Lakota’s been very active lately and has enjoyed the windfall of deer scraps donated by deer hunters. She’s still actively excavating the tunnel system in the Retired enclosure and her digging resulted in wolf care staff shoring up the second den box so it wouldn’t fall in the hole. In Lakota’s video this week, you will see an excited Lakota, racing around the enclosure and inspecting the area where a balsam tree recently blew over in a windstorm.
Archives
The text for all the wolves will be the same. The wolves are enjoying the deer scraps donated by local deer hunters, with scraps arriving daily and wolves feeding opportunities on the increase. This is the time of the year when resources are plentiful at the International Wolf Center. Vermilion Community College student, Nick Budzien, made a trip to the Wildlife Science Center in Forest Lake Minnesota, where they graciously donated 24 road kill deer to help feed our wolves over the winter. Road kill are much more plentiful in the urban areas in southern Minnesota, than the more remote forested regions of Ely. We do get local road kill, but not in the volume that will sustain the wolves through the winter. The weather is moderately cool, ranging between 20 and 30 degrees Fahrenheit, ideal for both wolves and wolf care staff.
The text for all the wolves will be the same. The wolves are enjoying the deer scraps donated by local deer hunters, with scraps arriving daily and wolves feeding opportunities on the increase. This is the time of the year when resources are plentiful at the International Wolf Center. Vermilion Community College student, Nick Budzien, made a trip to the Wildlife Science Center in Forest Lake Minnesota, where they graciously donated 24 road kill deer to help feed our wolves over the winter. Road kill are much more plentiful in the urban areas in southern Minnesota, than the more remote forested regions of Ely. We do get local road kill, but not in the volume that will sustain the wolves through the winter. The weather is moderately cool, ranging between 20 and 30 degrees Fahrenheit, ideal for both wolves and wolf care staff.
Grizzer continues to be the focus of Maya’s increased dominance. He tolerates it well and he remains subordinate to his littermate. This helps reinforce Shadow’s status and results in a calmer response from Malik. Grizzer may look like a mature adult, but he still displays some juvenile play behaviors. The Exhibit received several inches of snow in the past few days, and Grizzer has been observed pouncing in the fresh snow. When the wolf curator was blowing snow on Sunday, Grizzer was on top of the den, sliding down the hill in the snow. The pack should have been very visible on the webcams on Sunday morning.
Lakota is doing well, but has recently decided to stop taking meatballs with her daily medications. It may be possible that the increased feeding to satiate Mac’s appetite might be too much food for Lakota. We will modify her feeding schedule to see if we can get her back on the daily vitamin routine. In Lakota’s video, you will see her attempt to howl in excitement, she has lost her vocal chords years ago, but still goes through the motions.
Malik is doing well, Maya’s focus on Grizzer has taken Grizzer’s focus from Malik. We’ve observed several bouts of play where Malik is actively involved, although he does tend to stay close to Shadow. We have noticed Malik and Shadow sleeping together on a regular basis. It’s early in the dominance season, but we are pleased with the pack cohesiveness.
Lakota is doing extremely well, and as we’ve said before, the wolves seem to favor the winter season. Their body structure and pelage is truly designed for this season. In Lakota’s video, she’s running so fast, we can’t get a clean video footage of her, but hopefully the clip gives you an insight of the energy and exuberance that still exists in the Retired Pack. If you view the webcams, you may think the wolves are slowing down a bit, but the wolf care staff has the honor of seeing these two age with vigor.
This week has been a challenge for Shadow recovering from a knee injury and for Grizzer who has the potential to take over Shadow's dominance. When staff called on Sunday 12/9, reporting that Shadow was limping, the reality of treating a dominant wolf weighed heavy on the minds of the wolf care staff. In an active pack of wolves with a dominance hierarchy, removing the dominant wolf for even the shortest periods of time can result in a pack structure change, not allowing the dominant to return to the pack (similar to a dispersal). It is also common for lower ranking wolves to look for weakness and take the opportunity to push rank. This was our concern with Grizzer as we assessed Shadow's condition, but video this week showed Shadow remaining confident and strong and Grizzer seeming to respect this. Staff on Sunday's (12/16) check observed Grizzer rolling over and submitting to Shadow.
Lakota continues to be picky about her vitamins. Staff are now hand crushing her vitamins in meatball to prevent her from picking the meat around the pills. The surgery incision area has completely regrown a thick winter coat, and there's no signs of the growth returning. She is sensitive to the area when touched, but shows no other problems. In this week's video, you will see both Lakota and MacKenzie helping spread new straw in the enclosure.
This has been a good winter for MacKenzie; she has fared well. She continues to remain alert and focused and has good mobility for being almost 15 years old. She and Lakota enthusiastically greet wolf care staff during the morning checks and have good interactions with them.
The International Wolf Center uses science-based education to teach and inspire the world about wolves, their ecology, and the wolf-human relationship.