As much as Maya was social last week, we see the same intensity with growling this week. She and Grizzer have had a few intense jaw sparring moments, and Grizzer is not tolerating much of these hormonal swings. Don't let Maya's smaller body size fool you, she can take on anyone one of these male wolves in the Exhibit Pack, and at times, she takes on more than one. This hormonal influence should last a few more weeks, and by mid-February, we expect to see the calmer side of Maya.
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The tension between Shadow and Malik is increasing, with Malik showing more dominance over food, but Shadow showing more excitability and chase behaviors when wolf care staff enter the enclosure. The camera view shows them both still resting together, so while the tension is higher, it doesn't have a noticeable influence on sleeping behavior. Although, it does appear that Malik prefers the upper deck and Shadow prefers the lower deck of the den.
Maya has been much calmer in the last week, and while we have no way of knowing without cortisol tests, we can only assume that her stress levels are lower. We know that when she's stressed, it can be a noisy exhibit with her posturing and growling towards Aidan, but it's been very quiet lately, and that's a good sign. This could be the effect of one of our four management tools which includes the D.A.P spray, fresh straw beds daily for a comfortable place to rest, chicken on a daily basis and the Anixtane supplement. At this point, we will continue all four until spring.
This week started with a 26 below zero morning for Monday's wolf care, and ends with a 32 degree evening on Friday. Spring is known for temperature variations, unfortunately, it's also known for snow. With the warm weather came another 4 inches and some good stimuli for the wolves. Aidan's photo this week shows what appears to be a wolf catching snowflakes. Aidan and Denali's size often makes us forget the juvenile nature of these wolves as they near three years of age. We have noticed Aidan spending a significant amount of time at the top of the hill with Maya and Grizzer, and even Denali joined in today.
We judge pack cohesiveness by the freedoms awarded lower pack members. This week, we have had a significant amount of activity with the entire pack in the upper enclosure, with very little aggression. This is a change from even a few days ago. Denali still has moments of excitability when he tries to grab Grizzer's tail, but Grizzer maintains status well. Denali does have a tendency to initiate actions, but lately Aidan has been an active participant keeping Denali occupied.
Malik's having no issues with the abscess, the swelling that we had observed a week ago has subsided. He's an active eater and while we've noticed some tension between the Shadow and Malik, the stimulus appears to be guarding behavior of staff. Malik and Shadow have a preference for individual wolf care staff, often different individuals which reduces competition. But last week, Nancy Gibson was here for a visit, and as many of you may know, she bottle fed the Arctics, and the strongest bond is with those individuals that bottle-feed. Both Shadow and Malik were excited with the visit.
Maya's been a bit of a challenge lately, becoming a bit possessive of wolf care staff. It's always critical that the dominant wolves get attention first, it generally keeps things calm. The snow depths are increasing weekly, it seems we have two choices this winter, sub-zero or warm and snowing. For Maya's short legs, the snow depths are getting a bit much, but wolves are known for creating trail systems and there is a well worn path around the perimeter of the enclosure. But, if Maya goes of the path, she sinks to her chin.
On Thursday the 10th Staff observed the following: "Aidan did a stand over on Denali for quite a while then switched sides, no reaction from Denali. Later Aidan and Denali were wrestling flying all over the place. Grizzer ran over and watched then finally broke it up and chased Denali. Then Maya ran over and chased Aidan. Maya started rolling on her back and Aidan was on top of her then they took turns chasing each other. First Aidan would chase Maya then Maya would chase Adian, every once in a while she would roll around on her back and Aidan would jump on top of her." <br> This tells us two things, Maya may have some hormones surging and Aidan is getting some confidence. On Friday afternoon, circumstances changed and Maya showed some intense dominance towards Aidan and Aidan didn't back down. They got into an altercation that resulted in a lot of scruff grabbing, head shaking and a bites on Maya's leg and Aidan's lip, but I was able to stop it and Aidan again showed the signs of a submissive wolf.
This is a continuation of the logs starting with Aidan, Denali, Grizzer and now Maya. Maya is good at her role as the dominant female. She has an intensity like no other. We know Maya's dominance can be heightened while she and Grizzer patrolled the upper enclosure, and if she can't get to what is agitating her, she will redirect. It's the way she's hardwired, and it doesn't make her an aggressive animal. In fact, after I stopped the altercation, she allowed me to fully inspect her coat, and while sensitive to a bite on her leg and paw, she was very gentle in that Vet inspection. There are times when wolves do what wolves do, that's why we say "Wolves live by social rules that have evolved with survival in the wild." Placement in captivity doesn't change that and while people may question why there's a need for a hierarchy in captivity where food resources are plentiful and life is easy, one can't expect an animal to not be influenced by their genetics.
Malik has been trying to take advantage of Shadow this week, and he uses some unique opportunities. One situation was on Thursday when one of his favorite wolf care staff was scheduled (yes, each wolf has a favorite human). When this staff person arrived, Malik's confidence increased, creating excitement that resulted in a standoff. The second circumstance happened on Friday, when Shadow got a bit to vocal (growling) with one of the staff, and the Curator held Shadow back while that staff person exited the enclosure. Shadow submitted to the Curator and Malik came in for to show some status. Wolves are opportunistic and these are two perfect examples when the opportunity warranted the behavioral attempt at more status.
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