Vermilion Student, Damon Haan, came in to do a wolf check this morning and found MacKenzie and Lakota had dug out of their pack holding area and were in the secure, secondary fence area. Curator Lori Schmidt arrived and greeted Mackenzie and Lakota and they followed her back into the pen. The area were they dug out was located. The wolves appear to have dug by one of the new gates that were scheduled to get a concrete pad on Monday. Apparently, Lakota wanted to enter the retirement pen sooner than planned. Center member Roger Halverson (who happened to be visiting the Center), Damon Haan, Alicia Pansiak, Gretchen Diessner and Lori Schmidt spent the day in the rain, snow, sleet and wind, pouring concrete and increasing the ground wire fencing on the retirement pen.
The removal of Lakota and Mackenzie was a significant decision for the Center, but in watching both wolves behavior, it appeared to be the right decision. After some recuperation time from their injuries and an adjustment period to each other, the two females of the Ambassador pack are doing well. They seem to enjoy the extra attention of the wolf care staff and have been observed in several play/chase behaviors with high tails and exuberance. All wolves were excited to see staff, maybe because of the cooler fall weather. Lakota is very playful and did several playbows to Mackenzie inviting a chase. MacKenzie was receptive, but somewhat distracted by the Arctic wolves on the shared fenceline. The construction of the new retirement enclosure will get the wolves away from each other allowing Mackenzie and Lakota to relax without being watched by the Arctics."
Nancy Gibson writes: The wolf pups have new names and weights. Shadow, the red-collared pup, finally caught up to his brother, Malik, the blue-collared one with his weight. Both of them weigh 9.15 pounds according to the scale on June 15. That is a three pound weight gain in one week! The addition of solid food contributed to their accelerated weight gain. They are also 27 inches long from the tip of the tail to the nose. Their adult premolar tooth also has emerged. This development is several weeks ahead of a domestic dog such as a labrador retriever. They now have 28 sharp teeth in their mouth. Malik and Shadow are howling more regularly in response to handlers that is accompanied by a series of loud whines. The pups have also started to take notice of the fluttering of birds and scampering squirrels near their outdoor enclosure. Malik continues to be the more adventurous pup with further explorations while Shadow tends to watch his brother near a secure spot.
Nancy Gibson writes: The wolf pups have new names and weights. Shadow, the red-collared pup, finally caught up to his brother, Malik, the blue-collared one with his weight. Both of them weigh 9.15 pounds according to the scale on June 15. That is a three pound weight gain in one week! The addition of solid food contributed to their accelerated weight gain. They are also 27 inches long from the tip of the tail to the nose. Their adult premolar tooth also has emerged. This development is several weeks ahead of a domestic dog such as a labrador retriever. They now have 28 sharp teeth in their mouth. Malik and Shadow are howling more regularly in response to handlers that is accompanied by a series of loud whines. The pups have also started to take notice of the fluttering of birds and scampering squirrels near their outdoor enclosure. Malik continues to be the more adventurous pup with further explorations while Shadow tends to watch his brother near a secure spot.
Lucas has the same issue as Lakota. The unexpected warm weather has arrived earlier than anyone expected and rather than overheat, Lucas has chosen to find a nice cool spot in the enclosure to remain inactive. Wolves in the wild will likely use this behavior as well and may be more active in a nocturnal pattern.
Malik was eating a cricket and while chewing on it, Maya displayed food begging behavior. Not one of Malik's favorite things, but we was tolerant with Maya. Anyway he didn't share any part of his cricket!
Nyssa is a window watcher… Off all the wolves in the Exhibit pack, she is the one most likely to at the window watching visitors (yes, more than Grizzer who just looks for staff). In this week's photos, Nyssa responds to noise from the Children's room at the Exhibit.
Malik (blue collared wolf) and Shadow (red collared wolf) are six weeks old on June 19 and are beginning to look and act more wolf-like each day. Their heads are quite large in proportion to their body to house all of their senses needed for survival. Eyesight, hearing and smelling have increased dramatically and they are perceiving their surroundings better by faster reactions. They will show fear by running together into a corner and huddling close to each other and they will also more readily show excitement when familiar handlers approach. Malik is close to giving up nursing and typically sucks the first half of the formula then laps the rest. Shadow continues to show more interest in food by eagerly nursing and eating at every opportunity. His weight reflects his diet as he now surpassed his brother's weight at 11.11 pounds. Malik weighs 11.6 pounds. They love being outdoors chasing bugs and digging in the dirt to seek cool spots.
Nancy Gibson writes: Malik (blue collared wolf) and Shadow (red collared wolf) are six weeks old on June 19 and are beginning to look and act more wolf-like each day. Their heads are quite large in proportion to their body to house all of their senses needed for survival. Eyesight, hearing and smelling have increased dramatically and they are perceiving their surroundings better by faster reactions. They will show fear by running together into a corner and huddling close to each other and they will also more readily show excitement when familiar handlers approach. Malik is close to giving up nursing and typically sucks the first half of the formula then laps the rest. Shadow continues to show more interest in food by eagerly nursing and eating at every opportunity. His weight reflects his diet as he now surpassed his brother's weight at 11.11 pounds. Malik weighs 11.6 pounds. They love being outdoors chasing bugs and digging in the dirt to seek cool spots.
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.