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.
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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.
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. Lucas is doing well in retirement. We did start him on a Cosequin supplement after staff and Veterinarian Dr. Chip Hansen noticed a slight sway to his walk and some stiffening of the hips when he lies down. MacKenzie is also on Cosequin and this is delivered through the fence in a meatball.
Lakota continues to show interest in the puppies, but as she acts more dominant, the other Lucas and MacKenzie remind her of her status in their retirement enclosure. In this photo, Lucas is doing a standover, an active dominance posture showing Lakota that she is still lower ranking. From the look on Lakota's face and the submissive ear posture, she accepts this position.
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