Part 2. At 9pm, Malik returned from the woods, did a stand over on Lakota with tail at T3, sniffed at the scruff of her neck at which time she jumped up. MacKenzie casually watched him for a minute. Shadow came down out of the woods at 9:03pm and solicited play by running, approaching, exhibiting submissive postures (ears back, tail tucked). MacKenzie watched him closely and nervously the whole time while remaining in a curled rest and ears perked. The pack mobbed Shadow in play, with all participating except MacKenzie who held back a bit. Malik did a ride-up on Shadow and chased him into the woods with the others (except Mackenzie). When Shadow returned from the woods with the others in pursuit, he went into the pond where Malik stared and stalked him until he came out. From 9:05 until 9:07pm, several instances of chasing, jaw sparing, and riding up were noted between Malik and Shadow. Lakota and Lucas looked on while MacKenzie remained removed from the activity.
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We thought the arctics would have settled the top ranking order in the pack, but they continue to posture and dominante each other without much sign of a resolution. Malik seems to keep pushing the issue and Shadow seems to keep proving his point.
Staff continue to notice Shadow's social behavior increasing. He's been observed in several play bouts with the pups, and is more inclined to greet staff. If only Malik would get the word that it's time to put the winter aggression aside and start the friendly days of spring.
Lucas has been observed doing several stand-over's on his sister's. This behavior is when one wolf stands over the head of another wolf that is lying down. It is usually associated with a dominance posture, in Lucas's case, the other wolves ignored him, so it lost the intended effect.
continuation of earlier log: At 8:30 am, Lakota was on the large rock in front of the observation window attempting to sit/lay down. She was a bit off balance, but mobile. Lori Schmidt arrived back on site at around 8:40 am and immediately put the Arctic wolves in the smaller holding pen and then Lakota and Lucas were placed in the pack holding pen with Mackenzie, separate from Shadow and Malik. Lakota was isolated in the enclosed holding pen with a straw bed. She immediately lay down and allowed Lori Schmidt to observe her wounds, but became aggressive to the touch of her neck. There were definite signs of bleeding on her neck, showing one puncture to the left side of her neck. The bite wounds were not as serious as her psychological state; she was extremely shaken by the incident and began showing signs of shock. Dr. Joyce Riveroll was on site as an Assistant Curator for the summer and monitored Lakota's respiration. Her respiration went as low as 12, but increased and steadied to 14 – 16 breaths per minute with stimulation. Her pupils were fixed and dilated. She became aggressive when a body temperature was attempted, so actual body temp was never recorded. She was covered with straw to retain body heat. Dr. Chip Hanson was contacted and immediately came to the center for an examination and discussion of Lakota's situation. Lori Schmidt attempted to give Lakota a subcutaneous antibiotic but found her neck muscles extremely rigid, due to intensive muscle trauma from the bites or possible trauma of internal bleeding. A subcutaneous injection (given toward the mid-back) of 100 mg of Baytril and 90 mg of Ketofen were given as antibiotic and anti-inflammatory. At about 10:40 am, she seemed to have calmed down and was resting comfortably.
Feeding program went well. Lakota was the only one who stayed near the carcass during the feeding. No one was really interested in feeding. The temperature is still extremely warm (over 85 degrees) even at the 7 pm feeding program. Mackenzie went into the holding pen and didn't want to leave, the flies are still very active tonight. Lured Mackenzie out with the wheelbarrow. Her eye continues to look red and irritated. Vitamins to all and Cosequin to Mackenzie.
The new program called Canine Cousins began this month and 2 Canadian Inuit sled dog pups are on loan from Paul Schurke (Wintergreen Adventures. The pups are staying on site from Monday through Friday. The wolves have a lot of interest in them, but more interesting is the response of the Arctic's. Shadow shows more whining and nurturing behavior towards the pups where Malik shows much more aggressive tendencies. The same thing is true for Shadow's response to the Curator's dog Jake. Shadow shows a slight tail wag toward Jake and Malik stalks him, jumps at the fence and appears to be the only wolf that shows a negative response to Jake.
Part 1 – The database only allows for a limited amount of text, so this needed to be placed in several entries. Follow the sequence of logs to get the whole story. There are 6 parts to this incident report, please read them in sequence. The most significant notes from the log during this period occurred on August 6th, with aggressive dominance toward MacKenzie from the entire pack and MacKenzie's subsequent removal from the pack. The August 6th incident report follows: Tuesday, August 6, 2002 – Observation Report – Dominance toward MacKenzie and her Removal from the Pack Observations began at approximately 8:00pm. Shadow and Malik were up in the woods with Lakota in a side rest and MacKenzie in a curl rest with ears perked. MacKenzie was constantly looking up into the woods in the same direction that the rest had gone. Lucas wandered and went up into the woods at 8:15pm. Malik came down out of the woods at 8:42 and defecated in close proximity to Mackenzie and Lakota with his tail at T3. No response from MacKenzie or Lakota other than awareness. He had a long drink from the pond, exhibited raised leg urination at the fence, wandered a bit, and went back into the woods at 8:47pm.
Additional information from Monday July 29, 2002 a.m. examination of MacKenzie: Examination of MacKenzie on Monday revealed a canine bite wound to the left side, abrasion appeared to be approximately 1 inch in circumference, moist exudate covering the wound. An additional bite noted on the mid-neck region, circumference approximately 1 inch with purulent drainage present. MacKenzie appeared on Monday to be confident and at ease.
Note to Public: Shadow's behavior and his attempt to intimidate MacKenzie is natural wolf behavior. Lower status members often look for opportunities to move up in the pack structure especially if the higher ranking pack members show weakness with age. In the wild, this behavior serves to keep the pack healthy and strong, under good leadership. The issue facing the International Wolf Center staff is how to manage this normal wolf behavior in a captive environment. The management of the captive wolf pack includes making decisions in the best interest of the pack, as well as the individual wolf. There is a fine balance to be maintained.
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