Staff recently commented that Shadow is again back to his playful, social self. Over the winter, he tends to get very dominant and very particular about who he'll greet. He's been known to barkhowl at visitors Behind the Scenes, and to remain aloof when staff enter the enclosure. He's been observed demonstrating play bows to the pups and encouraging them to chase him. He's known for a full body tail wag when he's in a good mood.
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If the retired wolves had any stress about activities in the main enclosure, they're not showing it. Each wolf is very relaxed and playful, Lakota continues to spend time widening the underground tunnel that she uses on hot days. She seems most excited when she pops out of the hole and surprises the other wolves or the staff. The pile of excavated dirt is getting so high, the den boxes are being obstructed.
Malik is still a bit skittish with me since the immobilization. Any quick movements make him take a few steps out of reach. He may be a bit jumpy since he and Shadow are still posturing to show dominance. In the last few days, Grizzer and Maya seem to be more socially active with Shadow, whereas Malik tends to be more aloof with the pups. Shadow has clearly taken the role in instigating play again.
Written by Pups at One Year Program Participant: Deena Arntzen Grizzer continues to exhibit his fine disposition in his mellowness and participation in games with his packmates. He always enjoys a good brushing, jumping on Lori (the curator) for more each time. At the "What's For Dinner" program, he ate well and pulled some intestines from the deer, happily trotting over with his prize.
Maya has been experiencing a surge in hormones this past week, and her behavior is clearly influencing Shadow’s confidence. As the dominant pair, Maya’s been very associative with Shadow, rubbing up against him, following him, resting her head on him and tail wagging anytime she is near him. Part of this behavior is evident on her video this week. Shadow is very receptive to this attention and has given him a confidence boost, showing more high tail postures than in previous weeks. When Maya gets excited, she’s likely to race around the enclosure, often pouncing on Grizzer as a outlet for her energy. This has decreased Grizzer’s confidence a bit, creating the calming affect for the arctics. Maya’s hormonal surge will likely continue through the early part of the winter.
There are no significant events with Denali this week, the warmer weather kept most of the wolves up in the woods, resting in the cool soil. By Thursday, an incoming cold front increased the wolves appetite, and Denali was sure to get his share of beaver.
Sorry, the logs will be the same for all wolves today. Spring is a busy time with a winter full of straw, bones and raven droppings creating a busy workload for wolf care staff. The pack is doing well, general observations show Aidan getting bolder and definitely spending social time with the pack, mostly Shadow. A recent cold spell has created a situation where Maya became more intense and Shadow showed more status to Grizzer, but these are short-lived situations. Spring is here and the days will continue to get warm, even though we had below zero wind chills yesterday. Denali made a sprinkler hose out of one of our good garden hoses. While the curator was spraying the rocks trying to clean the white streaks left all over the rocks from the ravens, the pack was occupied with the beaver, and all was going well. Grizzer came over and pulled on the hose, but quickly stopped. Denali watched this and decided he should try the hose, but being a younger undisciplined youth, he didn't stop as quickly as Grizzer and proceeded to tug and tug until he bit through the hose. Staff moved Grizzer and Denali into holding and continued working. There is far more to do in the enclosure, but after this week's experience, Grizzer and Denali will a challenge.
Maya’s face looks a bit rough, the scrape or bite she received did a lot of tissue damage, but it’s drying out and in the process of healing. These short dominance bouts have been ongoing, and there doesn’t seem to be any indication as to the trigger. Denali is less tolerant of Maya’s behavior than he has been this winter, at some point; a 2-year old male will say enough is enough. Maya doesn’t think along the same lines.
The Center's veterinarian was on site for a vet visit. This is different than a vet check, where the animals are immobilized and blood is draw. A vet visit is primarily looking at medical records, the Vet Care Plan, an observation of pack dynamics and individual wolf observations. The last time we had a vet check with immobilization was prior to the arrival of the 2008 pups. Grizzer had a bit of an issue during that check, and still retains a bit of negative association with the Vet. Negative conditioning of wolves can be more intense than dogs.
Malik had a good week, and while it is too cold for the pond, he certainly has other stimulus to occupy his time. The ground has thawed, so caching becomes easier. Managing one wolf usually gives staff a good idea of how a wolf is consuming food, since they are the only one in the enclosure (other than ravens). But, with a wolf that is so efficient at caching, it's hard to determine if he's eating all his food or caching. Staff do have an idea if we get too close to a cache, Malik will still defend his food like a wolf.
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