MacKenzie's eye is doing great… She's has no signs of favoring it and seems to be on top of everything that happens in the enclosure. Today, she was investigating and defending a small piece of venision the ravens dropped between the fences. She also seems to be more active as the weather gets cooler.
No real change in Malik's knee. Staff over the weekend observed him running around the pond with the other wolves, but still favoring it after a bout of activity. Another Vet care meeting is scheduled to discuss his situation.
Written by Wolves at Two Years participants Steve Lokker and Carol Mucha: During the 'Wolves at Two Years" program, Grizzer continued to demonstrate his landscaping design prowess. In additoin to his ongoing assault of a choke cherry tree and its' fruit, he and his packmates began demolition of a dead tree that fell across a path and over the pond. By Sunday morning, pieces of the tree were floating in the pond. Grizzer, like the rest of the Exhibit Pack, was fascinated by the work on the pond.
Written by "Wolves at Two Years' program participants Kathy Kerns and Jim LeBlanc. Shadow as the dominante male is aware of things going on both inside and outside of his enclosure. In this week's photo, you will see Shadow listening to the activities of the group's breakfast. The rock pillar and window frame don't seal well, so he investigates sounds coming from inside.
If you had to ask wolf care staff when MacKenzie seems to be the most satisfied, it would have to be after a fresh bed of straw was delivered to her favorite spots in the enclosure. MacKenzie likes the comforts that her handlers can provide and she takes no time in settling into a fresh pile of straw for the day. Lately, she prefers beds in the sun, which up until a few months ago would have bothered her eye, but recently, she's shown no sensitivity to light or any response to pain. The retired wolves have a complete medical examination schedule in the upcoming weeks, and MacKenzie's eye condition is first on the list of issues. I'll keep you posted on the results of this exam for all 3 retired wolves.
With the recent snow flurries, Grizzer has become more active and playful with the rest of the pack. He is exploring his new, snow covered surroundings with zest, but usually allows the other pups to get into trouble, like in the photo. He has been observed initiating chases with his littermates as well as with the arctics, though he doesn't seem to be able to run as fast as the others and usually relies on the ambush technique.
While her littermates play, Maya seems to want to explore her new snow covered surroundings. She was seen investigating snow piles by sticking her nose into the pile and snorting, causing snowflakes to fly around her. She has also been seen climbing on all the rocks in the exhibit, where she sits and seems to enjoy the view. Although her explorations haven't gotten her into any real trouble yet, wolf care is keeping an amused eye on her.
Nyssa has been the most reluctant of the pups to come down to the front of the enclosure. It took a rally howl from the wolf curator to finally get her within view. When the beaver carcass was brought into the pen she was somewhat slow in coming to the carcass, but while she was feeding she was very aggressive with her littermates in defending her portions. As fall approaches and the Curator goes back to full-time employment at the college, wolf logs will be done only once a week.
As I write this, I see Lakota racing around the enclosure acting like a 2-year old rather than a wolf nearing 12. She enjoys the colder weather that October brings and the excitement of a new straw bed in the den box. She continues to dig the den hole, with a mound of dirt growing in front of the boxes. Staff have climbed into the hole and find the work to be most impressive, extending over 15 feet deep right now. It's not helpful to the tree roots though, but seems to keep Lakota entertained. It will be interesting to see if she uses them this winter, or if this was just a response to get out of the heat over the summer.
Over the last two weeks, Dr. Chip Hanson has been on site twice to observe Malik's back right leg. It appears that he may have a knee injury that is causing him to favor his back leg and even hold it up when running. Getting a diagnosis on a wolf is challenging, requires immobilization, and removing Malik from the pack for a trip to the clinic. If it is a problem that requires a surgical repair, the issues concerning isolation, recovery time and acceptance back into the pack have to discussed. It's not as easy to tell a wolf to stay off his leg and rest for 6 weeks. Another vet check was scheduled for this morning and video footage from this weekend showed that Malik seems to be getting better. Malik was on a 14 day treatment of anti-inflammatory medication and may have shown a limited response to the treatment. He will be continued to be monitored as the Vet care team drafts up management scenarios for all possible courses of treatment. Wolf Care staff observed him on Friday in a full-blown chase of the puppies, showing no weaknesses. His mood seems to be good, he's eating well and defintely active, so staff are hoping for the best.
The International Wolf Center advances the survival of wolf populations by teaching about wolves, their relationship to wildlands and the human role in their future.