Today during wolf care, the retired wolves were very active and spry. Due to the overnight snowfall, fresh straw was placed in the retirement enclosure in the den boxes and in Mackenzie's "corner". The wolves always seem to enjoy rolling in and exploring the scent of fresh straw. This resulted in Mackenzie, Lucas, and Lakota chasing each other around the enclosure, which wolf care staff throughly enjoyed watching. It is always good to see the retired wolves so active, especially as they age.
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Today during wolf care, the retired wolves were very active and spry. Due to the overnight snowfall, fresh straw was placed in the retirement enclosure in the den boxes and in Mackenzie's "corner". The wolves always seem to enjoy rolling in and exploring the scent of fresh straw. This resulted in Mackenzie, Lucas, and Lakota chasing each other around the enclosure, which wolf care staff throughly enjoyed watching. It is always good to see the retired wolves so active, especially as they age.
Howling from discomfort but ceased with the presence of her brother.
Today Grizz is 22 days old and has displayed head shaking with a stuffed toy which is a feeding behavior seen in wolves tearing on a carcass. Grizz is now well coordinated and very mobile. He is also more independent than the other two pups, often laying alone in the corner of the enclosure.
Both pups have been increasingly sniffing their surroundings and they generally seem to be more aware of their surrounding environment than on the 17th and 18th.
Picked up female pup today weighing 2.7 lbs. She was nicknamed Groan based on her vocalization when she was handled. Listen to the audio file to hear Groan's normal vocalizations.
Out of all the retired wolves, Lakota is the one that is showing her age the least. She is still very active and can still, with the help of the recently built benches, jump on top of the den boxes. During this morning's wolf care, new straw was placed into the retirement enclosure. Lakota proceeded to check out the fresh straw placed in Mackenzie's corner, which resulted in a bout of chasing with all three wolves. With the snowfall and colder weather, the old straw is replaced with new so that the wolves have something comfortable and dry to rest upon.
This week, Maya and Grizzer were observed several times initiating play behaviors with each other, which resulted in them chasing each other around the pond. Maya continues to be very submissive to staff, approaching them at the fence with a submissive body posture. During the feeding program, she showed little interest in the deer. Next weekend the Exhibit Pack will be fed beaver, since they have received an abundance of deer.
Shadow continues to assert his alpha status over Malik, particularly when Grizzer and Maya are playing or interacting and Malik tries to intervene. This gains Shadow's attention, and he will often growl or place himself in between Malik and Maya, giving direct eye contact and holding his tail high in a dominance display. As winter approaches, the intensity of these dominance interactions will increase. With three males, it should be an interesting winter.
MacKenzie has been very social lately, relaxing and rolling over for staff. We have noticed a slight hunch back stance and an extension of her haunches lower to the ground than normal. The vet is very mindful of subtle changes and any indication of a pain response, so MacKenzie is video taped to make comparisons. Her appetite is good and she is very alert to staff. Ever since MacKenzie was moved to retirement, staff has been in the habit of cutting a leg off a deer carcass to make sure she gets a leg to take to her straw bed. As you can see in this week’s video, the practice continues.
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