Garage project has started adjacent to the wolf enclosure, in response; Lakota became slightly stressed and began compulsively licking her old foot wound. Students from Vermilion Community College, Natural Resource program, volunteered time next to the fence to calm Lakota down. She became much more relaxed later in the day and fell asleep while the construction workers were within feet of her enclosure.
The water dish in the main enclosure has been leaking and periodically freezing in the sub-zero temperatures (20 to 25 below zero). The arctics don't seem bothered by the cold, but the retired pack is less active. All wolves are bedding down in the straw provided by staff. The arctics are not as visible on the webcam since they spend most of their time bedded on the straw in or on the den.
Curator's note: This is the time of the year when wolves generally breed and wolves' aggression and status is defended or challenged. Even though our wolves are spayed and neutered, they still have hormonal cycles that make them vie for status during the height of the breeding season. Tension between Malik and Shadow has been observed in the last few weeks. At this time, Malik still maintains his dominance over Shadow, but every day there's a noticeable change in Shadow's demeanor.
Shadow was riding up on Malik during the greeting and lots of aggression was observed. Shadow was grabbing Malik by the scruff of the neck and forcing his head to the ground. Malik was resisting, but his tail posture was much lower than previously observed. Shadow has been strutting around with a high tail and often follows Malik around the enclosure.
Malik and Shadow have entered the season of dominance. Who's going to be the leader of their duo. There were no direct observations of their dominance, but you can hear them jaw sparring from the back of the enclosure. After they came to the front of the exhibit, Shadow was showing a raised tail, while Malik was showing a relaxed tail. Shadow then briefly was biting shrubs and small trees, generally something he does when he gets excited. Malik did a RLU (Raised Leg Urination as a sign of dominance), and then Shadow went to the same spot and did an RLU on top of Malik’s mark. This is something new, as Malik had been the only one demonstrating an RLU. Another new observation is that Shadow has been greeting at the same time Malik does, which up until a few weeks ago, Shadow would wait until Malik was done greeting, before he approached.
Meds to all; arctics bouncy and good greeters to staff today. Lucas was dominating MacKenzie with high tail and riding up on her twice and shadowing (following her extremely close) for approximately 2 minutes. MacKenzie submissively rolled over for Lucas. All retired wolves submissively rolled over for greetings from handlers. Tension between MacKenzie and Lucas subsided as the wolf check went on. Curator's note: Even though the Center's wolves are spayed and neutered, there's still chemical cycling during the breeding season that results in pair bonding behavior (between MacKenzie and Lucas) as well as assertion of dominance (Lucas over MacKenzie and MacKenzie over Lakota). This is the time of the year that staff increases their awareness of wolves' daily interactions.
Curator Lori Schmidt spent some time in the enclosure this afternoon to assess the dominance issues between all wolves and conduct physical and behavioral assessments. Shadow was extremely excited to spend time with her and became very dominant toward Malik if he approached Lori. Shadow rolled over in a submissive posture several times in front of Lori and spent most of the time with her. Both arctics were in good physical condition, and were fairing the colder weather well.
Wolf Logs – 2-15 to 2-28, 2003 MacKenzie has a blood spot on the inner side of her front right leg and she is noticeably limping on that leg. MacKenzie’s rear leg/hip still looks stiff, but appears to be better than yesterday. Temperatures are expected to reach -20 below tonight so all straw beds have been raked and replenished. All other wolves look good. A closer inspection reveals a broken outer toenail on her right paw. Despite MacKenzie’s limping, she still maintains a dominant posture over Lakota in all interactions.
Shadow continues to be shy toward visitors to the fence. Two students from Vermilion Community College’s Wolf Ethology class were on site to observe wolf care procedures. Shadow was extremely timid with tucked tail, bark howling and quivering. Students moved away and Shadow went to the top of the enclosure. Shadow’s bark howling caused MacKenzie and Lakota to get into a scuffle, Lakota initially defended herself, then submitted within seconds.
Pup programming begins today. *The pup's participation in each program lasts approximately 20 minutes. For their comfort and protection, during the programs they are in a fenced pen approximately 6' square. The sides of the pen are 4' high. The pen has been outfitted with wood chips, rocks, and evergreen branches to simulate natural conditions for the pups during the time they are in front of International Wolf Center audiences. The pups are "on their own schedule" and the staff follows their lead with regards to entering and leaving the pen. If the pups exhibit behavior indicating that they would prefer to leave the pen, and the program, they are permitted to do so. While in the pen, the pups are free to play, display natural behaviors, sleep or move about the pen. Rather than being carried into or out of the pen, the pups are encouraged to enter and leave the pen with play toys, food etc. The staff has found it challenging to come up with new things to place in the pen to interest the pups. A long string with pieces of deer hide attached has been successful in getting their attention when it's time to go back outside.
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.