Every day we do wolf care, staff write notes in the logs to inform other staff of any issues or concerns as well as give overall status information on the individual wolves. I thought I would share some of these comments in this week's logs. On September 4th, Staff came in to do the morning pup feeding routine. They open the medical pen to allow the pack to come in and out and eventually try to separate out the pups. Here's their comments from the logs. <br>"After 15 minutes or so, Denali and Aidan were growling at each other and then Boltz, and sometimes Luna, would go after Aidan because Aidan was anxious. Boltz did a ride up several times on Aidan and Boltz wouldn't back down. Aidan got more nervous so we made them all leave the medical pen until we were ready with the morning meds and feeding." <br> As the curator, when I read this, it reinforced the concerns I have with Aidan's anxiety towards strangers and holding and the potential for Denali (and the pups), to take advantage of this and affect the rank order. We have two Behind the Scenes scheduled in September, but after that, we are going to limit activity in the yard with unfamiliar people. Aidan is such a great pack leader, we don't want to create a situation that affects his status do to human interaction. We will also be very mindful of this during the fall Working for Wolves program.
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Every day we do wolf care, staff write notes in the logs to inform other staff of any issues or concerns as well as give overall status information on the individual wolves. I thought I would share some of these comments in this week's logs. <br> Boltz is very submissive to the adults wolves and as a male pup, receives a fair amount of dominance. This impacts his feeding behavior and often backs off when the others are actively feeding. We had some pigeons donated from Wildlife Services that were removed from the Minneapolis/St. Paul Airport terminal and we will feed the frozen pigeons as a distraction for the pups. On Thursday September 6th, staff wrote the following: <br> "Boltz and Luna are out there eating their pigeons and Denali came by and tried to take Boltz's away from him but Boltz stood his ground and growled at Denali until Denali walked away."<br> As the curator, when I read this, it is reassuring that he has the ability to guard and possess when the possession is more stimulating than a hand full of beef. Boltz is more of my concern than Luna as far as eating. His timid behavior means he'll back off unless you take the time and patience to make sure he gets fed. We spend hours each day making sure the pups get the resources they need, which is why he is nearly 70 lbs this week.
Last week, I referenced the fact that I was seeing following behavior which indicates a bit of a hormonal influence stimulating rank order posturing. This week, we see more active dominance with chin rests. Malik is still clearly submissive to Shadow, but you can see Malik's opportunistic side as he lets out a defiant growl or tries to do a direct eye stare. Malik and Shadow's situation is similar to Aidan and Denali. Malik is the opportunist just like Denali. Shadow is somewhat intimidated by strangers just like Aidan. If Shadow or Aidan are intimidated, we can see the potential for the opportunists to take advantage. But, the benefit for Shadow is that there aren't other wolves joining in. Aidan has two pups to deal with that may join in Denali's testing. We will do all we can to keep the wolf yard calm and reduce the stress levels.
Once again, Shadow has been demonstrating the behaviors that make a pack leader strong. It is amazing to watch the slow deliberate posturing, chin rests, eye contact and body movement that commands respect from other pack members. To be there filming it and sharing it with viewers is very rewarding. We want to provide some details about the camera situation in retirement. With a recent software upgrade, the server started to block the webcams and actually locked out our website. Tech support has not been able to solve the server issue so I had to turn off the cameras. I was able to install the pup cam in the building for the Exhibit Pack, but unfortunately the USB cable that runs a live streaming camera doesn't run a great distance, so the longer distance to retirement will not support the live streaming camera that we used in the building on the Exhibit Pack. A local vendor is getting us a camera to see what's effective for a long distance run to retirement and Grizzer's pen. We are working on these options and know that people are very connected to these wolves and we want to return the broadcast as soon as possible. I know it's frustrating considering we seem to always have challenges with cameras, but it's not an easy task to run cabling over 100 feet and mount it on a wolf pen (out of reach of wolves), then protect it from sun, rain, snow and freezing temperatures. It is my top priority after the care and needs of the wolves.
Malik’s video on YouTube shows a satisfied wolf enjoying a pig’s ear treat. His weight gain is a pleasant surprise for staff; he went from an average of 88 lbs, to 91 lbs. It’s not a significant weight gain, but for older animals that usually decline in weight, it’s a great sign.
Malik doesn't have too much news to report, both the arctics seem to be spending time in the den, and the fly treatment seems to be working.
While Malik has been keeping Shadow from the lower den, he rules the top of the den. Shadow has taken some possession of the smaller amounts of food that have been feed more frequently. We can tell when he's been satiated, he is slow to take meds the next morning and he is not a very enthusiastic greeter.
Malik is one of those wolves that is extremely observant about staff and specifically objects that staff are carrying or wearing. He's had some fun with hats and hairbands in the past week and he eyes up every staff member to see what's accessible. This opportunistic behavior is characteristic of these large carnivores.
Grizzer is very excited when the pups are fed, which means, Grizzer has great stimulus twice a day. In this week's Youtube, you can hear him rattling a gate chain when the pups are feeding on a deer carcass. We usually give him a treat which is why he's conditioned to make some noise. It's been a good transition to cooler weather and he's doing extremely well with staff interactions, Oscar visits and taking the opportunity to watch the dynamics in both the Exhibit and Retired Pack.
In the interest of getting logs posted tonight, I’m copying the same text. The priorities in my job include pup feeding time. We have a short period of time to maximize growth and get Luna and Boltz the resources necessary to prepare for a Northern Minnesota winter. Feedings require time, patience and some ingenuity. As I write this, I just finished a successful pup feeding with Luna eating over a pound of venison and another ½ pound of chicken. It was not quite as successful with Boltz, but he was caching everything I offered, so he must have been full. Boltz does utilize the remaining carcasses from previous feedings and his scats are dark, indicating meat consumption. Aidan has had some tremendous social bonding behavior with Luna, unfortunately, I didn’t get it on tape. With cooler weather stimulating hormones, we are bound to see more. Grizzer is the beneficiary of most of the pups left overs. He does enjoy that part of wolf care. Shadow and Malik continue to posture with Shadow more dominant, but they don’t have any issues when it comes to sharing the den in a rainstorm. Thanks for checking in, I hope to have more time next week to give a more complete update of each wolf. We have started to increase the feedings or all the retirees, and are in need of some pigs ears to serve as distractions as the pups continue to be the focus of the staff.
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