People often comment on the hides of the wolves, especially the arctic wolves. Malik and Shadow do have a thicker coat, with longer, more flowing guard hairs than the other subspecies. We take an additional step in nutrition by adding a daily multi-vitamin to the wolves diet. This supplement seems to help, as this week's picture of Malik shows a wolf with a very smooth, glossy coat.
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Maya has certainly been a great animal to work with. Staff enjoy watching her develop as she finds her place in the pack. One thing noticeable is the strong social relationship she and grizzer maintain. Some research suggests that there's a tighter bond between genetic packmates than with other members of the pack. This seems to be the case when observing the three pups. Grizzer and Maya are true litter mates, while Nyssa is a cousin to them. Although, Grizzer and Nyssa have special momements as well. Grizzer just likes to roll around with another wolf, he's not too particular.
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."
1-5-04 "In an effort to increase the tolerance of the arctic wolves toward strangers (in preparation for the increase number of people in the wolf yard for the nanny program next summer), Curator Lori Schmidt has been conducting special Behind the Scenes visits. The retired wolves seem very willing to see the groups, with the exception of MacKenzie who is a bit skittish, probably due to her restricted vision. The arctics tend to me much shyer toward strangers. Their response varies from tucked tail and intimidation at the fence, to an all out bolt up to the upper enclosure. They seem better when Curator Lori Schmidt is in the pen or near them, but they still show anxiety. Shadow has taken to bark howling in defense or warning toward the groups. Dr. Les Lynn and his students from New Jersey visited the Center and took a Behind the Scenes tour. Shadow bark howled when the group was outside, but had a good greeting with Lori after the group went back inside.
Lucas had some deer hair stuck between his teeth and noticed a possible enamel problem on one of Lucas's incisors. He was very willing to allow Jen Westlund to clean his teeth. Lucas appears to be tripping over logs today, his balance seems to be a bit off… Staff should monitor this closely.
All wolves received Rabies and Parvo/DHLPP vaccinations today administered by Wolf Curator, Lori Schmidt and Program Specialist, Jen Westlund.
All wolves received Rabies and Parvo/DHLPP vaccinations today administered by Wolf Curator, Lori Schmidt and Program Specialist, Jen Westlund.
Puppies on site today, weather was rainy and damp. Staff will wait until the weather improves to bring the pups out to meet Shadow and Malik.
Good visit with all wolves except Shadow. He was guarding food from the Ravens at the top of the enclosure, and didn't want to come down. A group of about 15 ravens had gathered in the trees.
May 30, 2000 The puppies visited the vet again on May 30 to get their weights checked and they continue to thrive with a steady weight gain. The blue-collared wolf weighs 4 pounds 13 ounces and the red-collared wolf is just slightly behind at 4 pounds 9 ounces. They are both walking well with their feet completely underneath their body. They spent part of the holiday weekend outside but they didn't travel much beyond 6 feet from their handlers. This is typical of wild wolf pups that would start to explore the immediate area around the den once they could walk. Their light colored underfur is now noticeable around their head. Their fur will start to lighten all around their body the next two weeks until they are almost blonde. The red-collared pup joined his brother for a howl on May 28.
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