Grizzer – Showing a residual mark

We just finished a 10-day trial of Deramaxx to help Grizzer with inflammation due to his torn ACL.  We did not see any difference, so we are going to start him on a 10-day trial of Rimadyl.  Some animals respond better to one medication over another.  We will let you know how Grizzer responds to the Rimadyl in a future log.  The retired pack had a number of behind the scenes visits from the Wolf Ethology class this week.  For a wolf that may not be feeling great, due to the excessive heat and his ACL, he did great with all the extra people near his enclosure.  Grizzer looks good for a 13 year old wolf!  His current weight is 120.4 lbs. 

The Center participated in a Mirror Self Recognition Test with Dr. Shannon Barber-Meyers over the last few months.  She will be publishing her findings on the study.  Grizzer still shows the blue mark on his head from the mirror test.  It was definitely good stimuli for Grizzer. 

Aidan – A Relaxed Leader

This week’s logs were written by the Bio 1476 – Wolf Ethology Students:

The warmer temperatures have all the wolves a bit lethargic.  We saw very little activity from Aidan during the day, especially after their Saturday night feeding.  The wolves received an enrichment of bear hair and Aidan actively participated with the pack in investigating the hair.  We saw some play bouts between Aidan and the yearlings and he seems to be fully recovered from his surgery.  These play bouts seem to put a spring back in Aidan’s step.  Aidan continues to keep a watchful eye on all the activities in the wolf yard.  He was weighed recently and is a bit less than his previous weight, but still relatively in line with Denali. 

Boltz- Rolling with Enrichment

This week’s logs were written by the Bio 1476 – Wolf Ethology Students:

The last several days have been warm, in the 80’s.  The warmer temperatures cause the wolves to look for cooler places to rest. Boltz spent a great deal of time in the den, which offers him a chance to escape the flies and bees.  Boltz came out when food or enrichments were offered.  All this time seeking shelter from things that fly around his head, have caused him to be separated from the pack.  This separation from the pack appears to be having an affect on his relationship with his pack mates.  He is often on the outside looking in on pack interactions.  We noticed that Boltz  lays or sit a distance from his pack mates except for bouts of stimuli with enrichment or the wolf care staff daily check.  This may change in the fall when the flies and bees have gone away.   Boltz has maintained a consistent weight of around 110 pounds since he became and adult.

Axel – Pup Patterns Repeated

This week’s logs were written by the Bio 1476 – Wolf Ethology Students:

At weekly Saturday night feeling, Denali kept Grayson away from the carcass, which allowed Axel to feed freely on the carcass.  After a good meal, Axel was lazy.  The warm temperatures had all the wolves seeking shade.  Axel brought the deer leg from the Saturday night feeding in to the shade and continued to feed.  Axel is an instigator of play, chases and any activity that require tail pulling.  If you see a wolf pulling a wolf’s tail, it would be Axel. Axel had many observations of tail-pulling as a pup.  He continues to maintain a weight near 100 pounds. 

Denali – Alert and Standing Tall

This week’s logs were written by the Bio 1476 – Wolf Ethology Students:

Like most of the other wolves, Denali has been taking it easy during the day due to the excessive heat.  He was most active during Saturday’s feeding, where an alliance with Axel was observed.  Denali actively blocked other pack members from the carcass.  The Arctic’s initiated several bouts of testing behaviors with Denali. He showed his dominance by placing his head over Grayson’s neck and attempted a stand over, but Grayson was quick to resist.  It was apparent that there is an alliance between Denali and Axel, which will be interesting to watch as fall becomes winter.   Denali has lost a bit of weight his summer and the loss of his summer coat makes him appear more sleek.  His current weight is 136 pounds. 

 

Grayson – Broader Muzzle- Maturing toward Adulthood

This week’s logs were written by the Bio 1476 – Wolf Ethology Students:

With the excessive heat, Grayson has been seeking a lot of rest and shade during the day, often lying near Aidan and Axel.  Even with the stimulating noon enrichments, investigating is short lived due to the heat.  Grayson was more active at night with the cooler temperature.  Grayson had a good time jumping in the air trying to catch bugs.  Maybe he was trying to get them before they got him.  During the Saturday feeding, Denali guarded Grayson from the deer carcass, which allowed Axel to graze for a while.  Grayson looked to Aidan for some reassurance, but with a full belly himself, he was of little assistance.  Grayson continues to be the smaller of the two yearlings, but circumstances can change from day to day.  Although the days of the “Pups” eating first and getting all the resources are probably gone.  Wolf Care Staff will evaluate the fecals color and condition to indicate the food resources for each individual wolf and make sure all get their fair share. 

Grayson- Processing his Surroundings

As a pup, Grayson was a bit more reserved, tended to watch before approaching and if it was too intimidating, he’d drop to a T-4 tucked tail posture and retreat.  As a yearling, there’s still some of that reserved behavior, but we definitely see him display more awareness of his surroundings and the behaviors of fellow packmates.  We have documented several instances where his observations have led to opportunities to gain a little status.  It’s what yearlings do and some do it better than others.  Grayson also seems to be more responsive to visual cues than Axel.  For wolf care staff, that is important when trying to assess and sometimes distract tension within the pack.  Grayson is known for giving an excited half howl when he’s made a visual connection with a wolf care staff member.   

Grizzer – Liking the Routine

Grizzer has now been on a special feeding routine for at least 3 months and it’s benefited our goal of increasing Grizzer’s weight as well as increasing his confidence.  To avoid any unnecessary dominance and to keep Luna on a well documented food plan, we separate Grizzer to the East Side Retired area for his feeding.  He knows the gate system and is very cooperative with staff.  His coat is still soft and glossy, and he still carries that tuft of hair on his neck that makes him appear to be wearing a something that typically starts to fade with age.  We did start him on a 10-day course of anti-inflammatory medication this week, his response to his ACL injury seemed to be more problematic with him not weight-bearing on his back leg.  We also had a recommendation to start him on Turmeric Curcumin with Bioperine as an anti-inflammatory and antioxidant supplement.  In addition, we are making some connections for a product called “System Saver”.  Our colleagues at Wolf Park in Indiana have had good results with this product developed by a Veterinarian.    At his age, we definitely favor tying supplements before pharmaceuticals and their side effects.  The main goal is making him feel better. 

Luna – Looking Great and Feeling Good

We haven’t gotten a new weight on Luna since the June 30th – 105 pound measurement, but she’s looking great, has shed her entire undercoat except at her neck and most important, she is feeling good.  We plan to weigh her again on August 2nd when we weigh the yearlings (on their birthday) .  She has really taken to the new bodywork techniques we learned this past month and we’ve never seen her so relaxed.  She is extremely excited to greet staff in the mornings and both she and Grizzer weight at the Pack Holding Area window while staff prepare their morning meatballs.  It’s been a good summer for wolves, cool temperatures and not much humidity.   It’s not the heat, but the humidity that makes things challenging, especially for wolves with some joint discomfort. 

Denali – Tables Turned

In the past month, we’ve observed the start of some yearling testing that is part of the maturation process with wolves.  To the human’s that have a tendency to support the underdog, it’s important that the wolf care staff step back and analyze before intervening.  Our past experience has taught us that intervening or blocking interactions makes the displays more intense.  The timing of this dominance is a bit earlier than we have previously experienced, typically we don’t see much effort until the cooler days of fall, but Aidan’s more reserved behavior after his surgery may have created a bit of a void in leadership, prompting the yearlings to test.  Why are they testing Denali and not Aidan?  There are probably a lot of reasons; Certainly the bond is stronger with Aidan and the yearlings might be less confident and not willing to engage with Aidan.   If we turn back to the introduction day on August 7th, 2016, you may recall that Denali was the most antagonistic towards the pups.  This could be why the tables are turned.  Things have calmed back down again, but staff are working on multiple contingency plans and distraction techniques to be prepared for the transition from yearlings to adulthood for Grayson and Axel.  We have been through it before, we have experience with Grizzer testing Shadow and Malik, Denali testing Grizzer, Maya suppressing Aidan and on some days, Luna testing all.  The social dynamics and rank order of wolves has a complexity that is important to understand and appreciate as a key component to survival in the wild.