The log postings are all the same this week, we have a Working for Wolves program this weekend and will post some behavioral observations from participants on Sunday. The Exhibit Pack is doing well, despite the increased aggression that is typical of the first cold and snow of the year. Both packs received straw on their dens which is always a source of initial excitement, but also encourages bedding behavior. Malik's abscessed tooth has healed, as his photo shows no indication of the scar. Shadow continues to take small portions of food on a daily basis with a peak of interest when the weather turned cold.
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The log postings are all the same this week, we have a Working for Wolves program this weekend and will post some behavioral observations from participants on Sunday. The Exhibit Pack is doing well, despite the increased aggression that is typical of the first cold and snow of the year. Both packs received straw on their dens which is always a source of initial excitement, but also encourages bedding behavior. Malik's abscessed tooth has healed, as his photo shows no indication of the scar. Shadow continues to take small portions of food on a daily basis with a peak of interest when the weather turned cold.
Pigeons were donated by the Wildlife Science Center from an eradication effort at the Minneapolis Airport and used in an enclosure enrichment. Text written by Working for Wolves participants Emily Moen, Theresa Williams, and Kim Wheeler. Maya continues to dominate Aidan by keeping track of where he is and what he is doing in regards to the rest of the pack. Maya has a nice full winter pelage and a lot of energy. The Working for Wolves group hid pigeons in the enclosure, but Maya did not seem to have much interest in eating the pigeons, only in finding them. All the wolves seem to have tolerated the program activities well.
There was some dominance aggression between Grizzer and Denali on Wednesday night. We watched the surveillance video from the Retired Cameras, and it appears the activity started right after the Curator left for the evening, around 6:05 pm. Maya is key in this situation, there is a test of the male rank order and she is the dominant female. We are asking staff and visitors to record any interactions that are observed. The Center's lead educator wrote this email yesterday:<br> "I saw Maya exhibit soliciting behavior with Denali this morning while I was doing a program. She was laying on the straw on top of the den, Denali walked up and stood over her. She pawed at him and rolled on her back. He then lie down next to her." <br> We know when Maya was a yearling, Shadow chose her over Nyssa, social relationships can make a difference.
I saw Maya exhibit soliciting behavior with Denali this morning while I was doing a program. She was laying on the straw on top of the den, Denali walked up and stood over her. She pawed at him and rolled on her back. He then lied down next to her. We were able to estimate the time of the dominance issue by watching the retired camera. Shadow who was the dominant male of the Exhibit Pack (and in his mind still may be), became extremely excited, and rather than pace and run like an omega, he jumped to the top of the den, and pawed at the gate, if he had the chance, he would have taught both Grizzer and Denali a thing or two about dominance.
Grizzer has been doing more posturing and is displaying a behavior we term "Standing Tall". This is where a wolf stands on a high vantage point extending their legs and body as tall as possible, usually with a T-1 tail over the back, but it can also be a relaxed T-3 tail posture. This usually indicates confidence and we believe Grizzer is very confident about his position.
The log postings are all the same this week, we have a Working for Wolves program this weekend and will post some behavioral observations from participants on Sunday. The Exhibit Pack is doing well, despite the increased aggression that is typical of the first cold and snow of the year. Both packs received straw on their dens which is always a source of initial excitement, but also encourages bedding behavior. Malik's abscessed tooth has healed, as his photo shows no indication of the scar. Shadow continues to take small portions of food on a daily basis with a peak of interest when the weather turned cold.
Pigeons were donated by the Wildlife Science Center from an eradication effort at the Minneapolis Airport and used in an enclosure enrichment. Text written by Working for Wolves participants Steve and Kathi Grinke, and Beth Thompson. To watch Grizzer and Denali go through their exercise routine of chasing around, over and through the enclosure you see the bonding of the two wolves. But, you also will see the master of eye control: Grizzer. With one look play time is over, or under his control. This morning Grizzer showed more interest in merely finding the pigeons hidden in the enclosure by the Working for Wolves group than in consuming them…as if to say, "You humans are not that clever!"
There was some dominance aggression between Grizzer and Denali on Wednesday night. We watched the surveillance video from the Retired Cameras, and it appears the activity started right after the Curator left for the evening, around 6:05 pm. Aidan seemed to stay out of it, based on the lack of any bite wounds, but Grizzer and Denali were clearly both engaged in the activity, with some involvement from Maya. Aidan has demonstrated some great respect for Grizzer and is often found lying next to him in the straw.
There was some dominance aggression between Grizzer and Denali on Wednesday night. We watched the surveillance video from the Retired Cameras, and it appears the activity started right after the Curator left for the evening, around 6:05 pm. Denali seems to have pushed his testing to a new level, and Grizzer is not willing to accept it. Despite some blood on his neck from a bite, there is very little injury to Denali, and the dominance did very little to curb his testing. There continues to be chase scenes and Denali continues to follow Grizzer and rush towards his face, although the tail biting seems to have stopped.
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