Maya had a complete medical exam today including a spay surgery. She was brought to the Ely Vet Clinic and was back on site within a few hours. She spent her first night in holding, but as I write this at 12:15 am on Saturday, she seems anxious to return to the pack, especially Shadow. Her stitiches will need a few days to heal without the influence of active pack life. Her weight on the Vet clinic electronic scale was 79.5 lbs. Maya's medical team included Peg Callahan from the Wildife Science Center, Jen Westlund, program specialist for the IWC, Kim Wheeler and Emily Rantala.
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Nyssa received her complete medical exam including the surgery to spay her. She is recovering well in the pack holding area and doesn't appear that she misses the pack life too much. She has the biggest surprise of the pack, weighing in at 95 lbs. Yes, the staff weighed her twice, she weights as much as Shadow, although her streamlined frame is misleading. She does pack in a meal at feeding time, so it isn't too surprising if you watch her eat, but it is surprising if you look at her frame next to the others.
This is a sad time for everyone who knew Nyssa and cares about wolves, both captive and wild. The effects on the remaining wolves are being monitored, Grizzer, who was a common play companion to Nyssa, appears to be focusing his behavior on interactions with the arctics. The pack has been observed with limited play behavior since Wednesday, May 11th, with the first recorded interactions between Maya and Grizzer on Sunday afternoon. There has been much howling in the pack, and will likely continue as the dynamics of the group have been affected. In this week's photo, Grizzer is investigating a tree branch at the top of the Raven rocks (about 6 feet off the ground). Staff will be closely watching any signs of redirected aggression or abnormal behavior. For Grizzer, his investigation of vegetation, grabbing at branches and shredding them is very normal.
The isolation of pups in small holding kennel for daily feedings has been successful. The pups are becoming conditioned to the routine and run to the gate when a handler approaches the kennel. The adult wolves attempt to enter the kennel with the pups, but fortunately, the pups are small enough where they can squeeze under a 1/2 opened gate and the adults can't. The hope is that the time the pups become too big to fit under a half open door, the adults will be familiar with the routine of pups-only isolation. There have been no negative affects associated with the pups removal and subsequent return to the main enclosure. Feeding and socialization time for the pups can last anywhere from 5 minutes to an hour with no significant interaction from the adults. During these first few weeks of the introduction, Malik seems most interested in returning to the pack, whereas Shadow would rather stay with the human handlers in the holding pen. Pup food consumption ranges from 1-2 lbs. of meat per feeding and the pups are fed twice a day. Malik and Shadow eat equally as well and food is split into two bowls to ensure sufficient amount for both.
Whenever there's leftover food from a Saturday night pack feeding, specifically deer heads, Lucas can be observed prancing around with it in his mouth, attempting to entice his pack mates into a game of tug-o-war or chase for the food. On 9/24, this behavior was observed. Lucas was in possession of the deer head and followed Lakota for several minutes. Lakota submissively rolled over to Lucas, and then jumped up to move out of his way as he continued to come at her with the deer head in his mouth. Lakota demonstrated several play bows to Lucas, but he never initiated a chase, nor did he let go of the deer head. Usually, Lucas follows the other wolves and then growls at them if they are too close to his deer head, even though he was the one who approached them. Lakota always seems to be confused as to how to respond to this behavior.
Lucas had a great visit with wolf care staff member, Laurie Feela. He spent most of the wolf check with her, and showed none of the reluctant behavior that was present earlier this winter. This could be hormonally influenced, as spring brings a decrease in testosterone creating a calmer, more associative individual.
Maya doesn't have much new to report. She's still favored by Shadow, actively pursuing Grizzer when he's running around the pen, and overall a submissive wolf to the wolf care staff. She really fits in well with all the members of the Exhibit Pack.
The following was written by Ann Rasberry, a significant member of the wolf care team. One Less Voice We have lost a voice from the pack. Nyssa is gone. We may not fully understand, but this is part of the natural order of things. An article on the International Wolf Center (IWC) web page notes that the second leading cause of mortality in wolves is wolf on wolf aggression. Wolf packs develop a structure which maintains order, and facilitates efficiencies in defending territories, hunting, and breeding. While the hierarchy may seem stable, lower ranking pack members are always testing, looking for vulnerabilities and opportunities to improve their status. Higher ranking individuals regularly remind the others of their places in the pack, enforcing discipline that can appear violent at times. As Lori Schmidt, the IWC Wolf Curator states, they live “in a world that is clearly run by wolf rules. Those of us who worked with the pups over this past year are especially stunned. We are upset because we named these wolves. We bottle fed, slept and played with, and cleaned up after them. We witnessed first howls, slow motion jaw spars, and watched as they fell asleep mid-wrestle. We nurtured them, and cherished the respect and bonds that we shared with these wild creatures. But we did not domesticate them; they are not dogs. Shadow, Malik, Grizzer, Maya, Nyssa…these are wolves serving as ambassadors for their kind, teaching us about ecology, pack structure and dynamics. For humans, some of these lessons are harsh. However, we must accept that these extraordinary animals are behaving as they are supposed to, and as they have since the beginning of time. We should not want it to be otherwise. Nyssa’s time was short, but her impact on so many will last forever. There is one less voice in the pack, but one voice that will remain strong in our hearts. Godspeed, Nyssa. Ann Rasberry 14 May 2005
Written by Pups at One Year program participant: Deena Arntzen Maya was in fine hunting form due to the enclosure enrichment activities of this weekend. She wasted no time in pursuing the minnows that were added to the pond. With narrow-eyed focus, she followed the movement of the minnows, nearly jumping into the water to make a catch. A later swim found her spinning in a circle just like the minnows she was so happily chasing.
Written by Pups at One Year program participant: Pam Dolajeck & Lori Rhodes The Pups at One Year weekend was warm, humid and very rainy. Lakota was very active, interacting wtih visitors and snacking on her deer leg. Lakota displayed her status as omega with Lucas standing ovder her, which didn't seem to make a difference to either one of them. Age seems to have mellowed the retired pack.
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