Due to the weekend blizzard and the resulting time spent shoveling and blowing snow, the wolf logs will all be the same today. Despite windchills in the 30 to 40 below range and nearly a foot of snow, the wolves are doing great. These are animals that are clearly adapted to winter environments and they are much more comfortable than during a warm summer day. Staff provide straw beds to give them a comfortable place to rest and insulates them from the cold ground, the dens are dry and well covered in straw, but unless the wind is bad, the wolves usually don't use the densites. Staff make sure there are plenty of scraps available for a quick snack, and the water heaters are monitored daily to ensure there is always a fresh, warm source of water. We are aware of some issues with the pond cam's exposure problems, and we are doing some adjusting to see if we can repair it, thanks for your emails about the issue. I hope to get a youtube video posted later in the week, filmed on a -26 below morning to show the activity levels of the wolves in these temperatures.
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Aidan continues to be a challenge with one of the handlers. There appears to have been some negative conditioning when Aidan was about 4 weeks old that causes him to be particularly aggressive with one of the handlers. Wolves have a very strong place and person association that is difficult to overcome. He remains the calmer of the two pups with other staff and is doing well. Maya's dominance over Aidan continues, but is not as intense as earlier in the fall. If wolf care staff keep the pack calm, there is a noticeable difference in Maya. This is why the winter season is very restrictive on Behind the Scenes program or visitors to the wolf yard. As you can see by video, the pups continue to wrestle on a daily basis. To stimulate the pack, we did two enclosure enrichments last week, one was scent based that resulted in scent rolling behavior, the other was food based that stimulated the wolves to search and find treats. A YouTube video showing both enclosure enrichment activities will be posted.
Malik continues to act very nervous around Grizzer. The lack of dominance from Grizzer probably makes Malik anxious about his status. Dominance rituals are important in the pack, so every wolf knows their rank. Uncertainty makes wolves nervous, and that's the response we're seeing in Malik. Malik did a face bite to Grizzer last Monday, and still, Grizzer didn't assert his dominance. For Malik's sake, we are increasing the amount of Enclosure Enrichments to keep the focus off of rank order and on to other stimuli. We did two enclosure enrichments last week, one was scent based that resulted in scent rolling behavior, the other was food based that stimulated the wolves to search and find treats. A YouTube video showing both enclosure enrichment activities will be posted.
One indicator that the pack is doing well relates to the calmness of the dominant male, Shadow. While there is some issues with Malik and Grizzer, Shadow remains calm and watches the pack. This tells us that it's not too serious, if Shadow was concerned about the pack strife, he would be in the mix. One thing that Shadow has to be wary of is scent rolling or submissive behavior. When we did an Enclosure Enrichment with scents, Shadow scentrolled, which peaked the interest of the pack when he was on his back. He quickly gets up and shows his status, but we need to be mindful of this during activities. He had the same result when he was actively submitting to Curator, Lori Schmidt. When the pups saw him down, they took that as an opportunity to jump on him. So far, Shadow remains strong and is very confident. If we keep the wolf yard calm with no strangers behind the scenes, Shadow will stay calm. Shadow does enjoy spending time in the Retired Enclosure. It is now a weekly practice to draw the wolves over into Retirement so that they remain comfortable with this area. As stated in the other log postings, we did two enclosure enrichments last week, one was scent based that resulted in scent rolling behavior, the other was food based that stimulated the wolves to search and find treats. A YouTube video showing both enclosure enrichment activities will be posted.
Denali continues to be a bold pup, with strong food defense behavior and boundless energy to jump on any wolf that is down on the ground. In this week's video and YouTube posting, Shadow is rolling in the fresh snowfall. Denali is actively jumping on Shadow, resulting in a threat display from Shadow, but that doesn't phase Denali. Although, when the aggression gets a little intense between the adult male rank order, Denali just runs around a bit clueless about how to get involved. That's the sign of a pup, and we hope he stays a pup for a while.
Grizzer's face scar is healing, but the tensions continue between he and Malik. When the pups start wrestling with Grizzer, Malik comes in for a few grab bites, which Grizzer tolerates to a point. When Grizzer has had enough, he charges after Malik and initiates a chase. These chases usually end up with Grizzer following Malik around the greeting rock. This may go on for about 5 minutes, before they both get tired and settle down. The interesting response is how the pups react to Grizzer when this occurs. They seem to know when they can wrestle with him, and when it's best to just stay out of the way. Usually, after a chase scene, the pups come back to Grizzer and lick him intently while he is resting.
Shadow is very confident in his status and has a great relationship with Grizzer. He is truly the guardian of the pack.
MacKenzie was enjoying a good visit from the wolf care staff, on her back getting a physical inspection, when Lucas and Lakota came over to check out her vulnerability. Even though she's old, she's not too old to spring up in defense. The construction noise has eased a bit, and MacKenzie is more relaxed.
Maya is doing well, with less focus on Aidan and more focus on courting Shadow. Of course, her idea of courting may involve jaw sparring. She has been much more social with wolf care staff and has been greeting with more social behavior towards the pack. Her behavior will likely peak in February before calming again in spring. Her response to Shadow is usually one of submission. Although, if there's a chase in the pack, she's stimulated to a more predatory mode, which can involve Aidan.
Due to the weekend blizzard and the resulting time spent shoveling and blowing snow, the wolf logs will all be the same today. Despite windchills in the 30 to 40 below range and nearly a foot of snow, the wolves are doing great. These are animals that are clearly adapted to winter environments and they are much more comfortable than during a warm summer day. Staff provide straw beds to give them a comfortable place to rest and insulates them from the cold ground, the dens are dry and well covered in straw, but unless the wind is bad, the wolves usually don't use the densites. Staff make sure there are plenty of scraps available for a quick snack, and the water heaters are monitored daily to ensure there is always a fresh, warm source of water. We are aware of some issues with the pond cam's exposure problems, and we are doing some adjusting to see if we can repair it, thanks for your emails about the issue. I hope to get a youtube video posted later in the week, filmed on a -26 below morning to show the activity levels of the wolves in these temperatures.
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