Staff are very pleased with the status of MacKenzie with a maintenance dose of anti-inflammatory. She is moving well, and as reported earlier in the week, willingly rolling over on her back for interaction with the handlers. In this week’s video, you see her checking out a balsam tree that came down. We decided to leave it the pen, as it creates cover for the wolves in the back of the enclosure.
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Kathy Jents recently emailed me concerning some work done in the Exhibit Pack during the May "Working for Wolves Weekend". Yes, the log work was tremendous and does the job of keeping snow out of the den and keeping the straw dry. To those "Working for Wolves" hardy soles, thanks again for all your great work. If you haven't spent a weekend doing a good deed for a group of appreciative wolves and staff, check out our websites under the Experience Tab, Northern Minnesota Learning Vacations… Working for Wolves program on May 18 – 20, 2007. We always have a project that challenges the physical and mental being.
Although Lakota was initially responding to the antibiotic treatment for her tooth, the swelling increased significantly after the 7 day treatment was completed. Since this was the antibiotic used for the treatment of her last abscessed tooth on her right molar, the vets recommended a different antibiotic in case a resistance to the antibiotic occurred. In this week’s photo, if you look closely, you will see the swelling on her left cheek. The new antibiotic was started on Friday the 12th and by Monday morning (Jan 15th) check, there is noticeable improvement. We also saw the characteristic Lakota sprint around the enclosure on the check today, indicating that she is physically feeling better. Her video this week shows her walking calmly around the enclosure, sniffing for leftovers.
Intern Kim Klosterman wrote: "On Sunday morning when Andrea (Lorek Strauss) and I gave Mackenzie her first dose of Cosequin, she was very slow to rise. Afterwards her back hips were really stiff, so much that she kept sitting down and inspecting her hips. Shadow was immediately there giving her a hard time, while Mac walked around slowly with tail tucked and ears back. But, she barked and held her own and eventually (after ~ 10 minutes) Shadow moved away. Shadow never made contact with Mackenzie, just circled her, and followed her around intimidating her." Curator's note: It is very common for lower ranking animals in the pack to watch the higher ranking wolves for a sign of weakness in hopes of gaining rank. This is a strong instinct motivated by survival in the wild that makes wolves in captivity a challenge. We started Mackenzie on Cosequin as a nutritional supplement in hopes of easing some of the stiffness in her joints. (Her April medical exam revealed a clean x-ray of her hips, so there's no specific problem, just the aches and pains of growing old.) It is not uncommon for wolves as well as dogs to begin to show signs of age at this time (Mac will be 9 in April). Actually, 9 years of age would be considered an old wolf in the wild. . We are using a variety of distractions for the yearlings to keep them from focusing on Mackenzie. It seems if the yearlings are bored, they are more inclined to focus on the weaknesses of the adults.
Vitamins to all, Cosequin to Mackenzie. Yearlings chase and cornered LK next to building before staff went in. Mackenzie and yearlings then begin a 2-minute conflict, where Mackenzie prevailed. Wolves seem somewhat distracted, looking outside of enclosure. Lakota stays close to the building, reluctant to approach when yearlings are in view. Lucas and Mackenzie get a lot of good attention from staff.
Student Worker Damon Haan wrote: Most of the morning Mac slept on top of the den. When she did finally start moving around 11:30 am, I could notice some stiffness in her hips, particularly her right side. Retail manager Nancy Schwartz told me that she saw Shadow nipping at Mac around 8:30 am, just near the den. Apparently, it was more or less an annoyance to Mac rather than an attempt to go after her. Lucas was the only one that greeted me initially, but as I did an enclosure check, Mac, Shadow and Malik also came to greet. Mac seemed rather wary of Shadow and Malik. Her right rear leg did look somewhat stiff, but she seemed to get around fine.
Intern Adrienne W. wrote: Mackenzie showed a lot of submissive behavior Sunday morning. Between 8 and 8:15 am, she had her tails so far between her legs it was to her stomach, Lakota style (Lakota is the omega – bottom ranking pack member). Both yearlings were close to her at that time and all wolves were concentrated between the den and the pond. Later that same morning, Jen (Westlund) and I tried to get Mac to come over to the holding pens for her Cosequin, and although we were both calling her, she was reluctant to come over. Probably since the yearlings were held there. Jen had to go over to the den area to give Mac her pill. Another observation was that the wolves had at least two longish howling sessions around this time lasting 5-10 minutes each.
Walter Medwid visited exhibit, adults very happy to see him. Lakota received a lot of attention while yearlings were put in holding pen. Lakota was actually observed racing around pond, doing play bows and encouraging Mackenzie and Lucas to play. Yearlings proceed to chase Lakota back to the corner of the building when they were released. As omega, Lakota is expected to be lower ranking at all times, and her burst of play, without the yearlings present, may have been viewed as inappropriate to rank, causing the yearlings to chase her. Later that day, Malik and Shadow had Lakota cornered, with her snapping and barking at them. Food and noise-makers were used to distract the yearlings, but they were intent on making Lakota submit. They have been grabbing at Lakota's scruff of her neck attempting to get her to submit, but she is resisting.
Lori Schmidt (LS) paged for an emergency site visit, Yearlings continue to harass Lakota. Staff used noise maker and deer scraps to distract. When LS went in, yearlings were very calm in greeting. The aggressive behavior seems solely focused on Lakota and her rank, Mackenzie and Lucas are very relaxed as well. Superficial bite wounds on Lakota's neck are investigated and a complete physical exam is conducted.
Fed Lakota 1 lb. of meat with Comfort antioxidants. Vitamins to all and Cosequin to Mackenzie. Curator, Lori Schmidt put raccoon urine throughout pen to work as a distraction, and brought in a frozen 20 lb turkey to keep the yearlings occupied during the day. It seemed to have worked well, as they didn't approach Lakota after they found the turkey. This situation should be a reminder that wolves clearly have a significant rank order and within that rank, certain behaviors are expected. When Lakota, as the omega, began to show high tail exuberance, both yearlings focused in on her (Malik as much, if not more than Shadow). Lakota's bite wound on her neck are larger than yesterday, photos were taken and brought to the Vet clinic for consultation, started her on 100 mg of Orbax antibiotics.
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