There's no real news to report in retirement. Malik and Shadow really are quite compatible, that is when Malik stops caching in the den. The mild weather has been a bonus for these older animals, Malik can be a bit stiff in the mornings, but with temperatures in the 20's during the day, he seems to be doing well.
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Malik and Shadow will not be part of the medical exam, they both had an exam last May and the pups will not be interacting at the fence with the retired wolves. Malik had some good opportunity to defend a few deer legs last week, but with a mid-week feeding, he and Shadow are often sleeping on the den together.
With Maya temporarily controlling Grizzer, Malik’s life has become a bit calmer, as evident in his video clip this week. Wolf care staff can always identify tensions in the pack based on Malik’s growl response. All wolves enjoyed a full deer carcass on Saturday night, with Malik showing a full stomach on Sunday morning.
As one of the wolf care staff mentioned today, Denali is like teflon, nothing sticks. He is able to do what he wants when he wants, and this includes grabbing Grizzer, riding up on Shadow, foreleg stabbing Malik, wrestling with Aidan, but doesn't include looking at Maya. Maya seems to be the only wolf showing limits to Denali. Shadow must not take him as a threat, or he would be showing him more status.
Shadow is feeling so much better, and has been very impressive showing his status. Not only is he doing chin rests, but in today's check he did a full ride-up behavior. Pretty impressive for a wolf that is 11 1/2 years old this week. He can also jump from the front of the den to the top of the den in one leap. Malik tried this today and couldn't get his back leg up to the top without some help from wolf care staff. We have always had a policy that any wolf over 7 years of age gets Cosequin and Durlactin supplements, and we don't think we'd have as much mobility in these older animals without it. You may have noticed that we updated our wolf care wish list, and if anyone wants to donate, these nutritional supplements, as well as other items are shown on our website.
Aidan is really showing some confidence as winter approaches. He definitely possesses the wolf care staff and dominates our time when we are providing social contact. He continues to follow Denali when he gets excited, but they settle down and have been observed in some social wrestling interactions with Aidan on the ground for Denali. Aidan has grown a very thick winter coat and is going into the winter with a good supply of body fat. The following issues don't seem to affect the feeding activity, they both feed together on deer carcasses without any aggression.
Denali gets a bit nervous when Aidan follows him, but he maintains a high tail and with his long legs, can outrun Aidan, so he probably doesn't perceive much of a threat. When there are two wolf care staff in the enclosure, Denali does get his share of attention, bounding towards the staff in excitement. His conformation is much different than Aidan. Aidan is much shorter and bulkier, Denali is tall and lean. Denali does seem to get colder easier, probably due to the long legs and surface area of veins exposed. Denali always seems hungry, but never puts on the weight like Aidan.
Aidan has had a great week. Local deer hunters have generously donated their scraps and have provided Aidan with a lot of things to eat. He doesn't necessarily need extra food, but he does enjoy it. Staff observed Aidan and Denali in some good social interaction that didn't involve following behavior. Some of it was captured on video, but there were plenty of witnesses of both staff and visitors that observed this socially compatible behavior.
Denali really displays a lot of play bows. A play bow is when a wolf (or dog), places their front legs on the ground and their hind legs remain ready to spring into action and run. He seems to want to engage Aidan in a chase behavior, but it seems that he is uneasy when Aidan becomes too intense. This doesn't stop him from wagging his tail and play bowing or pawing the ground when he comes near Aidan. This is especially true when Aidan is getting attention from Wolf Care Staff.
Maya has been alert to whatever the activity is at the back of the exhibit. (See Shadow's log.) She was very eager to check out (and mark) the cedar chips the wolf care staff put down to help discourage the flies.
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