Boltz- Summer Stress

We don’t know when it happened, but sometime in Boltz’s life, bees became an obsession.  During the summer season, Boltz has the stress of looking, ducking and running from the variety of insects that frequent Minnesota’s great outdoors.  On an overcast and cooler summer day, he’s right with the pack, but heat and humidity mean bugs and that means Boltz makes an upper enclosure retreat underground.  This isolation can be problematic as the rest of the pack members treat his anxiety and retreat as a weakness and he can be the focus of some unwanted attention when he comes back down the hill at night.  In order to overcome this summer stress, we are trying to devise ways to give him a distraction, but so far, there hasn’t been much success to change his mind

Axel – Wolf Watch

Axel is the most interested in activities within the Center’s auditorium and is often at the window watching the people as they walk through the Center.  The predatory drive is active with the yearlings and is easily stimulated especially if people are excited, talking in high pitch voices or if kids are running.  We experienced some testing behavior between the yearlings and Denali.  Grayson took the lead, but Axel was pulling Denali’s tail similar to how he used to pull Grayson’s tail when they were pups.  This testing seems to have subsided over the weekend, but based on previous experience, the fall season will show more. Staff are actively working on protocols to address young wolf exuberance.  We need to be mindful of the fact that human intervention and separation can create a scenario that magnifies dominance situations.  It’s been our experience that the right distractions with appropriate timing can diffuses tense situations.  

Aidan – Every Observation is Analyzed

Even though we had a clean removal of the mast cell tumor and test results identified it as lower risk issue, we are at a heightened level of awareness when it comes to Aidan.  For those of you who have recorded data whether it be a Wolves after Dark program, a behavior team after an introduction or an Ethology class, you have probably heard us say “…every observation is important to note, even when a wolf is sleeping…”  This is even more critical now, not only has we are going on 2 months since his tumor removal, but as we transition from age 9 to age 10, the time frame when we see changes in pack leadership. 

 

Boltz – Nose to Nose

Since Boltz missed the previous log posting, here’s a photo showing a nose to nose greeting with Grayson. 

Boltz – Hard in the Middle

We apologize to those of you who follow Boltz in the wolf logs.  Being in the middle of the pack based on age and rank, it seems like Boltz gets overlooked when it comes to some interactions, including the posting of wolf logs. This is in part due to Boltz’s more timid behavior, especially during the fly season.  In his younger days, he had some negative associations with bees and now he seems to obsess about anything that buzzes over his head.  Once the temperatures warm enough for the bugs to arrive, he tends to retreat to the upper wood line out of sight to the photographers.  This seasonal change in confidence has not gone unnoticed by the yearlings.  Initially, they backed off and watched as Boltz spun in circles catching flies.  Now, they seem more tolerant and continue to show some bonding behavior with Boltz.  Boltz seems to revert back to his juvenile mind, obnoxiously submitting to Denali.  This timid seasonal behavior includes the weekly carcass feedings, where he waits on the sidelines before he gets an opportunity to tug at the carcass and retreat with his possession.  The “What’s for Dinner” crowd cheered on Saturday night when Boltz acquired a hind deer leg from Denali and the yearlings.  Staff monitor feedings closely as well as monitoring the condition and color of scat to ensure that each wolf gets the resources they need.  When the weather is cool and damp keeping the bugs from being airborne, Boltz is right in the mix showing some dominance over anyone willing to stand there long enough to take it. 

Adian – Back in the Mix

After the removal of Aidan’s mast cell tumor, it took him some time to feel well enough to fully engage with the pack. Based on experience, the 14-day course of antibiotics didn’t help him feel any better either.  Initially, he stayed in the upper part of the enclosure, usually resting with Grayson.  Within a few days, he started to localize on the pump housing where the layer of sand and metal housing offered a cool place to lie and catch a breeze. He would watch and only intervene on pack issues when the activities reached a certain level.  On the 24th of June, we began a weekend program called “Pups at One Year”; Participants not only observed the wolves during the day, but had the opportunity to stay overnight and watch the pack during their most active sessions.  Participants commented that their observations of Aidan changed from more reserved behavior on Saturday to a more interactive pack leader by Sunday morning.  They commented that even when Aidan was more reserved, his presence was powerful.  Without physically interacting, he could walk up to Denali or Boltz who would be asserting dominance on the yearlings and with one look, Aidan could stop the interaction.  On Sunday morning, the pack had a portion of a deer carcass left in the pouring rain and the yearlings were taking tidbits from the carcass despite the rain.  Aidan definitely thinks smarter and not harder,  dragging the deer carcass under the eaves of the building for his Sunday feeding.  The yearlings seemed to take advantage of that move, learning from the pack leader is an ongoing thing for yearlings.  

Grayson- Expressions set the tone

In this photo, there are two separate conversations going on and we often look at the facial expressions to determine the tone of the interaction.  Let’s start with Grayson.  He has his ears flat in a submissive posture, his head is turned and dropped down to show submission, his eyes are slightly closed and he is touching Aidan under the chin.  This is a relaxed and submissive wolf that is greeting Aidan in a submissive manner.   Aidan is doing as stand-over Denali, with his ears pricked up, but turned sideways.  This ear posture shows that he is alert, but may be slightly intimidated (turned to the side) as he can’t see Denali underneath him and has Grayson involved in the interaction.  As the photo shows, Aidan is receiving a submissive response from Denali who has his forelegs relaxed. Grayson had a bit more focus from the other wolves while Aidan was recovering.  He definitely gets comfort and confidence from Aidan. 

Denali – Head Rest or Squash

Denali is taking advantage of Grayson as a headrest although, some might interpret it as an active dominance behavior called a squash.  How do you tell the difference?  If it were a squash, it’s likely that Grayson would resist it and be posturing to get up, using his feet to push Denali away.  In this photo, you will notice that Grayson’s feet and tail are relaxed, showing no indication of a struggle.  Staff also witnessed Grayson serving as a resting spot for Aidan’s leg as he recovered after his surgery.  This might be the way that Grayson shows pack bonding.  It is a common behavior for pups to just flop down on one another while resting, this could just be the residual pup in Grayson and Denali as well. Denali continued to show food aggression towards Boltz and Grayson on the carcass with less guarding towards Axel.  This is in contrast to Aidan who seems to show more dominance towards Axel than Grayson.  Grayson had a bit more focus and chasing from Denali and Boltz while Aidan was not feeling well, but the pack seems to be returning to normal.  The yearlings even took advantage of Aidan’s presence and did a duel ride-up on Denali. 

Axel – More Inhibited Bites

It has been a great pleasure watching these arctic pups mature to yearlings.  Their personalities that began as pups are becoming more defined as yearlings.  Between the pair, Axel is the one to do the most exploration with this mouth, whether it be branches, wolf hair or his littermates muzzle, there seems to be an inhibited bite when Axel is nearby (meaning he holds back from a harder bite pattern).  The other developing behaviors relate to their facial expressions which can be broadened to include their ear postures and eye positions.  Similar to Aidan, Grayson is very expressive when face to face interactions include some type of heightened energy.  Muzzle biting and jaw sparring qualify as heightened energy. Axel also seems to use that heightened energy on the deer carcass, holding his own while the pack tries to each take their share. 

Grizzer – Modified Grizzer 500

In the past, we referenced Grizzer’s tendency to go into a playbow/invite chase behavior that the staff nicknamed the Grizzer 500.  Last week, Grizzer was stimulated by a visit from Board Member, Nancy Gibson.  After some social time with Nancy, Grizzer did a playbow and sprung up to run a lap around the enclosure.  Of course at the age of 13, the run was shorter than in the past, but the attitude was the same.   In this week’s photo, if you look closely at his back right leg, you will notice a much straighter alignment than in the past.  Grizzer willingly allowed staff to conduct some body work on his leg, similar to Luna.