Lucas guarding a cache, his eyes appear clear after earlier concern about a slight weeping problem. Mackenzie continues to have a bloodshot right eye, ointment is being applied as needed. Mackenzie's left ear has a bite wound on the tip, where her ear has been split (less than 1/4 inch). She is shadowing Shadow intently, possibly the cause of her bite wound. Mackenzie seems agitated and is whining frequently.
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Good greetings from all, Malik grabbed LS hair tie. LS used holding pen to draw the wolves in and LS retrieved the hair tie from Shadow as he entered the gate. Took digital photos of Lucas's pigmentation change on his nose, mouth and pads. Lucas was very tolerant of LS handling and opening his mouth for examination and photos. Mackenzie rolled over in complete submission to Jen Westlund for the first time."
Two overall observations were made in the last month. Mackenzie and Lucas have been noticeably more aggressive to the pups, but the pups responses have been slightly different. Malik flattens his ears, lowers his tail and instantly drops to the ground in submission. Shadow is more defiant, even to the point of growling back to Mackenzie. This causes intense reactions from both Mackenzie and Lucas, with Shadow being aggressively forced to submit.
What's for Dinner program again dominated by the pups, specifically Shadow. At this time, the adults seem tolerant of the pups on the carcass, but there are increasing signs that the pups are on the receiving end of more dominance displays from Lucas and Mackenzie. Lucas's tolerance of the pups seems to be diminishing to the point where he growls and snaps at Malik as soon as he approaches. Lucas continues to be more tolerant of Shadow. Mackenzie also appears to have less patience for the pups play behavior and is commonly seen snapping and lunging at the pups when they begin to bite too hard. The staff will continue to watch for signs of the pups integration into the rank order.
Mackenzie's eye seems better, Lucas is still sensitive to light and appears to be listless. Their progress will continue to be monitored. Jen Westlund and Lori Schmidt were at the Wildlife Science Center for the past 3 days taking a class taught by Dr. Mark Johnson, from Wildlife Veterinary Resources. The course was entitled, Wolf Handling for Researchers and Managers. It was an excellent course and will be extremely valuable for the April 23rd medical exam scheduled for the Center's wolves.
The following was written by Pup at One year program participant: Sandy Stoffel My favorite memory of Grizzer is when we started to wean him off the bottle; he got so mad and upset that he went to a corner of the cage and appeared to pout.
It was a hot, humid day, and Grizzer decided to take a nap on the cold concrete next to the fence. His activity was low today; he seemed to prefer the shady area of his enclosure, or as seen in this picture, the refreshing concrete. Summer is here, and this normal behavior, prevents them from being overheated.
It has been hot, and like the other wolves, Lakota has been bothered by the nasty flies. She's spent quite a bit of time in her den box or in the tunnels she dug to escape the little beasts. This morning, however, with the cooler temperatures, she came out to lounge in the pine bedding.
Feeding program- Pups took possession of deer. Other wolves moving around enclosure anxiously. Lucas aggressive dominance toward Mackenzie. Shadow and Malik joined in. Mackenzie bark (huffed) several times. Lucas then stopped interacting and Mackenzie proceeded to follow Shadow around for 20 minutes. Shadow dropped his tail to a submissive posture and appeared to be trying to ignore Mackenzie, but she continued to follow him.
Mackenzie has been observed following Shadow throughout the enclosure. It appears to be an intimidation tactic, and by the reaction of Shadow, it appears to be working. Shadow becomes very nervous, and even if he lays down, Mackenzie will either stand over him or lay within feet of him. When Shadow gets up, Mackenzie gets up and follows him. This is all part of a complex communication system and certainly is a method for maintaining dominance. Several years ago, when Lakota appeared to challenge Mackenzie's status, Mackenzie used the same "Shadowing techniques", it's quite ironic that the technique is now used on Shadow.
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