 6 years trying to help Luna.  This behavior had calmed significantly when she was transitioned into retirement where she didn’t have to be on the defensive with more active packmates.  But lately, we are seeing some return to some intense possession beyond her normal gregarious behavior.  A few weeks ago, it was the new scat bucket and a staff member’s boots, earlier this week it was a rock and some cover hay that made her lunge in defense.  There’s something to be said about being dominant, but this seems to be something more.  Lately, she has become obsessed with certain staff people’s hands.  It’s not all staff, just certain staff, it doesn’t seem to matter if it’s gloves or bare hands, she tries to grab them.  The pattern we have seen in the past seems to correlate with her pain response on her back right leg.  She has been willing to seek body work from certain people, but we need to be extremely gentle in handling.  As the weather warms, we will look for correlations with temperature, ice conditions or activity levels to see if there’s a pattern. Until then, you may see staff members in training to learn some techniques.   Luna has also been on a diet, we know extra weight can be an issue for her leg.  We have limited her diet, but with outdoor enclosures, we can’t always be certain of her consumption.  We have reported ravens dropping food in her enclosure and thanks to the diligent eye of one of our viewers, we can also report that Luna chased and caught one of two snowshoe hares that made it into the Retired Pack.  I will post the surveillance video of that event on YouTube on Friday.  To those who think Luna should be back with the pack, I just ask people to respect Luna’s issues and the incredible ability of wolves to identify weaknesses, not only in the prey they catch, but within the pack dynamics in which they live.  We would never risk Luna’s safety by preemptively changing her pack status, nor blame other wolves for displaying their natural behavior.  Please, if anyone has concerns about Luna or any of the other wolves care, feel free to email me directly at curator@wolf.org. 

Grayson – What Does it Mean?

To summarize Grizzer’s log, we have a recurring issue where Grizzer bark howls in a threat display towards our Veterinarian.  This is due to an incident that occurred over 10 years ago.  In a recent Vet visit for Aidan, when Grizzer started barkhowling, the only member of the Exhibit Pack to respond was Grayson, and not just respond as in a juvenile following along.  Grayson intensely howled towards Grizzer and moved towards the threat while Axel, Denali and Boltz continued to feed on a carcass.  Aidan was watching Grayson, but did not participate in the howling.  I posted the video on last week’s YouTube if you would like to view it.  What does it mean?  For anyone who has been associated with our ambassador wolves over the years, you may recall the power of the bark howl that has primarily come from our pack leaders.  Shadow, the dominant male of the Exhibit Pack from 2002-2010, was the most intense whenever any unfamiliar person was in the yard.  Earlier this winter we filmed Aidan in an intense bark howl when we separated the pack to do some snow removal.  As the dominant male since 2011, Aidan was the one who would respond to the threats in the wolf yard.  Is the pack telling us there is a new wolf on watch?  Is it just Grayson’s more overall personality to be more wary or is there more to it.  We don’t have an answer for that, but will see how the year progresses and no doubt, the addition of the 2020 pups will be an influence.  For now we watch and record data.  Another interesting observation is the fact that Grayson continues to use bark howling to address wolf like situations.  The other day, Luna and Grizzer’s wrestling and growling vocalization started to increase.  Grayson immediately ran to the fence line and let out a series of quick half barks and a bark howl which typically serves as a warning.  Luna and Grizzer immediately stopped and ran to the fenceline to see who just dispensed some boundaries.  Grizzer looked with a bit of a social gaze, Luna a bit more stern in her gaze. Could a maturing juvenile have influence over Luna?

Denali – Taking Pack Life in Stride

Denali is about as even-keeled of a wolf one could meet.  He prances and tail wags with his sibling Aidan, even when Aidan’s having a challenge time.  He is a source of comfort to Boltz who seems to be looking for someone else to lead.  He’s a perfect match for Axel’s ride-up, hormonally influenced mounts and can still spring to a quick chase, unfortunately, with Grayson often the recipient of that chase.  Will Denali take leadership, it seems unlikely at this time.  Denali neither strives for leadership, nor responds well when it is forced upon him.  He seems to be best just taking things in stride, especially with a good supply of food available.  Denali continues to be the largest wolf on Exhibit, with the highest weight of 149 pounds in August of 2016, but more aligned with 136 pounds last fall and on an April 2nd weigh in.  With Denali’s long body, our biggest challenge is getting him to fit on the scale.  

Boltz – Facing Off the Pair

As we have reported before, Boltz seemed to go to the top of the rank earlier this winter, then seemed to be move back down as spring approached.  He has been seeking reassurance from Denali, and is often paying homage to him by parallel gating, rubbing under his chin and rolling submissively to the ground.  The issue he’s having is that Axel and Grayson continue to try to face off with Boltz and that’s not a position that gives him comfort. There is no doubt that Boltz is at a disadvantage by not having a littermate, certainly Axel and Grayson spend a fair amount of time engaged in the same behavior, but Boltz does have Denali.  On most days, Denali is a formidable distraction.  Boltz continues to be a concern for Aidan, even if Boltz is showing no threat display, if he walks by Aidan, Aidan quickly drops his tail and whirls to face him, rarely allowing Boltz behind him.  Of course, all things change when food is involved.  Rank behavior is not the same as food defense. Aidan can easily drive Boltz from food and does so on a frequent basis.  Wolf Care staff wrote the following notes “Boltz was watching staff rake the cover hay beds when Boltz bolted towards Axel, who was attempting to take a cache from the raked beds.  Axel immediately dropped it and Boltz stood guard through the rest of wolf care”.  There are two important points to note in this staff entry.  First and most importantly, Staff need to be diligent about “Situational Awareness” at all times.  Wolf caches are guarded and can be defended with a bite even to the handlers.  Secondly, even though people feel bad about lower ranking wolves, just because a wolf is lower ranking, doesn’t mean it’s entire life is dictated by the other wolves.  Wolves have social rules that allow the omega’s some freedom.  One of those rules includes the concept “if a lower ranking wolf can tug and get a piece of a carcass from a kill, they can carry it off and guard it, even from the most dominant wolf”.  Life is complex in a wolf pack and these rules help the dynamics of all individuals interact.  Remember, they are social carnivores first and foremost.