The retired pack turned 12 yesterday. I noted their special day with a feeding of the first beaver for the season. The wolves were excited to have a change from deer and Lakota was observed sleeping with her beaver on the webcam.
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Shadow growled and snapped at JW, possibly redirecting from an interaction with Mackenzie. Otherwise good interaction with all. LS applied antibiotic to Lakota's hind quarter, no new bites, but healing older scars. Lakota allowed for a complete examination with no tenderness. LS noticed a bite wound on Mackenzie's right eye and on her hind quarters. Mackenzie growled at Shadow several times when Shadow approached, probably the source of Mackenzie's bites.
Aggressive dominance of Shadow by Lucas and Mackenzie. Shadow biting Mackenzie's rump several quick attempts. Pups and Lucas then chased Lakota who seemed to be confined to the den area. Mackenzie then received good attention from the staff.
All wolves greeted staff, Mackenzie tried to grab Shadow's tail each time he tried to greet on the rock (3-4 times). Mackenzie "shadowed" Shadow most of the hour, often growling if Shadow tried to greet handlers. Mackenzie dropped to the ground and submitted several times to Linda Aylsworth. Pups and Mackenzie chased Lakota to dent, pups followed Lakota into the den, heard yipping from inside.
Staff have been commenting on how well Lakota looks. When the retired wolves are checked, she's always excited to see the staff and races around the enclosure grabbing a low hanging branches. Staff have noticed some change in dynamics between MacKenzie and Lakota. Late last week, MacKenzie had a small bite wound on her nose likely from a dominance display with one of her siblings. Coincidentally, the same day, Lakota was observed laying in MacKenzie's favorite bed in the corner. MacKenzie didn't seem to challenge the take over of the corner bed, combined with the bite on the nose, we wonder if Lakota didn't gain a bit of status. So far, no other signs of issues between them, but sometimes it's the subtle behaviors that tell the story.
Lakota was isolated in holding area for treatment of her bite wound. Her condition was much improved and she was far more relaxed when Lori Schmidt (LS) conducted a physical exam. The wound is healing nicely and she has stopped licking at the site. Again, when Lakota was released from the holding pen, Shadow entered the pen and cornered Lakota. LS blocked the pups attempts to pin Lakota and moved them out of the holding pen. LS then isolated the pups in an adjacent holding pen and again opened Lakota's holding pen door to release her back into the main enclosure. This time, Mackenzie came into the holding pen and dominated Lakota, but LS was able to distract Mackenzie and allow Lakota a chance to exit the enclosure. Once Lakota was safely back in the main enclosure, the pups were released. Shadow immediately chased Lakota into the den, but did not physically grab her, wolf care staff will be more actively monitoring the interactions of these two wolves.
Lakota's wounds have all healed and she appears to be relaxed and approaching the handlers more often. Janice Templeton, the former wolf curator spent some time with the wolves over the Christmas break. All wolves were very receptive to her visit and they all received a significant amount of her attention. Overall, the pack has been really calm since the Christmas day incident.
Wolves fed scraps of meat and bone donated from local deer hunters. Lucas chased Ravens off the scrap pile, then becomes playful toward puppies and stimulates them to chase him. When Lakota chases him and bites him, he puts an end to the interaction." Malik gets dominated more severely, since he doesn't end interaction as quickly as Shadow.
Good interactions with staff, Ivermectin tablets to all (monthly heartworm treatment), wolves seemed very relaxed. Mackenzie chased Lakota into den, but without intensity.
Lakota quicky greets Curator, Lori Schmidt and allows her to physically exam her hind quarters for bite wounds before Mackenzie chases Lakota away from Lori. Malik attempts to greet Jen Westlund at the large rock, but Mackenzie pulls Malik off the rock by his tail. While this is not uncommon to see Mackenzie do this to Lakota, it is the first time that anyone observes this behavior toward the pups.
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