The decision to remove Lakota from the rest of the pack was based on Lakota's physical injuries which affected Lakota's well being in the pack as well as the condition of shock which would have become life-threatening if left in the main enclosure. Rainy weather conditions continued throughout the day, and physical care was best done under the protective cover and straw beds of the pack holding area. Due to this situation, completing a retirement enclosure is a high priority for the organization. Fundraising has begun and enclosure construction is hoped to start before winter, but is dependent upon funding.
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Part 3. The pack went up into the woods and remained there for some time. At 9:07pm. MacKenzie stayed either near the windows or up on the path, attentive to the activity in the woods. She made several movements toward the woods with ears forward and tail at T2, but came back a few times before going in at 9:18pm. At 9:25pm MacKenzie came running down from the woods with T3.5 tail and ears back. The pack was in pursuit with Shadow in the lead and Malik close behind. Lucas and Lakota also participated. Shadow caught MacKenzie with a bite on her right rear, which caused her to stumble and fall near the windows. Shadow maintained his hold while Malik and Lakota snapped at MacKenzie's neck. Shadow began to drag MacKenzie across the rocks while she was on her back. Malik and Lakota continued to bite at her neck, but no contact or hold was observed. Lucas observed and paced nearby. Mackenzie took refuge against the side of the building while Shadow and Malik harassed her. Lakota was less participatory as was Lucas. MacKenzie displayed an aggressive pucker and snarl each time Shadow and/or Malik approached her, but remained crouching tightly against the wall, ears back. At 9:30pm, MacKenzie remained by the wall, occasionally being harassed by Shadow and Malik. Lakota, Lucas, and Malik (when not near MacKenzie) engaged in some play and resting behavior. Observation concluded at 9:50pm.
Info Specialist, Amy Jacobs, will be leaving the Center for New Zealand early next month. She had just begun wolf care and was responsible for Meds at least once a week. Amy writes: "Shadow ate Malik's vitamin today; retired wolves received meds and everyone's ok. Shadow's nice to me now that he knows I'm leaving.
Arctic wolves were fed; Malik very good in holding pen; Shadow hesitant to enter, but entered after Malik did a play-bow. Malik controlled and defended the deer carcass for about one hour from Shadow then left after an hour.
Lucas Removal from the pack on November 9th, 2002 At 8:30 am, I received a phone call from Wolf care staff member Jen Westlund pertaining to harassment of Lucas by the Arctic wolves. Lucas had been dragged by the neck and hind quarters by both Malik and Shadow. Shadow appeared to have been on the hindquarters where 2 puncture wounds were observed on Lucas. There were no bite wounds on Lucas's neck, nor was there blood on Malik, but Shadow appeared to have blood on his neck. Jen Westlund placed Shadow and Malik in the pack holding area. I immediately phoned Dr. Chip Hanson who met me at the Center. The wounds were not deep, so the immediate need for removal was not a clear-cut issue. But, over the last several weeks, staff have noticed Lucas slowing down, showing hesitation when getting up or lying down and a limited ability to climb rocks in the enclosure. Due to these obvious signs of aging, Dr. Hanson and I discussed the need to consider Lucas's vulnerability if he were to remain in the pack. It was predicted that the harassment would likely continue and may lead to more intensive injuries in the future. With consultation from Assistant Director, Gretchen Diessner, the decision was made to retire Lucas. Dr. Hanson prescribed a 7-day course of anti-biotics for Lucas's hindquarter bite wounds. The transition to the retirement pen went smoothly with the recent completion of the adjoining chute and vestibule system. Lucas showed initial anxiety and aggressive dominance toward Mackenzie, and then settled into eating a beaver. Lakota and Lucas were later observed sleeping in close proximity. MacKenzie has been anxious lately, but this may be more of a response to her advancing eye conditions. Staff will continue to monitor the retirement group for compatibility issues. There will also be directives to monitor the main pack and determine if there is a rank order change between Shadow and Malik.
Arctics a little jumpy with staff today, especially Malik. Lucas observed in aggressive dominance over Shadow, with Shadow responding with snarls, snapping and growling back to Lucas. During this time, Malik then jumped on Lucas's back aggressively grabbing Lucas. Curator Lori Schmidt distracted Malik and the aggression stopped. Staff has been encouraged to watch interactions closely for the next several days to determine if this tension between the males increases. Lucas is certainly showing signs of age and is quite stiff when getting up. This may trigger the Arctics to test his alpha status."
Med's to all, all wolves look good and no noticeable aggression between the males. Since Lakota and Mackenzie's removal, Shadow has been much more receptive to staff contact and much more interested in greeting. When MacKenzie was in the pack, she would intensively dominate Shadow if he approached her or certain staff. Shadow appears much more relaxed without that continual dominance, but Lucas still seems to go after Shadow more than Malik and Shadow appears to be more reluctant to accept the dominance from Lucas"
Malik and Shadow excited again when Jen Westlund and Nancy Jo Tubbs entered the enclosure. They settled down when all got attention. Lucas was very dominant over Shadow. Shadow and Malik stood on rocks over fence-line when staff went in with Mackenzie and Lakota. This irritates Mackenzie and can cause her to fence fight or chew at the wood barriers. (Completing the new retirement enclosure and getting the wolves away from a shared fence-line is a top priority. – fundraising continues for this project) MacKenzie's left eye is a bit milky in appearance.
Grizzer is doing well, he hasn't started shedding, so he tends to spend most of his time laying low and avoiding too much activity. This is great behavior for the staff that endured the puppy stages of testing and experimenting with his new teeth. This wolf has a great personality, and seems to be most likely to get himself into a predicament.
8-15-02 Lakota Incident Report On the morning of August 15, 2002, at around 6 a.m. the Forest Service men came in to work. One of these men went up to the Observation windows around 6:45 to observe the wolves through the windows as he usually does. He said that the wolves don't usually pay any attention to him when he comes up to the window but this morning he noticed that Lakota (the omega female) was cowering close to the windows in a corner with her tail tucked. There was blood around her ear and neck area. When the Arctic wolves would come near her she would scoot closer to the window. Lucas was lying down away from the other wolves seemingly uninterested. When he looked closer, he noticed blood on the rock and on the window like she was trying to get out. He then went back down to the Service Area and called Assistant Director, Gretchen Diessner. This bite must have occurred between 6:30 – 6:45 am, since Curator Lori Schmidt had been on site and had checked on all wolves observing no injuries. Lori Schmidt was scheduled to be off site until 8:30 am. Andrea Lorek Strauss came in around 7:30 am to take a look and she noticed that Lakota was tucked deeply in the corner cautious of the Arctic wolves. "The Arctic wolves milled about and lay down near the greeting rock". Malik had blood on the tip of his fur under his neck. She also noticed that there was blood on the window and pooling with the rain on the rock. She also observed trauma but that the Arctic wolves seemed to be leaving Lakota alone.
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