Nyssa has the same log entries each week. She dominates the carcass during feeding time and fends off attention from Maya that may lead to the pack focusing on her. The contrast of Nyssa in the snow is very striking. On several occassions as we review photos we have to look twice to be sure it's not an old picture of MacKenzie. Nyssa is a great addition to the Exhibit pack.
Malik has been doing some intensive playbows to the pups as well as to Shadow. He seems a bit intimidated when Shadow starts riding up or dominating him. He has an interest in the pups, but doesn't seem as preoccupied with them as Shadow. Shadow seems to be developing a pattern of checking the pups. Every couple of hours, he seemed to get up, physically approach and sniff the pups (sometimes waking them up to play), walk the perimeter of the enclosure and then lay back down by the building.
Lakota seems to usually start the pack rallies in the morning. She is demonstrating less bark howling than she did in earlier weeks, but still seems to be focused on activity in the main enclosure. Even though she still gets dominated by Lucas and MacKenzie, she does manage to defend a deer carcass without trouble.
Lucas is doing well with all of the commotion of the pups. We have noticed that his balance is a bit off, we often see him slow to get up and a bit of a sway when he walks. When he runs throughout the exhibit, he often leans on the other wolf. In this image, he's leaning on MacKenzie as he greets and muzzlebites her.
Maya is showing more courage today. She remains the most timid, but she doesn't submit as readily, or take as long to relax after a dominance bout. She has become more consistent at winning food possession battles, even from Malik. (Shadow rarely tries to take things from the pups). She is beginning to carry her tail near the mid-back rather than low on her haunches.
Maya had quite an active morning. While Nyssa and Grizzer were gnawing on bones and bits of carcass, Maya initiated play by stealing Grizzer's food and shaking it at him to get him to chase her, giving the food up easily, only to steal it again. While he was trying to chache some food by a tree, she was mobbed by Grizzer and Nyssa. When she started to whine, the arctics came around and distracted Nyssa and Grizzer. On her third attempt she succeeded in chaching the food. She spent part of the morning sleeping on the greeting rock.
Malik seems to be most affected by the pup introduction. Not only is Shadow gaining status by the pups presence, but Malik seems to be a bit of a focus for Grizzer. Malik will inititate play behavior with the pups, but he struggles to get them to roll over for him as they do for Shadow. As far as dominance hierarchy, the pack dynamics may end up with an arctic sandwich. Shadow on top, Grizzer in the middle and Malik on the bottom. This fall and winter will provide for interesting observations of the dominance hierarchy within the new exhibit pack.
This is the new format for the wolf logs. Each wolf will have specific information about their physical and behavioral status. Lakota was chosen for the first submission. Since the pups arrived, Lakota has been bark howling, toward the pups and the nannies. There appears to a level of excitement to see the pups whenever they are in the outdoor enclosure. Some staff think she wants to see the pups as a social care giving mood, others think she wants something lower ranking than she is. Until Lakota starts talking, the behavioral interpretations are just that… interpretations.
For whatever reason, Lucas and Lakota decided to share a den box while staff member Damon Haan was cleaning the enclosure. They've always had a great relationship as siblings, I guess they still do
This will be the new format for wolf logs. Each individual wolf will have a status report on a weekly basis. Please be patient with us while we transition to these logs. The puppies take a lot of our time. Malik has been showing interest in the pups along with Shadow, but Malik's limited fear of strangers means he's at the window more often than Shadow. The pups presence on site has certainly increased the visitors chances of seeing the adult wolves.
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.