The program particants for Pups at One Year were asked to write a memory of Nyssa. The following postings are their thoughts verbatim. The photos are representative of the Nyssa Memorial tree planting and miscellaneous enclosure work done during the weekend.
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Written by Vicky and Art Bomberger Nyssa: A willful, playful, feisty, confident little girl with the softest black fur and a querulous growl. Unknowlingly, you touched so many with your birth, life and death. Teaching us that nature can be gently guided and lovingly nurtured, yet never truly controlled.
Lakota continued to be very active in the milder weather, and seemed to enjoy visits from staff during the week. She is very observant of all that goes on in the retired enclosure, and is always looking for an opportunity to grab a hat or a glove from an unwary human.
Shadow was most of the time back in the wooded area. He came down a few times and sat under the tree where the shade was nice and the breeze was cool. As you can see in this picture he was panting. A normal way for wolves to get rid of the heat. Summer is here, and this normal behavior prevents them from being overheated.
Grizzer displayed some intimidation behavior since Nyssa's loss. He was quite submissive to the arctics and was somewhat reluctant to interact with staff. A wolf check today showed more social interaction, with play behavior with Maya. He's really starting to shed, so there have been several brushing sessions, trying to remove his undercoat.
It’s a busy week for the curator, so all the logs will have the same text: In the Exhibit Pack, there’s been a lot of raven activity around the left over food, and as Maya’s video shows, some ravens are caught by the wolves. Maya killed this raven that was too close to the carcass. Dominance in the Exhibit pack remains fairly calm. In Shadow’s video, you see him taking a leadership position on top of the den, moving with a high tail position toward the pack. He vocalizes to Grizzer and gets the response he was looking for. Malik continues to show signs of being a third ranking male, in his video, you see him watch Grizzer take a deer carcass up the hill. On Sunday’s feeding, staff fed 1 full deer and a second deer torso to ensure that everyone had plenty to eat. In the Retired Pack, Mackenzie has her good days and bad days. The video for MacKenzie shows one of her bad days, She prefers to rest in her straw bed and not interact with staff, but she shows submissive ear postures to the staff off camera. We are very watchful of these days and give her the respect and space that she needs. The day after that video, she had a great day with staff member, Matt Fetterer. She rolled over on her back and got a full massage from Matt, stretching all 4 legs to full extension for the full effect of the massage. Lakota’s change in antibiotics did the trick. The abscess has drained and she’s back to her playful self. On the same day as Mac was getting the massage from Matt, the curator was doing playbows with Lakota, as she raced around the pen and even jumped over the curator’s head. Of course, she was sitting on the ground, so it wasn’t that high of a leap, but for a wolf nearing 14, it was very limber.
It’s a busy week for the curator, so all the logs will have the same text: In the Exhibit Pack, there’s been a lot of raven activity around the left over food, and as Maya’s video shows, some ravens are caught by the wolves. Maya killed this raven that was too close to the carcass. Dominance in the Exhibit pack remains fairly calm. In Shadow’s video, you see him taking a leadership position on top of the den, moving with a high tail position toward the pack. He vocalizes to Grizzer and gets the response he was looking for. Malik continues to show signs of being a third ranking male, in his video, you see him watch Grizzer take a deer carcass up the hill. On Sunday’s feeding, staff fed 1 full deer and a second deer torso to ensure that everyone had plenty to eat. In the Retired Pack, Mackenzie has her good days and bad days. The video for MacKenzie shows one of her bad days, She prefers to rest in her straw bed and not interact with staff, but she shows submissive ear postures to the staff off camera. We are very watchful of these days and give her the respect and space that she needs. The day after that video, she had a great day with staff member, Matt Fetterer. She rolled over on her back and got a full massage from Matt, stretching all 4 legs to full extension for the full effect of the massage. Lakota’s change in antibiotics did the trick. The abscess has drained and she’s back to her playful self. On the same day as Mac was getting the massage from Matt, the curator was doing playbows with Lakota, as she raced around the pen and even jumped over the curator’s head. Of course, she was sitting on the ground, so it wasn’t that high of a leap, but for a wolf nearing 14, it was very limber.
Everything is going well here. It appears that MacKenzie has overcome the spinal issues she had earlier and is being weaned off the prednisone. Lakota is still springing around the enclosure as if she were a two year old, instead of a wolf nearing 14 years of age. The male rank order remains calm, with Grizzer and Maya continuing to interact as pupmates, and Shadow maintaining watch over the pack. Malik seems very relaxed and in his video this week is observed with high tail interacting with Grizzer and Maya when they are wrestling, but backs off when Shadow gives him direct eye contact. Thanks for your continued support of the wolf care program. Staff will be monitoring all wolves closely over the coming holiday season and maybe we’ll see you on the webcam.
Everything is going well here. It appears that MacKenzie has overcome the spinal issues she had earlier and is being weaned off the prednisone. Lakota is still springing around the enclosure as if she were a two year old, instead of a wolf nearing 14 years of age. The male rank order remains calm, with Grizzer and Maya continuing to interact as pupmates, and Shadow maintaining watch over the pack. Malik seems very relaxed and in his video this week is observed with high tail interacting with Grizzer and Maya when they are wrestling, but backs off when Shadow gives him direct eye contact. Thanks for your continued support of the wolf care program. Staff will be monitoring all wolves closely over the coming holiday season and maybe we’ll see you on the webcam.
The main pack had an uneventful week, with the exception of a special program scheduled on December 28th. An enclosure enrichment was a special offering this week to holiday visitors at the Center in Ely, Minnesota. At 1 pm, wolf care staff locked the wolves into holding and placed some treats throughout the enclosure, including a 10 lb turkey, some pigs ears, milk bones and meatballs. The purpose of enclosure enrichment is to give the wolves an opportunity to use their sense of smell and investigate the hidden treats inside the enclosure. Maya is the most skilled in finding stashed treats. Her sense of smell and her determination make her successful. In this week's video, you will see her eating a pig's ear before she's off to find another. Notice the incredible strength in a wolves jaw.
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