Today Maya is 82 days old. Maya, in comparison to Shadow and Malik at 82 days of age, is 1 and a half and two and a half pounds heavier, respectively. Maya's appetite wasn't very good today, but staff think it might have to do with the heat. Maya would eat almost a cup of meat before she would take bites and begin to cache them around the enclosure. After this evenings' meal, Maya noticed Malik scent rolling right next to the fence. She ran up to the fence and watched him intently, whining, and wagging her tail.
Nyssa is 75 days old today. Nyssa, when compared to Shadow and Malik at her age, weighs about one and two pounds more than they did, respectively. Nyssa continues to dominate her siblings, but has also been observed licking and grooming both Maya and Grizz for several minutes, then falling asleep next to them. However, when it comes to food, it's a whole different story. When a deer leg was put in the pup pen, Nyssa attacked it and tried to drive Grizzer and Maya away with growls and snaps.
Today Grizz is 64 days old. Grizzer very responsive to arctics through the fence. The arctics were running through their enclosure and Grizzer pawed at fenceline. Malik and Shadow came to puppies after a bout of running and Shadow vomitted. It could have been due to physical activity or puppies. Due to the warm temperatures, Grizz has been sleeping in the den for most of the day.
Maya is 69 days old today. Since the transition from the bottle to the weaning formula. The pups have had a reoccuring problem with digestion of meats. Several diet changes and medications were administered and today was the first solid meat stool from the pups since the weaning. The pups remained active throughout and fecals showed not parasite problems, but the change in diet can be tiring, not to mention hard to get familiar with different tastes.
Today Maya is 75 days old. Maya continues to be the most 'mellow' of the pups. She has not yet snapped or growled at any of the nannies, and is very submissive towards them. Maya greets new people very well, and shows no signs of stress of crowds, especially in the Pup 101 programs. Even when Grizzer and Nyssa get stressed, Maya continues to chew on her toys and be calm. During the heat of the day, pups were let into the wolf lab to cool down. After some exploring (which involved knocking over the trash can) Maya laid down under a desk and rested.
Today Nyssa is 73 days old. She greeted staff very well as she readily rolled over and gave staff lots of facial licking. During a special pup program in the wolf yard Nyssa was very confortable around unfamilar faces. Throughout the duration of the program she chewed on a deer ear except for several occasions where she played with her littermates underneath the bleachers. Nyssa has been showing very aggressive behavior when it comes to defending her food sources. Staff has to very cautious when trying to handle Nyssa when she's chewing on a toy or feeding.
Grizzer is 83 days old today. He became somewhat anxious during the 1 p.m. program, jumping at the fence despite attempts to distract him with a deer leg, so he was allowed to walk around outside the building while the door to the auditorium was held open. He took a few glances indoors, walked around outside, then walked back into the auditorium, calmly walked straight back into the indoor pen, and began chewing on the deer leg.
Today Nyssa is 76 days old. During one program she approached crowd with flat ears and tucked tail. She rolled over in front of several people and licked and whined at various strangers. She chewed on a deer leg with Grizz and Maya, with some growling, but mostly seemed willing to share. She approached crowd again and rolled over in front of everyone.
This morning Grizzer greeted staff and began howling with Shadow and the retired pack. Grizzer dominated Maya pinning her down chest to chest while jaw sparring,during 5PM auditorium program. Grizzer very submissive, but relaxed towards two male dogs of staff members. This process continues to be an important part of the preparation for the introduction to the adult wolves and encounters with domestic dogs they will have while here at the Center.
Today Grizzer is 85 days old. He seems to be most adventuresome pup lately. He's very bored when he is inside the small pen for public programs. He constantly tries to find new and interesting things to do. During a Wednesday night program, he ran along the window sill at the obersvation window and pawed at the glass to the arctics.
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.