Very exhuberant greetings from all wolves. Lakota was able to approach and greet staff with no aggression from Mackenzie. Lakota's wounds are nearly healed, no sign of further aggression from the other wolves.
The following was written by Pups at One Year program participants: Paul and Chris Batiste Her amber eyes pierced your heart and her playful fiesty presence will never be forgotten.
Lakota spent most of the day in the comfort of her den box. It was was too hot and humid for any activity, incluiding digging holes! Summer is here, and this normal behavior prevents them from being overheated.
Lucas was trying to find a place to rest, since Lakota occupied his favorite den box. He went out for some time and did some sniffing around, but the weather was too much for him. After a few minutes, he went inside the other den box and rested there until the weather cooled a little.
International Wolf Center Alpha Pack members were in Ely this weekend, studying wild wolves and bears. They also spent time with the captive wolves and were treated to a "Behind the Scenes" program and a "What's for Dinner" program dominated by the Arctic yearlings."
Maya is doing well, she's taken to sunning herself on the main webcam rock. She had a bit of an issue with Lori Schmidt today. As enclosure work was being completed, Lori took off her coat. When the wolves were released back into the pack, Maya was very excited to see bare arms and not the typical wolf coat. This is a great reminder to staff that little changes we make affect a wolves behavior. Long sleeve coats are the standard protocol and should be followed.
Thank you for all of your concerns for MacKenzie sent via email. The difficulty in managing wolves is the stress involved with more intensive medical care. To those of you who have had the honor of meeting MacKenzie, you know how hesitant she is about being restrained or made vulnerable in front of strangers. The stress of leaving the enclosure or being placed into a vehicle to go to the vet is not an option without drugging. At her age, drugging is risky, it is best if the vet comes here, and that has been our course of action. She is currently on a maintenance dose of anti-inflammatory that keeps her mobile and reduces her pain. The reality is, she is nearing 14 and we want to make her as comfortable as possible and not put her through unnecessary stress. She is a very dignified animal. Our concern must be for MacKenzie's physical health, but also her mental well-being during the course of treatment. This week's video show her mobile, enjoying a few bites of fresh snow (she has a heated water bowl, but likes to still bite snow), taking a bit of time to lay in her new straw bed, but content. The background noise you hear is the curator blowing snow, the first snow of the season meant a lot of work.
Written by Workin' For Wolves program participants Susan Meyers and Ann Briem: Maya showed interest in the Workin' For Wolves crew by approaching the fenceline to investigate upon our arrival. Upon completion of work in the main enclosure, the Ambassador pack was released from the holding pen. Maya displayed searching behavior by locating enrichment items left by the crew (and offered an amusing moment when she passed one item left in the open three separate times). Despite their seemingly relaxed nature through most of the weekend, there were three episodes of bark-howling and group howling, clear signs of a stress response to human presence. During each episode, Maya immediately placed herself in close proximity to Shadow, with her ears pricked back and tail tucked in a T4 tail position.
Malik seems to have learned how to avoid Grizzer's testing. He is watchful of the body language of Grizzer and positions himself in a place to confront him or at the very least avoid him. Grizzer's testing is not constant, he tends to spend most of his time interacting with Maya and Shadow, but when Malik senses Grizzer has a stronger motivation to show dominance, he is alert to the activity. In this week's photo and video, Malik uses a threat display to guard the deer carcass from Grizzer, but ends up sharing with Maya.
Maya had a bit of a hormonal surge last week that kept her intensity high, but the males seemed to tolerate it well. Shadow was especially tolerant of the sometimes unpredictable jaw sparring mood of Maya. In this week's video, she finds a cache in the snow and is watchful of the other woves presence. Wolves pelage's have a great water and snow repellent capability. In this week's photo, Maya gives a full body shake to remove the layer of wet snow caught in her guard hairs, keeping her undercoat dry.
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.