Malik managed to take a glove through the fence from one of the wolf care yesterday. This is why the number one protocol of working around wolves is never have put your fingers through the fence. The glove was not on a hand, but being held in order to deliver Malik a treat. He chose the glove instead. Other than testing the wolf care staff, Malik has had a good week. The cooler weather did create a skim of slush on their pond, but the forecast calls for 60 degree tomorrow. Shadow and Malik have been sharing the den on a regular basis during this cooler weather.
Malik doesn't have much to report this week. The surveillance camera identified some interesting raven interactions, and a middle of the night interaction that included a chin rest, face-off, whirl and invite chase. These two seem to be more active at night than in previous months, but the sled dog influence seemed to increase Shadow's patrolling of the enclosure. Malik didn't seem to respond in the same way, so when the camera picked up Shadow on the move, it usually captured Malik sleeping.
Today Grizzer is 58 days old. This morning, Grizz ran right into the pup pen and greeted the Arctics, then proceeded to romp around the rest of the enclosure. He ran a lot, and chased Nyssa and Maya while being chased in return. While being chased, Grizz displayed flat ears and tucked tail. He showed no fear toward the wheelbarrow. He watched with ears perked up, then greeted the wheelbarrow pusher enthusiastically. During the warm afternoon, Grizz was calm while the puppy pool was being cleaned. He had perked ears and showed no signs of stress. While the pool was being filled, he stepped on the rock in the middle and investigated the hose nozzle. After the pool was full again, he got into the pool and began to splash around, getting water on his legs, stomach and face.
Today Maya is 58 days old. Maya slept throughout the programs today. She was also active early in the morning, but is sleeping more often in the afternoon. The weather in Ely is starting to warm up. Maya prefer to sleep on the cold cement during the warm part of the day. Maya showed no signs of stress while the pool was being cleaned. She was very interested in the hose and the hose nozzle, trying to pull it away from staff.
Grizz is 60 days old. Grizz was very active in the enclosure this morning and seemed to enjoy playing and rolling in the moist dirt. Grizz has been less aggressive with staff members and has actively submitted to them several times during the day. Today staff started introducing a dog brush to comb their fur. We also started putting a mock "ear ointment" (Vaseline) on their ears. Since daily wolf care during the year will require being brushed and placing fly ointment on their ears, we are working gradually to get the pups acclimated to this kind of care and the various objects (brush, ointment containers, etc.)in our hands. These things are being done both when they are sleeping and awake, in order to get them used to being touched in specific areas. Today Grizz was sleeping and did not seem to mind the brushing and ear care. During the morning program, Grizz & Nyssa fought over the deer hide, with Grizz intensely muzzle-biting and standing over Nyssa. Grizz was restless during the afternoon program, and was not easily distracted by stimulus items. During the 5:00p.m. program, he played with a fresh-cut venison leg and tail.
Grizzer is 62 days old today. He paced and jumped at the window in the auditorium during the program, eager to get back outside. Being confined in the small enclosure inside seems to make him restless. While playing with Nyssa today, he grabbed her with his teeth and shook his head. Nyssa looked surprised, then went after Grizz. He ate his dinner eagerly,and tussled with Maya and Nyssa before settling down for his first night in the outside enclosure.
Nyssa is 55 days old today. She was very content, playing by herself with all toys and a deer bone. Outside she was being chased and tackled aggressively by Maya and Grizzer. She ran into the dogloo and stood her ground in the entrance. Neither Grizzer or Maya attempted to go in or challenge her. later,a loud motorcycle went by and Nyssa got scared. She stopped playing and ran up and down the fence, then started looking for somwhere to hide. She then got up and sat on top of the log in the center of the pen. She was anxious for about 5-10 minutes. She calmed down but any noise seemed to startle her for a while afterward.
Today Nyssa is 49 days old. When the pups went outside, in the early excitement, Nyssa was ganged up on by Maya and Grizz. As the play continued, she was an equal participant in the chase in which the prize was a pig's ear. Nyssa did very well during the programs. She controlled some deer hide and vigorously defended it from Maya using growls and snaping at her. She chewed on it for the duration of the programs, and had to be taken out of the pen with it in her mouth. She was trying to run back into the pen after we took her out. Nyssa consistently seems to be the least phased by public programs, occupying herself with various toys, or sleeping next to a nanny.
Today Maya is 60 days old. During the early morning hours, Maya attempted to cache some ground beef on Nyssa. She placed it on her stomach and then tried to push it into Nyssa's belly with her nose Today staff started introducing a dog brush to comb their fur. We also started putting a mock "ear ointment" (Vaseline) on their ears. Since daily wolf care during the year will require being brushed and placing fly ointment on their ears, we are working gradually to get the pups acclimated to this kind of care and the various objects (brush, ointment containers, etc.)in our hands. These things are being done both when they are sleeping and awake, in order to get them used to being touched in specific areas. Maya has been very active in the enclosure, playing with Nyssa & Grizz and initiating dominance attempts. Today she grabbed a toy ball and ran to the trees to play with it. Maya has been much more affectionate and submissive towards staff. She exhibited submissive roll-overs in front of staff several times this morning. During the morning program, Maya chewed on a deer hide and became very vocal when Grizz or Nyssa tried to take it away from her. During the afternoon program, she was kept occupied with a rubber Kong stuffed with ground hamburger. She also likes venison "popsicles", which are pieces of frozen deer hide/ears frozen in ice. These appear to cool her off in hot weather.
Grizzer was seen on two occasions this morning crouching behind a tree or rock and kind of stalking the other two pups while they were playing. His ears were upright, eyes focused on Nyssa and Maya, crouched down on his belly then stood up slightly in a stalking position and all of a sudden jumped up and ran toward them.
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.