Maya has completed her estrus cycle and she seems a lot easier to live with (at least that's what Nyssa says). Maya was very submissive to wolf care staff and spent alot of time on her back getting scratched. She continues to have the intense stare down behavior, but she doesn't seem to follow through with the lunging behavior. She continues to be the dominant female in the group.
MacKenzie is doing great. She's relaxed a bit after being slightly on edge from the dominance in the main exhibit. As much as Lucas likes the denboxes, MacKenzie equally likes her outdoor straw bed in the corner of the enclosure. She's the type of wolf that doesn't like to have her back to anyone, probably a personality trait of a dominant wolf. She prefers to stay in the corner and get a wide view of the activities in the wolf yard.
Jen Westlund and I had an interesting wolf check on Thursday. When visiting the retired enclosure, we always get an excited greeting, unless one of the wolves is feeling ill. So, our first concern is that all wolves are alert (response to delivery of vitamins and cosequin in a meatball tells us that), then we look for activity level. On Thursday, Lakota was very active, racing around the enclosure, jumping at tree branches. On one of her landings, her front paws landed on a piece of deer hide and she proceeded to slide about 15 feet on the deer hide like a snowboard. The look on her face was priceless, she was a bit startled by the forward motion. Of course, we didn't have a camera in the pen, but it will be one of those wolf memories that last a lifetime.
Program Specialist, Jen Westlund writes: " Today at about 2 PM the arctic's got a raven. I didn't see the actual situation of how they got it, but Shadow was on top of the raven guarding it from Malik. They rolled on it, ripped off some feathers and took it up the hill. A group of ravens followed the wolves and displayed a very intense distress call."
All wolves are doing well in retirement. Mackenzie has a reoccurring issue with a small growth on her left paw. It seems to be irritating to her and she continues to bite at it, causing slight weeping and bleeding. Mackenzie doesn't allow staff to touch it directly, but close inspections have revealed a wart like bump, with no hair. She has had this for several years, but it seems to be more irritating to her recently. Topical antibiotics are relatively ineffective, as she licks them off. We will continue to monitor this condition.
MacKenzie's growth on her paw was bloody again today, her right eye seems more cloudy than usual and slightly sunken. A call was made to the Veterinarian to discuss treatment options. MacKenzie is currently being treated with eye drops for lipid deposits in her eyes, but after her last eye exam in August, it appears that she has advancing cataracts as well. Lucas and Lakota are doing well. Malik and Shadow have increased their play activity with the new snow.
With the retirement of Lucas from the main enclosure, the wolves feeding schedule and amounts were changed. The retirement crew is fed on Friday during the warmer part of the day, and the arctics are fed on the regular Saturday night feeding. Trying to regulate what the 2 arctics need has been a challenge. A whole deer is too much for the pair, often leaving them uninterested in food at the following feeding. This past Saturday, the arctic's cached the deer torso and didn't eat at all. The deer was still there in the morning, with about 20 ravens interested in the free meal.
Nancy Jo Tubbs and Jen Westlund assigned wolf care staff for today's check. "Greeted wolves through the fence first, no jumping by Arctics. Lucas in high tail position, guarding his rump from Shadow, while Shadow circles Lucas for 2 minutes. Some fence growling between Mackenzie and Shadow. Lucas and MacKenzie both submissively rolled over for the staff showing a very relaxed greeting. Lakota was only interested in a deer leg. The Arctics grabby with the window cleaning tools."
Feeding program tonight, Arctics were very hungry, Malik defended the beaver carcass from Shadow… Some intense interactions between Shadow and Malik lately."
MacKenzie has greenish discharge from both her eyes – possible problem with pollen in the air. Her eyes will be cleaned and Neomyacin ointment administered.
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