I'm not sure if you noticed, but since Denali's time out, Aidan has been spending much more time on the greeting rock. The reduction in tension has made his life easier. As I stated in the Youtube video, Denali gets reintroduced to the pack on Monday, that is, if Grizzer passes his Vet inspection. All indications look good. In an effort to aid the transition of Denali back into the pack, we are feeding extra amounts of food to all wolves to reduce the typical wolf competition they have while feeding on a deer carcass. We are also trying an all natural product called D.A.P., or Dog Appeasing Pheromones, which we are spraying in their straw beds. It is a safe product, and while we recognize wolf behavior is driven by instincts and is not the brain of a domesticated animal like a dog, we thought we would try it anyway. If it has even a small influence and calming effect it will be worth it. Mother Nature is cooperating as well, temperatures have moderated here, with highs in the 20's and lows near zero, much better than the -30 below weather that caused the last bout of tension.
Archives
Grizzer has noticeably lost weight this winter, in comparison with previous winters. This is probably attributed to his active social interactions with the pups, and the following and chase behavior displayed between he and Malik. Grizzer continues to be calm when working with staff, only reacting when Denali makes a few testing behaviors towards individuals.
Maya continues to be a bit tense, and somewhat unpredictable, but the pack seems to have adjusted to her attitude. Even Shadow knows when to get out of her way, although Maya did inadvertently knock him over on a recent run for Aidan. One thing for sure, her behavior has been instrumental in teaching the pups the meaning of rank order.
Maya is settling down a bit, although Aidan is still a bit weary of her new found calm behavior. It is nice to have a season of calm. We do give Maya credit, her presence this winter helped keep the pups in line, and ultimately reduced the risk of testing for status in the male rank order. This may be the help Shadow needs to maintain his status as a 9 year old. The 1993 litter was retired by 9 1/2 years of age, with Maya being so dominant this winter, we see no indication of the pups moving up in rank.
Aidan has been very calm and socially interactive with staff this past week. We are very pleased with his progress in accepting some of the level 1 staff, although we are now seeing some increased testing behavior from Denali. The pack was stimulated by some wild wolf activity outside of the enclosure late last week. Wolf care staff member, Don Gossett, spotted a wolf right next to the perimeter fence before wolf care began. This created a chase around the enclosure for the pack, and some redirected aggression.
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. Upon returning to the enclosure, the pack did a lot of scent rolling in areas where pond water was bailed from the upper pond. Denali appeared to meet most of the beaver in the retired enclosure during the 4 hours he was out of the Exhibit, which doesn't surprise the staff, it may have something to do with the 108 lb yearling body size. He has calmed considerably, which is consistent with yearlings, and the onset of spring warmer weather. We expect him to start shedding his winter pelage soon. In his video clip this week, you will see Denali doing a "Stand-Over" Aidan, this is a sign of dominance.
Most of the pack received their Parvo and Rabies vaccinations last week. I say most of the pack, so you will have to read Shadow and Malik's logs to know what that means. Aidan did very well with vaccinations, despite his looking over his shoulder to see Maya's location. Aidan's most enjoyable part of the vaccination protocol was when Maya was down on her side and the wolf care staff were vaccinating her. She let out an anxious whine which seemed to please Aidan. Aidan's photo this week really shows his submissive status to Shadow, and his desire to seek acceptance from him. He is extremely bonded to Shadow, and lately, there have been many reports of Aidan and Maya pair bonding together. Maya is still sporadic in her interactions with Aidan, some days she stalks, other day she socializes.
Most of the pack received vaccinations this past week. Denali was the easiest wolf to vaccinate, with Grizzer coming a close second. He didn't even notice the needle, and after his second vaccination, stood waiting for another. This is the reason why we socialize wolves. Denali continues to initiate dominance behavior over Aidan, doing stand-overs and wrestling, but Aidan's tolerance is waning, and there may be a day when he doesn't take it anymore. We are working on brush training with Denali, he has a tendency to want to grab everything in our hands, but after a few minutes of muzzle grabs, he did let us successfully brush him last week.
Grizzer and Maya turned 5 years old on May 5th, and in honor of their birth, they were vaccinated for Parvo and Rabies. Grizzer does extremely well with veterinary care and that's a good thing with a 121 lb. wolf. As you can see from the video, Grizzer still maintains a submissive posture to Shadow, there are no indications that he's testing Shadow in any way. Grizzer also still remains very bonded to the yearlings, with both Aidan and Denali spending time watching and interacting.
Shadow and Malik turned 9 years old on May 8th and Shadow received his Rabies vaccination, but not on the same day as the other wolves. Initially, it was our goal to do Shadow first, but as soon as he saw the syringe, he decided avoidance behavior was more appropriate. After the syringe was taken back to the lab, he came over and allowed staff to go through the whole motion of vaccinating by hand, but when the syringe came back out, avoidance again. So, how do you vaccinate a dominant wolf that is smarter than the Curator? You bribe him with social contact. Later in the week, we brought in one of Shadow's favorite new people, Rusty Wetzel, and had Rusty and Curator, Lori Schmidt, down low on the ground so Shadow could do a full greeting. Once he was involved with greeting Rusty, Lori came up behind him and did a quick subcutaneous injection. He was a bit irritated with Lori, but he quickly returned to greeting. The Vet Care Plan calls for discontinuation of Parvo vaccines for any wolf over 8 years of age, so Shadow and Malik only get their annual rabies vaccination. Shadow continues to be a strong source of social acceptance for the yearlings, showing them their rank in the pack. Aidan is continually seeking acceptance from Shadow and seems to seek him out if he's anxious.
The International Wolf Center uses science-based education to teach and inspire the world about wolves, their ecology, and the wolf-human relationship.