Mackenzie was more active today due to the cool weather. She dominated Lakota on several ocassions and spent some time just resting on her favorite spot, the corner of the enclosure. Since wolves have active sweat glands only in the pads, when it's hot an humid they cool by panting, staying under the shades, and specially, being unactive. If the weather continues to be cold, we might see her in more interactions with the other wolves.
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From all the wolves, Shadow is the one that is more cautious with new thing. He took some time inspecting the hose until we was sure it presented no harmed, and of course, was out of his reach. Wolves are often afraid of things that tangle above them, but as you can see here, Sahdow was more interesting that afraid. Few hours later, he was ok with the hose and sat with Malik to get some mist.
Shadow has been taking his job as protector very seriously. On a couple of occasions this week, the Exhibit Pack has been heard howling at the back of the enclosure. Wolf care staff thought that they heard a coyote yipping, followed by a pack howl. Each time the pack howled, a single wolf (presumably Shadow) started, and then was joined by the others. During and after the howl, the pack came down from the woods seeming anxious. Especially worried was Shadow, who frequently positioned himself between the rest of the pack and the woods, keeping a watchful eye toward the back of the exhibit.
Written by Deb Lucchesi: So many memories of Nyssa, two come to mind most readily. Nyssa was the most engaging with her immediate interaction with wolf care staff, nannies and even strangers during the pose with the pups program. She always ran up to lick and nibble our chins, and get a belly rub. Of course the other memory is of the fierce, spunky defense of her food, toys and treats. I always will like to refer to Nyssa as Miss Vocal, never a hesitation to be heard in the wolf yard. Her sounds resound in my memory forever. I came to see Nyssa last September and once again she came to the fence, intent on face licks and making a connection, as if to give me one more intense memory of the black princess. As I walked away, she gazed on at me in a way that I'll never forget…Remember me… Remember me… When Nyssa passed to the spirit world, my brother reminded me that she had fulfilled her purpose… She is so loved and cherished.
Malik has become obsessed with a dog toy that squeeks. Whenever he sees it, he watches it closely following the every move of the toy. It's a good tool for getting him to come to the front of the enclosure during the day, but staff need to be careful on where they place the toy. Malik's legs can stretch 2 feet under the gate, anything within reach ends up in the enclosure. The arctics have been having a bit of a struggle with the flys and continue to resist fly ointment applications. Staff tried a new longer lasting treatment today called Spot On. The vets say it should last several weeks if we can get it on them. Malik took his treatment from Joyce Riveroll today, but Shadow is too weary of anything in our hands. As usual, Grizzer and Maya sat well for their fly ointment treatment. Thank you Nannies for all the early handling of their ears when they were puppies.
Shadow has been very relaxed during the recent Behind the Scenes programs. Often laying on the concrete pad watching the program participants on the bleachers. This is much different than during the Pups at One Year programs, where he was bark-howling when stressed. We're not sure of the changes, but have our own theories. Shadow continues to display great behaviors as a dominant male guarding his pack. On Friday morning, the Wolf Watch overnight participants were awoken at 5:45 am with the pack doing a 30-minute, low throated howl at the back of the enclosure. We also had some beaver missing from the carcass pile behind the Retired Pack, we may have wild wolves traveling through the site again.
Malik has been showing more testing behavior towards Shadow. He's also been more dominant with Grizzer and Maya. The response from Shadow has been mixed, sometimes he intervenes and blocks Malik from the yearlings, othertimes he physically rides up on Malik and instigates a dominance display. Maya is usually submissive to Malik, while Grizzer may attempt to ride-up during the interaction. This winter will be interesting for the male role of the Exhibit Pack.
Maya has many observations showing her submissive side, but when it comes to predatory behavior or marking behavior, she's all dominant. In this week's photo, Maya does a modified raised leg urination, showing her status when she marks a cache of food. It is interesting to watch her marking response, she's more thorough than the males in marking behavior. In the wild, a dominant female may mark on a shared spot with the dominant male, signifying that a territory is occupied and defended by the dominant pair.
Lucas actively greeted Donna Prichard when she came in for a check today. He had much more social interaction with Donna than he has with the regular wolf care staff all month. He seems to be much more active today and less focused on the Exhibit Pack. Behaviors of individual wolves can change on a daily basis.
Maya has a strong behavioral drive to maintain a rank-order, but being the only female, she's left out of most of the male rank order dominant chases. So, whenever the situation arises, she practices dominance on Grizzer. In this week's photo, Maya and Grizzer interact through a classic Jaw Spar technique.
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