Malik was the only wolf that didn't get weighed on Monday. His anxious behavior makes it hard for him to let his guard down and stand still for too long. We will try again in a few weeks, after the weather has warmed and things calm down. A nice 70 degree day, and the wolves don't want to get to worked up over anything. Otherwise, Malik seems more relaxed, he's definitely had more staff contact in the last few weeks. He's due for his Rabies vaccine in the next few week's, that will be the true test of calmness, standing still for a subcutaneous injection.
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Vermilion Community College students assisted with the straw removal, pond cleaning and trenching of the den site, in an effort to help drain an excessive amount of spring snow melt. The students did an excellent job in rainy, cool conditions, while the wolves stayed in retirement eating 3 beaver, and frequently checking on the progress. Maya has been very relaxed entering the pack holding area. This is quite different than last year, where she was hesitant to go through the gate. The pack is very excited to enter and explore the Retired enclosure.
Vermilion Community College students assisted with the straw removal, pond cleaning and trenching of the den site, in an effort to help drain an excessive amount of spring snow melt. The students did an excellent job in rainy, cool conditions, while the wolves stayed in retirement eating 3 beaver, and frequently checking on the progress. Shadow spent the most time scent rolling in some decomposing organic debris that came from the upper pond. His video clip shows the excitement of the roll, and the color of an arctic hide when they find something smelly. His photo this week shows the yearlings still seeking his attention and dominance.
Malik and Shadow were 9 years old on May 8th, and when I say that most of the pack was vaccinated last week, I do need to qualify… everyone, but Malik. You may have observed the wolf care staff on camera last Wednesday at about 3 pm Central time. Curator, Lori Schmidt, and wolf care staff members, Laurie Feela, Rusty Wetzel and Donna Prichard, all attempted to get Malik to stand still long enough and close enough to get a subcutaneous injection of the Rabies vaccination. Our process with the lowest ranking wolves is to be as low to the ground and submissive as possible, which would explain why you may have seen the curator crawling around under wolves. Unfortunately, every time Malik was close, Grizzer would approach and Malik would move off. We make every attempt to do a vaccination calmly, without stress. But, in Malik's case, we may need to physically restrain him in the holding pen and give him his injection. It is not uncommon for the lowest ranking wolf to avoid anything that makes them more vulnerable or with a feeling of being restrained.
Maya and Grizzer were 5 years old on May 5th, and received their annual rabies and parvo vaccination. (Malik and Shadow are no longer receiving Parvo vaccinations, any wolf over 8 years of age only receives the Rabies vaccination). Maya was her dominant self, growling at both Curator, Lori Schmidt, and Assistant Curator, Donna Prichard when her vaccinations were given. She has also been spending a fair amount of time pair bonding with Adian, which has been a bit confusing for Aidan. She still pair bonds with Shadow, which makes her behavior with Aidan a bit confusing to interpret. There is no doubt that Aidan seems to watch and learn from the other wolves, this could be a learned behavior from Shadow.
Staff have been actively working on getting the yearlings conditioned to brushing and techniques of handling. Aidan proves to be a bit of a challenge, as he has many anxious moments when the other wolves are around or are actively dominating each other. It's the job of wolf care staff to read his behavior, and counteract his tendency to redirect predatory behavior. He continues to show a lack of tolerance towards Denali's constant jaw sparring, and we will actively monitor their interactions as they mature into adults during this next year.
Denali and Aidan have been the focus of some training with brushes as the summer season approaches and the wolves will begin to blow their undercoat. Denali was the most difficult with brush training, as he wants to grab and possess anything the handlers carry. He is doing well, and continues to improve with each session. In this week's video, and photos, you will see Denali and Aidan sharing a deer with Grizzer. There was a dominance incident between Grizzer and Malik (see their logs), that required us to increase the food consumption and encourage a calm level of satiated behavior. The cooler temperatures this week (snow several days last week), increases the wolves metabolism. Denali will go face to face with Grizzer, often trying a direct stare to get Grizzer off the food. Grizzer averts his gaze and uses his strength to drag the carcass away, but usually, the yearlings and Grizzer eat together.
Maya is calming significantly as the spring approaches, but she continues to confuse Aidan with her switch between dominance and social bonding. Aidan seems to be figuring it out, he does appear to read her behavior well and reacts appropriately. Now, it's wolf care staff's turn to interpret their behavior, because when Maya has Aidan anxious, he redirects to whatever is near him, including staff.
During the recent incident between Grizzer and Malik, Shadow was not extremely agitated or defensive in any way. He remained calm during the separation, vet inspection and reintroduction period. This helped us gauge the issues related to keeping Malik in the pack. As humans, we tend to let emotions cloud our judgment, and it was critical that we had a good assessment of the situation, as to what was best for Malik. Staying in the pack and maintaining social relationships is best for any wolf, isolation in retirement is not the best case scenario, nor was it appropriate to change the entire dynamics of the social group by retiring Shadow, just so Malik wouldn't be alone. We took Shadow's lead, and kept the pack together, and observed Shadow taking the lead in controlling the yearlings and Grizzer when the pack was back together. We are more alert to the subtle interactions between the pack, but we take the lead from Shadow, the pack leader.
Vermilion Community College students assisted with the straw removal, pond cleaning and trenching of the den site, in an effort to help drain an excessive amount of spring snow melt. The students did an excellent job in rainy, cool conditions, while the wolves stayed in retirement eating 3 beaver, and frequently checking on the progress. Earlier in the week, we discovered an abscess that had ruptured under his chin. The drainage is visible in his video clip this week, he has been on antibiotics since Wednesday, and as we write this, the swelling has significantly decreased.
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