Maya finished her heat cycle and has calmed down her dominance a bit. Nyssa never did come into heat, and has taken the role of the lower ranking female quite well. Nyssa tends to avoid drawing attention to herself. When she gets excited and does a play bow, Maya is right on her tail. The good thing for Nyssa is that there are 3 other wolves in the pack to draw Maya's attention. In this week's photo, Maya shows her high tail status to the boys of the pack.
Nyssa is doing well, even though early pup behavior showed her to be more dominant, she's seemed to accept the role of omega. She still dominantes a carcass like no other wolf, proving the fact that possession and the ability to guard something can be as equally important as status. Nyssa has her playful moments, especially doing the snowplow in the newly fallen snow.
Wolf care staff always comment on the calm personality Lucas demonstrates. Maybe, it's been the nearly 12 years of living with his sisters that has taught Lucas that it's better to give in than cause a fuss. He continues to be the easiest wolf to administer any type of treatment. There is certainly a contrast between the retired wolves and the Exhibit pack
The weather continues to be cool and snowy here. This seems to keep the wolves active. Grizzer had an enjoyable feeding this past weekend, after he filled up on his quota of deer meat, he occupied his time by rolling in front of Malik while he was trying to eat. Malik was less than thrilled, and showed a series of barred teeth threat displays that Grizzer proceeded to ignore.
Malik is doing well. Staff have really noticed an improvement in his knee condition since we began his daily Cosequin treatment. He hasn't limped at all in the last several months. It is interesting to watch Malik's behavior towards Shadow. It's clear that Shadow is the more physically and behaviorally dominant, but Malik still likes to test him. Although, when Shadow gets too intense, Malik flattens his ears and runs up the hill. In this week's picture, Malik is very alert to the presence and mood of Shadow.
Lakota is doing well. March temperatures remain cool at night, but the sun during the day feels warm on the old bones. All three wolves have taken to laying in the open area of the enclosure, getting direct sun on their straw beds. In this week's photo, Lakota was trying all attempts to stay awake in the sun, but she finally gave in and settled in for a mid-morning nap.
Maya is back to a bit of her submissive self when it comes to greeting staff. The hormonal surge of her heat cycle is decreasing and she's not been as dominant with Nyssa. When she greets staff, she has flat ear posture and quickly rolls over to present her belly for some scratches and a good opportunity for a physical inspection. Her biggest problem is keeping Grizzer from helping with the inspection when she's down on the ground.
Of all the wolves on site, Nyssa is probably the most thrilled about spring approaching and the decrease in hormonal activity in the enclosure. She's taken the omega (bottom ranking) position well, of course Maya's constant reminders had something to do with that. She has learned to avoid starting play chases which focused the attention on her. She is still capable of dominanting a deer carcass from all of her packmates, even if she is an omega. Possession of a carcass in captivity is not always about rank order. Of all the packmates, her play companion is most often Grizzer. In this week's photos, Grizzer's leg is the object of Nyssa's attention.
Shadow is an amazing wolf to watch and learn about behavior. During a recent predation seminar held at the IWC, Shadow demonstrated his status through bark-howling at the group of seminar students. In this week's photo, you will see Shadow's intensity in his direct stare and teeth. It's a pretty clear message that he's in charge; Now, if Malik would just accept it, it would be calm here.
Grizzer has been much more workable for some handlers. It seems the warmer weather and the advancing spring has decreased some of the aggressive behavior in the enclosure. It is important for all staff and anyone observing these wolves to recognize that even though they are socialized, it doesn't mean that the wolves can't test a handler and attempt to take over their status. It's important to always remember that wolves are wolves, regardless of the captive management philosophy. In this week's photo, courtesy of an email by Cathy Jents, Grizzer is showing that sometimes wolves get so excited that they roll off of rocks.
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