Luna had x-rays on Tuesday at the Ely Vet Clinic. The radiographs have been sent to the University of Minnesota for review, but as of this posting, I have not heard a response. Based on the interpretation here in Ely, the frustration levels of Luna with restricted access and the concern over loss of social contact with not only Boltz, but Aidan and Denali, we decided to give her short bouts of freedom in the wolf yard. We started this on Tuesday, and we have noticed a significant improvement in her mobility, ability and speed. We have to be careful of her interaction with Boltz, not because Boltz is too rough, but Luna is too aggressive as she lunge attacks him. Luna has been making good progress with her weights. Here are her weights since the last posting:<br> Date Days old Weight<li> 6/8/2012 76 17.3 <li> 6/9/2012 77 17 <li> 6/10/2012 78 17.9 <li> 6/11/2012 79 18.5<li> 6/12/2012 80 18.8<li> 6/13/2012 81 19.1<li> 6/14/2012 82 19.3<li> 6/15/2012 83 20.4
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Malik had a great session today with one of the staff. Each wolf seems to have their favorite handler, and Malik worked with his today. He was brushed and received a healthy dose of fly ointment. This has been a challenge since they were young pups. The smell of fly ointment sends them the other way, or just out of arms reach.
Aidan and Denali had a large deer on Saturday night, which resulted in Aidan sleeping in the den most of the day on Sunday. We have successfully conditioned the wolves to come to the front of the Exhibit when we ring some chimes. We usually reward them with ice cubes or other miscellaneous treats. Today, the temperatures were in the upper 70's, with full sunshine, perfect weather for biting flies. Combine the temperatures, sun, flies and full stomach, Aidan was a challenge to keep on display today.
Boltz is really getting tall and lanky. His oversize paws create a few clumsy moments in the wolf yard, but he gets right back up and continues the path he was on. We have discovered that he is very interested in staff when they go in with the adult wolves. He stands on the other side of the fence and watches the entire time. We sure would like to know what he's thinking. <br> Here are the weights since the last posting:<li> 6/16/2012 92 30.7<li> 6/17/2012 93 30.6 <li> 6/18/2012 94 32 (could be a scale error, Boltz was active)<li> 6/19/2012 95 31.9<li> 6/20/2012 96 33*scale change <li> 6/21/2012 97 32.5 <li> 6/22/2012 98 32.5 <li> 6/23/2012 99 34<li> 6/24/2012 100 34.5
When pups are coming in for daily programs, Aidan spends some time at the windows, watching the interactions. So far, he remains tolerant of the core wolf care staff as they interact with Bolts (Peanut doesn't get much fence time under her restricted mobility limitations). We did watch an interesting behavior last week. When Bolts was climbing on Oscar, he rolled off of Oscar and up against a temporary fence and it made some noise (as well a squeak from Bolts). Aidan ran to the fence, and jumped towards Oscar. We moved Oscar away from the fence, but Aidan continued to eye stalk him. Since then, he's been back to normal with Aidan, but we have to make sure that Aidan doesn't see anything that might indicate a pup is in distress.
Denali is interested in the pups, but not nearly as possessive as Aidan. We have observed him carrying deer parts over to the fence toward the pups. This is a behavior that we've observed in multiple litters over the years. This type of care giving behavior is a part of the hormonal influence of pups, but we must time the introduction well to ensure that prolactin hormone is still present at the time of the introduction and the pups have not increased to a size over 45 lbs. The way Bolts is putting on weight, we decided to move the introduction date to July 30th instead of the typical August time frame.
While we don't notice any behavioral issues with Shadow, Malik seems to be more engaging and pushing more status. The unique thing about this situation is that Shadow seems indifferent to these attempts. When he would normally do a chin rest and posture when Malik approaches with high tail, now he gives a glance in Malik's general direction and then goes about his business. This will likely change as we approach fall, the question is, how will Shadow posture to regain his dominant position.
Denali is amazing when it comes to fly ointment. He stands still while I apply ointment to his ears, between his toes, on his legs and even lets me spray ointment on his back. Aidan is accepting, but not as much as Denali. Of all the wolves on site, Denali has the least amount of shedding. He has only a tuft or two on his hind quarters, but otherwise has a full winter coat. This is a challenge as we had temperatures in the 80's with high humidity. We attached set up a sprinkler hose for all the wolves to help them during this transition of winter pelage to summer pelage.
Denali has given a whole new meaning to socialized. He not only stands still while staff put fly ointment on the tips of his ears, but he also stands for a spray bottle of fly repellent over his back, legs and paws. We have no other wolf as tolerant of day to day management. In one of our daily inspections, we noticed an issue with discoloration of one of his incisors. It appears he may have broken a tooth and it's decaying. With tooth issues, we judge the pain condition and impact on the gum before we decide to immobilize the wolf and pull the tooth. So far, there is no response to us touching the tooth and we will send photos of the tooth to the Vet's to determine if they want a closer look. It would be best to wait for an immobilization later in the fall when the weather is cooler, especially since Denali has not shed a majority of his undercoat.
Luna seems much more relaxed with the routine of alternating yard time with Boltz. She favors her back leg when she comes out of the lab in the morning,even though we have a thick comforter that covers her kennel, the confinement makes her stiff. Once she can move around the yard, she is quick to respond and walks with a better gait. On a recent warm afternoon, she spent some time at the lab door. As soon as a staff member opened the door, she quickly entered the air conditioned lab and the comforter that covers the floor of her kennel. <br> Weights since the last posting:<br> Date Days Old Weight in Pounds<li> 6/16/2012 84 20.1<li> 6/17/2012 85 21.3<li> 6/18/2012 86 21.2 <li> 6/19/2012 87 21.4 <li> 6/20/2012 88 21.5<li> 6/21/2012 89 22.5<li> 6/22/2012 90 23 <li> 6/23/2012 91 23 <li> 6/24/2012 92 23.5
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