I hope everyone has a healthy and happy New Year. The wolves are all doing well and are having a calm winter. We have not experienced temperatures in the sub zero range, which usually drives a bit of wolf aggression. We would like to announce that the Pup Care Program Applications are online at www.wolf,org. Select the Programs Tab, click on Educational Programs and you will find the applications under the Seminars title. We are adamant that special training and an understanding of wolf behavior is critical before interacting with wolf pups. This program is only available to individuals who have been previously involved in the pup care program or who have participated in the Planning for Pups prerequisite seminars offered during the summer of 2011 or 2007. Applications will be accepted until February 1st, and teams will be assembled and notified by March 15th.
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We've been getting some scraps from local deer hunters. We generally feed these mid-week to give the wolves some extra bones. Unfortunately in retirement, this means that Malik, who is the master of guarding food, will cache extra bones in the den and keep Shadow out of the den. This happened again on Wednesday, and the surveillance camera recorded video of Shadow having to sleep in the small rock den on the other side of the pond. He didn't look too comfortable. On Thursday morning, Wolf Care Staff cleaned out the den and helped reclaim Shadow's space. This week's photo for Shadow and Malik show some of the posturing that occurred. First Shadow made Malik avert gaze (Malik's photo), then Malik made Shadow avert Gaze (Shadow's photo). When Malik gets to guard food, he gains some status. It takes a while for Shadow to gain it back.
It is so nice to have Shadow feeling good and not being intimidated by Malik's obsessive food guarding of caches. It's always hard to watch the wolves who have been dominant their whole life, being put in a situation of intimidation. This is why we are so protective of human visitors to Shadow, they intimidate him more than Malik. When Shadow feels good, he does a lot of whirl behaviors (where he jumps up and whirls around facing the opposite direction), he invites chase, does playbows and gets very excited. He also greets the wolf care staff with the same enthusiasm, often jumping on the den and submitting, something he rarely did as a dominant pack leader.
Denali had some interesting behavior captured on the surveillance logs this week. He was shown doing a ride-up behavior, pinning Aidan to the ground with some excitement. Aidan was showing some submissive behavior, but later returned to some assertive following behavior. Denali is pretty easy going, and will take any opportunities he can. He seems to have settled into a resting pattern, usually taking the top of the slate den.
Aidan and Denali have been observed in far more social interaction lately, but as Aidan's picture shows, he can only tolerate so much of Denali's excited exuberance. Denali is relentless on his playbows, pouncing towards Aidan and trying to ride up and pin him to the ground. These are all testing behaviors, and it appears that Aidan doesn't do much to stop it until it gets too much, then he follows Denali relentlessly. This causes Denali to raise his hackles, and flatten his ears.
Grizzer has a pattern of getting excited when wolf care staff enter the enclosure, he is actually increasing his speed an agility, which is not typical as a wolf ages. The only concern we have is that the lack of snow has created some icy conditions, but his toenails are very effective at gripping the dirt and making pretty tight turns. When you work with a wolf over time, you get to learn their personality quirks. Grizzer has many expressions that he shows towards the wolf care staff. This week's photo is one of those classic views. I'm not sure why, but he certainly seemed to question the actions of the wolf care staff.
We are happy to report that Grizzer can still cause some trouble. In the past several months, wolf care staff have gotten into a routine with Grizzer. He greets, goes to the den for some interaction, may race around the enclosure, then may submit to wolf care staff to get a full belly scratch. He's calm for staff interactions and as long as there's no strangers in the yard (Grizzer is all about stranger danger), then things are good. Well, we were raking straw on his den this week and we discovered that he still has a bit of the wild side. When a rake quickly moves back and forth, the predatory drive is stimulated, and Grizzer went into a full stalk, paw and bite posture towards the rake. It was great to see him stimulated, and the rake did survive, but this week's photo shows the change in posture from his normal pose.
Grizzer's had the most staff attention during this period of shedding. With no other competition, he can lay around in full submission while staff work to make him more comfortable. It's always relaxing to interact with Grizzer. There's something therapeutic about brushing a wolf for both the staff and the wolf.
Shadow continues to posture showing his status which is why Malik has two avert gaze photos in 2 weeks. We don't notice much more in terms of behavior, just some slow, deliberate intimidation. Shadow is increasing his howling bouts which stimulates all the wolves. Hopefully in the upcoming weeks we can get some good howling footage of the Exhibit Pack. I don't think we have any howling video since the pups have been introduced.
In preparation for the transition to the new log format, we will be posting a YouTube video on a weekly basis, rather than the 20 second clips linked in the weekly log posting. This format should give a better appreciation for the tone of the pack, rather than the individual wolf. There may be a 1 – 2 day delay in the YouTube video posting after the wolf log postings. Grizzer continues to be the largest wolf on site, topping 129 lbs. He does put on the weight during winter, and looks like a table top, with a full winter coat of hair. He is getting a lot of redirected aggression from Shadow, who is agitated with the construction noise and presence on the roof. Only a few more weeks, and the roof is done, hopefully, things will calm down for Grizzer, but at this time, he gets it from all sides, Shadow dominating him, Denali grabbing and foreleg stabbing, Malik trying to get in a few bites, Maya asserting her dominance. The only one who doesn't give Grizzer any dominance is Aidan.
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