Shadow remains the dominant wolf in this pack and his calm presence when the others are chaotic is very noticeable. The pups have their daily activity that makes the rest of the pack excited. When Shadow is in a good mood and very excited, he races around the enclosure, getting the rest of the wolves to chase him. He even rolls over and submits, but is always very guarded about which wolf is jumping on him and is quick to get up and assert his status.
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Malik has finally started laying in straw beds. To give the pack plenty of resting spots during the colder weather, straw is used throughout the facility. The morning sun doesn't reach the top of the dens until later in the day, so straw was placed in the lower portions of the enclosure during the cold spell and to help place Grizzer in a sunny position to melt some of the dried blood on his pelage. Malik initially curled up in a ball in the snow, of course looking cold. It made staff wonder about straw placement, if Malik didn't feel comfortable in any of the choices for beds. Finally, after placing 10 different beds, Malik chose one in front of the greeting rock, and seems to be more comfortable. This job of caring for wolves goes far beyond the physical, it's important to recognize the psychological needs of the wolves as well.
Staff have observed some interesting behavior between Aidan and Maya. As previous logs have stated, Maya has been quite dominant over Aidan, but last week, Maya was observed walking in a parallel gate with Aidan, a sign of bonding. Maya was also observed grooming Aidan and Aidan appeared to be stimulating play from Maya. This is all part of the individual social relationships that form within the pack. In this week's photo, you will see Shadow doing a rub under Aidan's chin, a very social greeting. Of course the video clip shows that Shadow is still dominant and Aidan willingly submits, but there is certainly a level of respect from the dominant wolves for Aidan that is not viewed with Denali.
Denali interacts with the whole pack in a similar manner. He's big and he likes food possessions, so he tries to get food whenever possible. He is displaying great defensive behavior and has taken to jaw sparring with Maya, especially if they're after the same item. Denali is not as focused as Aidan when it comes to dominance. When the pack is interacting and dominating an individual, Denali will run along side and be part of the pack, but Aidan will watch and take an opportunity to make a bite in a strategic place.
When working with a wolf pack in captivity, there's always going to be one wolf on the bottom. The rank order isn't complete unless there's a top and a bottom, and in this case, Malik has that rank. Certainly not because he has that personality, like Lakota, but because of the dynamics of the other social relationships. Malik protests on a daily basis with growls, and chatter that can be a constant source of noise. Even when Grizzer is not interacting, Malik will run up, growl at Grizzer, then run away. Grizzer is actually quite tolerant, but when the behavior goes on for several minutes, Grizzer will usually take pursuit and follow. It's hard to interpret if Malik does this because of his personality trait and that makes him a target or if being a target makes him display this behavior. We do know, that if he was calmer, Grizzer wouldn't follow him as much.
The wolf logs will contain the same text for each wolf, as snow conditions again dominate the staff's work load. The most noticeable snow issue was a recent clearing of the snow from the Center's roof. With over 2 feet of snow on the roof, and the predicted forecast of rain adding to the weight of the snow, the decision was made to shovel all the snow from the roof, which lands directly into the wolf enclosure. To avoid giving the wolves free access to the roof, the snow had to be blown out of the front of the enclosure, resulting in a large bank in the front of the exhibit, that is at least 8 feet from the roof line. You may have noticed increased activity in front of the pond cam, as the wolves have been very actively climbing and digging in the snow bank. The wolves have also been observed sliding down the snow bank, and pushing each other off the top of the hill. It is a great vantage point and wolves do enjoy the view from the top of the hill.
The wolf logs will contain the same text for each wolf, as snow conditions again dominate the staff's work load. The most noticeable snow issue was a recent clearing of the snow from the Center's roof. With over 2 feet of snow on the roof, and the predicted forecast of rain adding to the weight of the snow, the decision was made to shovel all the snow from the roof, which lands directly into the wolf enclosure. To avoid giving the wolves free access to the roof, the snow had to be blown out of the front of the enclosure, resulting in a large bank in the front of the exhibit, that is at least 8 feet from the roof line. You may have noticed increased activity in front of the pond cam, as the wolves have been very actively climbing and digging in the snow bank. The wolves have also been observed sliding down the snow bank, and pushing each other off the top of the hill. It is a great vantage point and wolves do enjoy the view from the top of the hill.
Grizzer has had a tooth scrape to the corner of his eye and a tear to his ear in the last week. The tooth was from a scuffle with Malik and the ear, happened late Saturday night and was discovered in Sunday morning's wolf check. We're not sure if it was related to the deer feeding on Saturday night (the pack devoured the deer) or if the pups were wrestling with him and tugged too hard. The tear isn't very large, but ear wounds can bleed a lot. Staff tried to wash it up, but with temperatures at -24 below, it is too cold to apply too much water. He can't be removed from the enclosure and brought into the lab or Malik will likely fight with him for status after he is brought back in. Even the slightest separation can be perceived as a dispersal. Grizzer doesn't seem to be in any pain, and actively fed on the deer after staff cleaned his wound. He is on a 3-times a day antibiotic regime for a week. We know he is far too tolerant of the pups, and they are pulling on him all the time, but he seems to want this attention. Maybe the ear injury will encourage him to set limits.
This past week, the curator was out of town attending conferences for the HP grant and the Society of American Foresters. While we manage with a style of multiple wolf care staff, the change in routine can have an impact on the wolves. To distract the pack from this change, items are given to provide them a behavioral outlet. Last week, a bison hide that was donated from a hunter was given to the pack on Monday. This provided a significant amount of behavior including tug of war, guarding behavior, active submission and dominance and overall excitement. While Aidan was more involved in the wolf on wolf interaction, Denali was completely focused on chewing the hide, no matter who was also on the carcass. This could explain why Denali has now surpassed the size (height anyways..) of all of the wolves in the enclosure. The full video clip of the bison hide will be included with the YouTube video this week.
This past week, the curator was out of town attending conferences for the HP grant and the Society of American Foresters. While we manage with a style of multiple wolf care staff, the change in routine can have an impact on the wolves. To distract the pack from this change, items are given to provide them a behavioral outlet. Last week, a bison hide that was donated from a hunter was given to the pack on Monday. This provided a significant amount of behavior including tug of war, guarding behavior, active submission and dominance and overall excitement. Shadow was surprisingly interactive over the hide. Usually, he observes the pack and doesn't get involved in tug of wars over items, but with this hide, he was quite excited. The most interesting dynamic after watching the video was Aidan reaction to Shadow and the constant active submission displayed by Aidan. He was frequently pushing himself on Shadow to seek dominance, and Shadow complied. The full video clip of the bison hide will be included with the YouTube video this week.
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