Nyssa is showing more and more independence in the pack. It's not that she doesn't greet people or other wolves when approached, but she tends to seek interaction on her terms. Grizzer and Shadow seem to be her choice for contact. Usually, it's wrestling Grizzer to the ground or licking Shadow's face. Her coat is coming in extremely thick and she does have nice long guard hairs. She has not caught up to Maya, and from a distance still looks a bit smaller, but her attitude makes up for her size. When she wants something, there's no stopping her.
Wolf care staff have really noticed a pattern of behavior with Maya. No doubt, everyone recognizes that she's the lowest ranking wolf in this pack, but she seems to have a way to avoid conflict. When she does get grief from any of the other wolves, she rolls right over and gives in immediately, without conflict. Usually the wolf that started the interaction doesn't have anything else to do, but go on to someone else. When Maya is feeding on the carcass, she seems to position herself on the other end of the carcass away from Nyssa and her constant growls, snaps and lunges that go with Nyssa's dinner manners. When wolf care staff greet, Maya still patiently waits until the ruckus of Grizzer is over then appears out of nowhere to get contact on the rock. She's there one minute and gone the next without fanfare. Grizzer on the other hand, one always knows when he's coming or going.
Maya gets a break from Denali as well, and her response is to rest and relax. This makes for a good response from Aidan as well, who sleeps in the den with Maya on a nightly basis.
The retired enclosure has really benefited from the recent heat and rain. Vegetation is very lush and provides a lot of area for the wolves to get some relief from the heat and bugs. Malik and Shadow enjoyed a deer torso and have had a great appetite this summer.
As the male rank order becomes less intense, Malik has more reason to relax. In this week’s video, you will see him comfortably resting in a straw bed. He still watches from afar when Grizzer and Maya interact, but he doesn’t show as much anxiety at the sounds of these ritualized dominance displays.
During this week, Grizzer has been showing lots of interest in the inuit dog puppies that wolf care staff are using for the canine cousins program. He is often down by the gate whining at them. Another thing that the wolf watch participants had observed, is Grizzer running early in the morning, chasing Maya and Shadow in a playful behavior.
Staff continue to comment on Grizzer's size. He's matured to his full adult size and as his winter coat begins to grow in, he appears massive. He stands at least an inch taller than Shadow, and has a much broader head. Fortuntately for all, he maintains a very calm demeanor. Although, he may like to display a few dominance behaviors as shown in Maya's video this week. Grizzer's video demonstrates the physiological design of wolves that allows for flexibility of their scapula or shoulder, to direct register their tracks so their front feet and back feet align perfectly.
Shadow remains confident and social. Of all the wolves in the exhibit, staff is most often greeted by Shadow and he continues to display play bows to Grizzer and Maya stimulating them to chase or roll around together. This is very uncharacterisitic for Shadow, but it makes for a calm and peaceful exhibit.
Shadow had a recent bout with a probable yeast infection in his ear. Grizzer and Malik may have had the same thing. Grizzer was treated every day, since he'd sit there for the treatment. Shadow and Malik would run the other way when they saw the bottle, needless to say, they didn't get much for treatment. Occassionally, wolf care staff would bait Shadow and Malik with a meatball outside the fence while another staff person would come up from behind and deilver the ointment. This trick only worked a few times before Shadow caught on and refused to turn his back on the staff. It appears that Shadow and Malik's ears are better (they're holding them erect, before they held them to the side). Grizz's are cleaner than ever. It may have been the frost killing the last plants and associated pollens, or it may have been the recent cleaning of the pond and associated algae, either way, everyone has perky ears and no signs of irritation.
We're in the process of writing a 1-page flyer describing each wolf, to help visitors tell them apart. I can't help but describe Grizzer as big… Even if he's not near Maya for a size comparison, he seems to just have a large presence that's noticeable. He's doing extremely well with staff, but has a bit of a tendency to bite while he's teething. All of his permanent teeth have erupted, but he still has a canine milk tooth that's waiting to fall out. So, he's officially a 5 canine wolf. Staff have been trying to jiggle it to see if it will move, but so far, it won't budge. We put a box of moose bones in the pen on Saturday to give him something to chew on.
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.