Aidan has discovered confidence and he's showing some posturing over Denali, but Denali just ignores it as a littermate typically does. Of course, Maya doesn't tolerate much of Aidan's new found behavior. But, she may be the direct cause of his confidence. As I posted last week, there were several observations of Maya, probably hormonally influenced, in a "roll on back" posture doing an "Inguinal Presentation" towards Aidan. To get the full visual effect of that, you may want to check out the Center's Ethogram, but with that kind of interaction, Aidan's bound to feel good. Having a full compliment of food available has also made Aidan more social. With Grizzer focusing on Denali during the feedings and Maya taking her food up on the hill to hoard, Aidan eats his share in front of the Exhibit.
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Grizzer is healing well, and has taken to the role of a dominant male. He has mastered the body posture, now he just needs enough confidence to relax. He's starting to show these signs, but it takes time, we need to remind ourselves that he has really less than 6 months in this role. We are nearing the peak of winter aggression, and the pack is doing remarkably well considering all of the transitions, the depth of snow and the recent bout of cold. The old time Minnesota winter is back this year, after a few years of moderate conditions.
Malik's abscessed tooth appears to have returned. We see noticeable swelling on his cheek, but he shows no signs of issues with either the infection or pain. He easily feeds on chicken, deer legs and beaver, often chewing on that side. When we get some warmer weather, we will complete a full exam, which requires immobilization, but it is not worth the risk at his age or with these ambient temperatures. Malik has made several more attempts for my hat, and he and Shadow are showing signs of a hormonal surge as well.
Aidan's confidence continues as you will notice from his photo this week. There's no sign of testing, just posturing when Grizzer is occupied with Denali. Fortunately for Grizzer he has back up. Maya is keen to Aidan's tail postures and is quick to respond. This will likely decrease as we move into February. It's nice to see Aidan feeling so good, but what we don't want is Grizzer to lose focus on Denali showing any weakness. So far, Grizzer is gaining skills as a dominant male, but he is new to the position and he is not a very active male, meaning he doesn't force submission by hard muzzle bites like Shadow did when he was in charge. Passive leadership is easy for wolves to see as opportunistic.
Daily feedings for Denali still require several wolf care staff and several pounds of chicken. Not because Denali eats that much, but because we need to satiate Grizzer and Aidan, and supply Maya with her daily supply of caches before Denali is comfortable enough to eat. We had a great check today, Denali actually came on the greeting rock with Maya, received good attention from staff even with Grizzer rubbing his head on the staff's legs next to the rock. A short clip is featured on the Youtube video, but we chose to shut the camera off and give Denali the attention rather than film.
We're seeing some significant progress with hair growth for Grizzer, it's actually coming back on the suture site with some curl. I look forward to the days of a full face shot on an animal that has always been photogenic. Grizzer continues the passive model of dominance with following and chasing being the most consistent behavior. This is good for his physical condition, but it makes Denali a bit nervous. There is a significant amount of resting behavior during the day, and while the associations vary, Grizzer does seem to spend the most time resting with Maya. The tail postures from Aidan would be more concerning if there wasn't a show of respect for Grizzer, but Aidan does socially engage with Grizzer and does seem to respect him. The Vermilion Community College Ethology class will be beginning a significant data collection period in the upcoming weeks, and their observations will include a reference to this type of association.
Malik and Shadow seem to have a short duration to their winter dominance, last week there was clear posturing, this week, they are back to being a pair of 11-year old litter mates that have to share food and a den, but otherwise have no issues. Malik has a slight discoloration where the abscessed tooth has been, but swelling is down this week and he shows no issues with chewing on that side. Management decisions have to be weighed carefully, immobilizing an older animal can be risky, and removal of a molar or premolar that he clearly uses for crushing bones may be a more significant impact. The fact that the swelling is down is a good sign, and we will continue to consult with the Center's veterinarian, who understand the medical as well as behavioral influences when managing wolves.
At the end of the Behavioral Observation week, I asked the team members to write a paragraph about their impression of the individual wolves. The following logs were written by Behavioral Team Members:<br> Claudia Dannelly<br> Gailyn Barela<br> Carla Mounsey<br> "Boltz is well socialized to the adults. He appreciates and engages the adults. Rarely aggressive, but is confident in his personality. It seems he may be the lower ranking male, but that could change. Physically, he is strong and he has a laid back demeanor. He seemed initially to protect Luna when Aidan and Denali tried to force her to submit. His playful nature when pinned allows him to break away from the group, then come back for more play. He appears socially well balanced, not dependent upon the adults very much. He is engaged and curious and investigates every root and rock he sees. He likes to disappear underground for extended periods of time, especially during the warmest part of the day. He can be independent when he wants, but time will tell if he gets the brunt of aggression from the other males as well as Luna. He avoids conflict by walking away or tries to keep the peace by submitting. We think he's the peacekeeper of the group."<br> The following are the weights taken since the last posting<br> Date Days Old and Weight in Pounds<br> <li>8/3/2012 140 54.23<li> 8/4/2012 141 54.67<li> 8/5/2012 142 54.23<li> 8/6/2012 143 54.23<li> 8/7/2012 144 54.67<li> 8/8/2012 145 55.9<li> 8/9/2012 146 55.1<li> 8/10/2012 147 55.99
Nyssa did well during the 7 pm Implementing the Pup Plan program. She was first to figure out that in a circular game of chase, that you can stop and turn directions and you'll run face first into the prey (in this case, Maya with a feather). She was very relaxed with the crowd of people in the auditorium.
Today Nyssa is 66 days old. Nyssa continues to be aggressive towards her packmates, dominating them whenever she gets the opportunity. She has been observed following Maya around while she caches her food, digging it up again as soon as Maya finishes burying it.
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