Bolts has been actively exploring the water container and seems to have overcome the initial hesitation about getting his feet wet. We discovered another feeding issue with Bolts. When new people come in, he doesn't like people in his personal space. This means that he prefers new people stay around a 1 foot distance, but when he's hungry, he needs to be fed. So, one of the team members discovered that if you put a piece of venison on a stick, he'll eat it. Whatever it takes to get a few more ounces in them. It must be working, here are his new weight gains: <li> 5/30 – 22 lbs<li>> 5/31 – 23 lbs <li>> 6/1 – 23.4 lbs<li>> 6/2 – 23.3 lbs <li> 6/3 – 24.5 lbs
Archives
We've been noticing some subtle changes in the relationship between Aidan and Denali. Denali seems to be gaining some status over Aidan, and we think it might be related to the fact that Aidan is more intimidated by strangers. Having Pup Care Participants in the wolf yard is excellent socialization for the pups, but we can't forget that adult wolves have stress responses to strangers. Fortunately, we have Wolf Care staff that enter the enclosure and pay some specific attention to Aidan which helps with some of this anxiety. He continues to show some strong social bonding behavior towards Boltz.
As you already know, the Name the Pup Contest voters selected Luna as the official name for this pup. She wasn't as keyed into her name as Boltz, so the change is not as much of an issue. She's becoming a handful during programs, as it is the only time her and Boltz are together. Anytime Luna is set down in the program pen, she tries to dominate Boltz. Our job is to protect Luna from re-injuring herself from too much activity, but we also have to protect Boltz from a frustrated Luna who wants to be off of restricted activity. We have x-rays scheduled for next Tuesday to see her progress on the femural plate. These will be sent to the surgeons in St. Paul and it may be a few days before we get an update. I will try to post something as soon as I hear. Here are Luna's weights since the last posting.<br> Date Days Old Weight in lbs.<li> 6/4/2012 72 16.3<li> 6/5/2012 73 16.4<li> 6/6/2012 74 17 <li> 6/7/2012 75 16.8
Shadow had the longest impact of a sedative given on the night of the fire. His eyes were still droopy the next day, and he was stumbling a bit. We don't do oral sedatives very often, but we now know that the dose given was effective, but too high for the length of duration. One thing about Shadow when he's feeling a bit sedated, he gets very social. We were able to do a lot of brushing his undercoat on that day, and that is helpful to a wolf who has issues with heat.
Yes, we have another photo of Grizzer submitting to wolf care staff. This is the pattern of wolf checks these days. Bolts found an opening in the fence and went over to greet Grizzer. This seemed to increase Grizzer's submissive behavior. We have since fixed the gate system, because we don't want Bolt's to get confused on who are his pack mates. We want the strongest bond to be with Aidan and Denali.
I came on on Monday after taking the weekend off and Grizzer was well on his way to shedding. When I brushed him, the undercoat come out in 8 inch sheets. It would be ideal for spinning. We usually save the wolf undercoat and make items from the fur. In the past, we've made things bracelets, but there may be a larger weaving project in my future (spare time? not likely this summer. Grizzer continues to stimulate howling responses from the adults to the pups.
The Arctics have started to shed, Malik more than Shadow. Because of the heat and their age, we are using sprinkler hoses on a daily basis. Both Malik and Shadow like to walk under the hoses to get the cool mist. We are also seeing more fly issues with these two wolves. It may be because of location, their enclosure is slightly lower than the other wolves. Malik is very keen on the smell of fly ointment and won't approach if staff have it in their hand. We usually end up spraying something on the fence, then when he is scent rolling, we try to spray some ointment on his head.
We weighed all the adult wolves this week. Aidan and Denali have fond memories of the scale as pups and were very easy to acquire weights, as long as we had a bit of peanut butter. Aidan weighed 1234 lbs, which is down from his July 2011 weight of 130 lbs, but he might have been carrying a bit of deer in his belly during that weight. We are done with the 3 month antibotic treatment for the Discoid lupus condition. Unfortunately, it was not as successful as hoped. We will be consulting with the Veterinarians to come up with another treatment option.
Denali has several interesting behaviors this week. I'm not sure if it's the stimulated prolactin or just the heat of summer, but he is extremely tolerant of brushing and stands still for not only one wolf care staff to brush him, but two at a time. It's like he's taken a trip to the groomers. The other amazing behavior is that Denali regurgitated for Luna at the fence. They had not had face to face contact with Luna since her surgery, and after a tentatively positive x-ray (see Luna's log), we decided it was time for her to get back to socially interacting with the adults. Denali was extremely excited to see her again.
Malik's greetings are increasing with the Wolf Curator, and has been far more tolerant of brushing his undercoat than in previous summers. The heat doesn't seem to bother him as much as Shadow, and we frequently see him in the pond. The vegetation has really grown in the Retired Area and it gives some great shade and cool soil.
The International Wolf Center uses science-based education to teach and inspire the world about wolves, their ecology, and the wolf-human relationship.