Nancy Gibson writes: The wolf pups made their final trip to the vet on June 27 in the Twin Cities in preparation for their journey to the International Wolf Center on June 29. The pups are seven weeks old and Shadow weighs 14.2 pounds. Malik weighs weighs an even 14 pounds. They received their first distemper vaccination in combination with parvovirus, coronavirus, adenovirus and parainfluenza. This is the same protocol for domestic dogs. They were wormed and given tablets for heartworm. They were listed in excellent health and the staff at Oak Knoll Animal Hospital is to be commended for their excellent help and guidance. Health care will be transferred to the local vets in Ely, Minnesota. The pups are spending most of their time outside except during the night. They experienced their first major rainstorm by sleeping through most of it by a large tree. Their guard hairs are an effective raincoat. A small pool of water has attracted much of the pup's attention. They use it to cool their feet then splash the rest of the water underneath their body. The pups will quietly meet the adults at the International Wolf Center is a series of controlled sessions with a fence separating them. All wolves produce a nuturing hormone called prolactin in the spring and summer to stimulate all members of the pack to help rear the pups. We expect the adults and the pups to be excited to see each other.
MacKenzie is doing very well. Of all the wolves in retirement, she seems to have maintained her dominance hierarchy. The other wolves aren't too concerned about status. Of course, Lucas is the only male, so there's nothing to worry about and Lakota has always been submissive to MacKenzie. So, I guess MacKenzie is the only one with something to lose.
Nancy Gibson writes: Both wolf puppies started on some solid food on Friday. They are eating a combination of ground venison and puppy chow three times a day in addition to their formula five times a day. They literally "wolfed" down their first solid food and were begging for more. The blue collared wolf is starting to show less interest in the bottle and more in the solid food. They are five weeks old on June 12 and steadily gaining weight. The red collared wolf weighs 8.6 pounds and the blue one is 8.75 pounds. Their legs are beginning to grow as are their feet and nose. Each day they are getting faster as they romp outside. Their long-distance eyesight has improved significantly as they are able to detect shapes and movement 40-50 feet away. Their close vision is still not accurate as they rely on their sense of smell. They are wanting to be outside more each day so they will be out of the cage for longer periods of time exercising and exploring.
Malik's knee seems to be getting better. We called a vet care meeting last Monday to discuss the plan if his condition worsens. Working with wolves is much more complex than just the veterinary issues of repairing a knee. The social dynamics of a wolf pack dictate the course of treatment. Some facilities have seen wolves expelled from the pack for treatment as short as 4 hours. A careful plan must be made for immobilization and recovery that doesn't make Malik vulnerable. The hope is that he can continue to get better on his own. The entire exhibit pack is scheduled for an immobilization in May of next year, when the pups will be neutered and spayed. We plan to get a scope of the knee then, but if it declines earlier than that, we will implement plan B. What is plan B? Well, it will involve the immobilization of both Shadow and Malik, so they can wake up together and stay together during Malik's recovery. If the brothers stay together and have no separation issues, we don't think the pups will be as likely to single Malik out. The pups typically don't reach sexual maturity until about 18 months, so the hope is that they will respond submissively to Shadow and Malik through this time.
I promised myself that I would write a wolf log without saying how sweet Maya is. But, I can't do it. She is an amazing wolf to work with, she continues to display very social behavior to the handlers, preferring to sit at their feet and get her belly scratched rather than jump on people's heads like Grizzer. She still has a bit of sensitivity to a herniated belly button, but the Vet's say this should improve with age. Maya seems to be hold her own in food issues with Nyssa, and she has a tendency to start play behavior with Grizzer. Some ethologists theorize that the omega or bottom ranking pack members play an important role in the pack dynamics. Maya seems to be fitting that role well. One of the Center members sent us a note concerning the tuna in Maya's diet and the concern over potential mercury in tuna. During the time we used the tuna for Maya, we resticted it to two feeding per week. The reason we used tuna was to enhance her coat. The treatment seemed to work, she has as glossy of a coat as her littermates.
Shadow has been amazing since the introduction of the pups. He has shown strong care giving behavior toward the pups, as well as strong disciplinary behavior. If Grizzer is giving anyone grief, Shadow is quick to come over and put a stop to it. I wonder if he reads the logs about my constant comments on Grizzer's potential size? Another amazing thing about Shadow is his willingness to work with new staff. We've taken this opportunity of increased prolactin from this summer to introduce a few more people to wolf care. A new information specialist Jesse Edberg will be starting later this week. Jesse was an intern two winters ago, and the wolves know her well between the fences.
Shadow has become hesistant about wolf care staff since there's been a strong effort to treat his ears. He is even hesitant to take a meatball, that is until Nyssa tried to grab it. Shadow is again scratching at his ears and rubbing them against the fence. It doesn't seem to bother his activity, but the wolf care team will discuss another course of treatment. Nyssa initiated a chase from the other wolves, running in front of Shadow with a piece of deer hide. The chase around the pond led the pack to get excited. Shadow and Malik both did a Raised Leg Urination (RLU) then Shadow returned to the spot to RLU'd where Malik had just marked. Shadow appears to be holding his tail much higher than Malik in most interactions.
The following was written by Emily Rantala, a participant in the Workin' for Wolves weekend – October 2004. Malik did very well while we were doing the work. Lamb chops might have had something to do with it. His knee seems to be doing better, we did not see him limp all weekend. Even though he was calm in the holding pen, he was still anxious to get back into the main enclosure. It was exciting to watch him investigate our work. Malik offered a humorous moment when he stole a plastic dish that was inadvertenly left on a rock.
The following was written by Kristy Raines, a participant in the Workin' for Wolves weekend – October 2004. Nyssa continues to show us that no matter how well socialized as pups, wolves will respond to new situations with instinctual behavior. Nyssa ("The Princess" as dubbed by her nannies) was shy and elusive during the Workin' for Wolves weekend. She ran to the back of the enclosure when rock was being delivered, the first day and paced back and forth. The 2nd day, when the wolves were moved to the holding pen, Nyssa stayed behind in the main enclosure. I sat quietly near her and let her approach me. She greeted with tail wags and facial licks, before she slinked away and hid in the underground den until the rest of the pack was released back to the main enclosure. To be so close to such a beautiful elusive creature was a chance in a lifetime.
The following was written by Susan Myers, a participant in the Workin' for Wolves weekend – October 2004. Being the Alpha male, Shadow seemed to have a rather stressful weekend with all of the activity of the work projects and the volunteers milling about. Between the dump truck arriving twice to unload rocks and the backhoe intruding upon their enclosure and moving things about as well as volunteers walking around the enclosure while he was locked up, he seemed to be at his wit's end. He bark-howled several times indicating a defensive behavior protecting his pack. Also, his ears continue to bother him. He was resistive to staff administering medication, even when Spirit, a volunteer dog was used as a diversion. Shadow most definitely let his feelings be known.
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.