Nyssa didn't like being mobbed by Grizzer and Maya this morning. Once her puppy mates were distracted, she took off on a run for the woods. She came back later to help Grizzer mob Maya while she was caching some food. Maya went into the pond to get away from Nyssa, since Nyssa is not much of a swimmer. Nyssa figured out that Maya was going to come on the other end, so she ran on the edge of the pond up to the middle rock. When Maya arrived, Nyssa was waiting for her.
Sorry for the delay in postings, the Curator is back teaching at the college and is getting back into the routine of 2 jobs. The pups are doing very well in the Exhibit pack. While weights have not been taken, their appearance shows definite signs of growth. Grizzer looks like he has the potential to be a big male. His size sometimes affects his ability to climb on or stay on rocks. He was first to loose is pup teeth and has permanent teeth have been erupting over the past week.
I apologize for the delay in posting these logs, I again hope to post once a week, preferably on Mondays. Grizz is growing into a strong healthy puppy. He continues to maintain a very playful personality. Although staff have noticed Grizz's tendency to follow Malik around continually pestering him. At first it just seemed like a social greeting, but in the last few days, Grizzer's added a level of intensity that seems to get Malik nervous. We don't have a weight on any of the pups, but Grizz's height is catching up; maybe Malik realizes Grizz's potential.
Nyssa is doing very well on the exhibit. She is still a bit behind behaviorally, often when Grizzer and Maya come down to the front of the exhibit to see what's going on, Nyssa lags behind a few minutes. But, her tendency to be dominant is clearly demonstrated during a feeding program. Nyssa is observed aggressively dominating the wolves during the weekly "What's for Dinner program. Her guard hairs are growing in and is showing less of the grizzled gray appearance she had as a pup and more of the darker guard hairs similar to MacKenzie.
The logs seem to have more information about Grizzer than any of the three pups; That's probably because staff realize Grizzer's potential to be a large adult wolf and they want to stay on Grizzer's good side. As reported in earlier logs, Grizzer does seem to focus on Malik or Nyssa when he wants to engage in "play" activity. Although it's up for debate if this is play or just honing in on his skills for dominance. It will be an interesting fall and winter season.
What can I say about Lucas, same old wolf, different day. He seems to be holding his own even though his sisters get a bit lively.
Lucas has been slowing down a bit more than usual. He seeks comfort in the staw beds and den boxes whenever possible. Of all the retired wolves, he's the one that shows his age the most.
One benefit of Lakota's excavation projects is the mounds of dirt she creates. MacKenzie had has had a hard time getting up on the den boxes, but since Lakota's piles are growing, MacKenzie's almost in reach to climb to the top of a box. If any of you remember her from the main exhibit, she did favor a high vantage point.
Malik's been observed interacting in more dominance display's with the pups. This time, he's doesn't have Grizzer on his back, but he's helping Grizz and Maya put Nyssa on the ground. It's not a true pack mobbing, since Shadow isn't helping, but Nyssa gets more defiant when Malik helps her pup mates.
Maya had the hardest time of all the pups during the introduction. She is a very submissive pup, always seeking contact with humans and wolves. Her constant submissive begging toward Shadow earned her several dominant grabs. Shadow was gentle, but stern, but Maya continued to seek a greeting. As time went on, Maya became a bit more fearful. Her fear response resulted in a tucked tail and she frequently bolting away from the Arctics. As soon as she ran away, the Arctics displayed much more predatory behavior with higher tails and grabs from behind. As the day progressed, her fear subsided and she spent time in the front of the exhibit chasing grasshoppers.
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.