Maya's bite/scrape on her nose is healing, thanks to the care of Shadow and Denali, who both spend time cleaning it. While the scrape recently reopened after a chase with Aidan, it is healing well. Maya is definitely going through a transitional time, showing much more whining and starting to show less confidence in situations, such as the holding pen. Wolf management can change from day to day, but staff aren't the only ones noticing Maya's change, Aidan's presence throughout the enclosure means that he notices it as well.
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The logs will all be the same today. We’re doing some improvements to Malik’s enclosure, so Malik gets all of my time today. This past week has been busy getting the Exhibit enclosure ready for a Chamber of Commerce mixer on Wednesday night. Windows were washed, straw was removed, the summer wood chips were added and the pond waterline thawed with enough time to fill the pond. Of course, the upper pond line is still frozen in the concrete, so the waterfall isn’t flowing, but the main pond has been a source of stimulus for the pack. When it finally thawed, the weather was 70 degrees and sunny, and all wolves romped in the water, followed by a Grizzer/Denali chase though the woods. Aidan is still getting some dominance from Maya, usually followed by one of the excitable chases though the woods, but as the photos show this week, Aidan is engaging Maya in social behavior. He does a double foreleg stab while she is on the top of the den. We have noticed some instability with Shadow after he was chasing Grizzer and Denali, he seemed to have a dizzy spell, was off balance, before planting his paws in a wide stance and gaining his stability. As with any aging wolf, we will watch Shadow closely. The YouTube video this week shows the Chamber of Commerce mixer, giving the view of a visitor to the Center. Malik had a good week, enjoying the well shaded tree cover in his enclosure.
Malik has been very active lately, as last week’s logs discussed. This week, when he was photographed, we noticed a bit of an odd stance, and will be monitoring it closely. His back left knee seems to be turned a bit to the side. While this could have been an odd moment caught on camera, Malik does have a history of knee weakness. He’s been on cosequin since he was 2 years old. Staff have not noticed any favoritism toward this knee or inability to run, but will keep observing for any problems. In this week’s video, you see Shadow doing a threat display keeping Malik from the carcass, but Malik returns the display with a growl and hackles. This is why we feed large quantities, so everyone gets their share.
Grizzer is in a submissive posture with his head turned and offering a submissive paw to Shadow, indicating that he willingly sees Shadow as dominant, even though he tests him. Just to show that the wolf pack has social times as well, Grizzer’s video shows a tail wagging session in response to staff entering the enclosure.
Lakota is doing well; she’s been very active lately and has faired the coldest part of the winter with no difficulties. Her video shows a wolf that is interested in investigating the any smells in the enclosure.
Shadow’s doing better this week than he has in previous weeks. The construction to the lab is done, there haven’t been any Behind the Scenes groups, and Maya is paying him the respect of a dominant animal. All of these circumstances have led to a more relaxed confident dominant male, as his video clip demonstrates. During today’s wolf check, he was feeding on the deer carcass and took a leg with him toward the front of the exhibit. Maya watched him from on top of the den, came up and did a full greeting, licking Shadow’s face, he dropped the deer leg and she ran off with it back to the den top. Wolf camera viewers should be seeing more activity on the den cam, as this is the preferred spot for the wolves to rest in winter
Malik is actively in the middle of the male dominance order, as observed by this week's clip. Sometimes, Grizzer and Shadow are chasing him, sometimes, he's chasing Shadow, but most days, he's growling at Grizzer whenever Grizzer comes near him. While this seems like a lot of strife, it actually helps reduce more serious aggression. Each wolf knows where they stand by the communication of growling, ear postures and tail positions. This type of dominance ususally occurs in the mornings, but later in the day, the wolves are all bedded down. They even share the whole den together, so they are still maintaing a cohesive pack group.
Shadow's had a bit of activity this week. As we referenced in Grizzer's logs, Shadow's had some unexpected testing of his status. Initially, it took him by surprise, and he was very submissive about it. After about a day or two, he was more relaxed and spent time socializing with Grizzer and Maya, reinforcing his status socially, and when necessary, with a hard muzzle bite. Staff are very conscientious of the behavior of the wolves prior to entering the pack. Shadow continues to be social with the staff, and we are doing everything possible to make sure he doesn't have external stress that makes him vulnerable. This will be increasingly critical with the upcoming "Working for Wolves" weekend. From past experience, Shadow is tense with so many people in the wolf yard.
This week’s log was written by “Workin’ for Wolves participants Mindy Stoe and Kristy Raines. Grizzer continues with attempts to assert dominance over Shadow and Malik. He was observed by wolf care staff and program participants in a raised-leg-urination – a behavior typical of a dominant wolf. Grizzer attempted to jump up on the viewing rock with Shadow, but Shadow asserted guarding behavior by baring his teeth and growling. Grizzer attempted direct eye contact with Shadow but Shadow averted his gaze. This week’s video clip shows Grizzer pawing at Shadow and showing aggressive arousal tail wags. He also joins in on a pack howl, notice he still maintains a juvenile voice.
This week's logs were written by Walter Loesberg, a regular visitor to the wolf center from the Netherlands. When wolf care staff arrived today, Malik appeared quite nervous, looking up repeatedly towards the branches of trees surrounding the greeting rock and avoiding eye contact with his packmates, and lots of whining. When Shadow and Grizzer interacted, he approached them with his tail held high, but backing out at the last moment. On Wednesday, November 8th, Malik and Shadow will be turning 6 1/2 years old (born May 8, 2000)… We also know of another birthday on Wednesday, Happy Birthday Eamonn Briem.
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