There's some great still images captured from the Webcam of Grizzer sliding down the den hill. We would like to thank Walter Loesberg for sending these images. We know from daily wolf care that Grizzer is feeling better and his attitude is good, but when a wolf chooses to go sliding, that's a sign of a calm and relaxed wolf having a good time. His stitches are starting to dissolve and he has been scratching at the wound, but the healing process is well on its' way. Maya continues to groom his head, and Grizzer has a look of complete and utter satisfaction during the grooming process. This grooming behavior has actually increased Maya and Grizzer's bonding behavior, and the photo this week shows a pair bond in action.
Archives
I may have mentioned that we were seeing a spot where Malik's abscessed tooth was infection. The spot has not increased, but we do see some rubbing against trees and branches which may indicate that he has an infection again. We will keep an eye on it, and will try one more course of antibiotics before the tooth is pulled. Otherwise, he is doing great. He likes the transition back to a full deer carcass. We have had a surplus of deer which allows him to eat as much as he wants.
You can read more about the dominance challenge from Denali to Grizzer, but we knew the rank order issue was settled because Maya was as calm as can be. She is the barometer of the pack tension, and when she's tense, Aidan gets chased. When wolf care staff came into work on Saturday morning, the energy of the pack was extremely calm. Aidan and Maya spent some time in holding together while we were prepping Grizzer for surgery, and there was no issues from Maya. When Grizzer returned to the pack, Maya blocked Aidan from approaching Grizzer and has been spending time sleeping with Grizzer, licking his wounds and showing strong associative behavior.
Malik has been posturing a bit towards Shadow, but the fresh snow has caused a distraction for a while. Malik really enjoys fresh snow and does a snow plow, a behavior characterized by a wolf pushing his nose into a pile of snow and plowing for several feet. The fresh snow makes for easy caching, and Malik has taken this opportunity to hide many deer parts in recent feedings.
We had another week of hand feeding Shadow and have come to the conclusion that this is probably how he prefers it. He also trained wolf care staff to cut his chicken into smaller portions before serving. Retirement has its' privileges. When we see how excited he is to greet some of the wolf care staff, it's all worth it. Of course, there's still some of the wolf care staff that get a growl rather than a greeting, but at this age, we are not about modification of an animals behavior, more modification of the human element.
After last week's surveillance video showed some den selection issues, we've been increasing the amount of straw available for the Retired Wolves. We want to make sure that each wolf has a comfortable place to sprawl rest (meaning take up all the space). Malik is a bit smaller than Shadow and seems to prefer a curl rest, whereas Shadow has a way of using every available inch of den space. Malik continues to benefit from Shadow's additional meals, and his tendency to cache food. With Malik around, a cache rarely stays in the snow longer than a minute.
Maya has been a great dominant partner to Grizzer, supporting him through active dominance and grooming his healing head. She is also very likely to pair mark with Grizzer, showing an RLU that is equal to Grizzer's height. It is interesting to watch Maya's trigger points for dominance. Aidan can be rallying with the pack, but a RLU from Aidan or an excitable playbow and jaw spar, and Maya is there in a flash to remind him of the omega position. Aidan takes it in stride, often seeking refuge in the den, only to come right back out and foreleg stab Maya, following her all the way across the enclosure.
Shadow is doing well, but still baffling wolf care staff on his feeding preferences. He requires a quiet, patient, hand feeding event, and if there's one distraction from the wolf yard or the Exhibit Pack, the feeding time is over. This has certainly made it challenging for wolf care staff, but as we have said before, the Retired Pack deserves the best care possible for all the years they were on display. It is rewarding when we can get him to consume a 4 or 5 lb meal, and he always follows a good feeding with a face wipe in the snow.
Due to some cold weather and a temporary holding of Denali from the Exhibit, we've been feeding the wolves 3 – 5 lbs of chicken per day, per wolf. Aidan likes this management plan. He gets to eat in the medical pen without competition from anyone else, then spends his day resting. Since Denali's move off Exhibit (see Denali's log), Aidan has bee sleeping in the den with Maya each night, and hasn't used the straw under the eaves. The tension in the pack is much lower, and with Maya calmer, Aidan has no issues resting with her.
As we reported in Denali's log, last Saturday there was a dominance interaction between Grizzer and Denali that required some restitching of Grizzer's wound. The colder weather will make it more challenging to heal, so we are going to hold Denali until Grizzer's head is completely healed. It is important to note the Grizzer needs to be in the pack to maintain his status. If we were to take him out to heal, Denali would clearly take over the pack leader role and possibly not allow Grizzer back in. Grizzer is more likely to allow Denali back into the pack, and Denali's submission through the fence is important.
The International Wolf Center uses science-based education to teach and inspire the world about wolves, their ecology, and the wolf-human relationship.