Shadow has a powerful method of getting lower ranking wolves to comply with his status. He uses a threat display, with full teeth barred and direct eye contact. In this week’s photo, it does seem to have the desired effect, Grizzer is submitting with ears back and submissively pawing at Shadow. If you look at Grizzer’s photo this week, you will see that Grizzer is averting Shadow’s gaze, a sign that he is not ready to take on the challenge.
As a young adult, Grizzer is still full of youthful enthusiasm. He’s been very submissive to Shadow and shows no signs of moving up in rank. This is a good situation prior to the pup’s arrival and we are confident that the pups will add more youthful enthusiasm to the exhibit. Grizzer and Maya will definitely exhibit play behavior and keep the pups occupied, relieving some of the focus on the older wolves in the pack.
Wolf care staff monitors the wolves daily, even on Easter Sunday, meds were delivered and wolf curator, Lori Schmidt, is on site for the afternoon writing wolf logs, and checking that all wolves are healthy and content for the night. It is important that the Retired wolves are checked several times a day, even the slightest decline at this age can be critical. We are happy to report that all wolves are enjoying the straw beds, the warm sun and the quiet Easter Sunday afternoon.
The spring melt has been very slow here. We have had several weeks of temperatures around 30 degrees, compared to last year at this time, where temperatures had exceeded 70 degrees. The Exhibit Pack was scheduled for a full medical exam on April 4th, to get a complete physical , vaccinations and blood draws prior to the pups arrival. This is necessary to ensure that there are no issues that might be contracted by the vulnerable pups. Due to the lack of snow melt, this exam has been postponed until the 18th of April. During this medical exam, the wolves will be sedated with a reversible drug, and hopes are to get a current weight on each wolf. We would estimate that Grizzer is ~ 100 lbs.
The spring melt has been very slow here. We have had several weeks of temperatures around 30 degrees, compared to last year at this time, where temperatures had exceeded 70 degrees. The Exhibit Pack was scheduled for a full medical exam on April 4th, to get a complete physical , vaccinations and blood draws prior to the pups arrival. This is necessary to ensure that there are no issues that might be contracted by the vulnerable pups. Due to the lack of snow melt, this exam has been postponed until the 18th of April. During this medical exam, the wolves will be sedated with a reversible drug, and hopes are to get a current weight on each wolf.
Maya’s senses have been working overtime, as spring melt occurs, smells from the earth are everywhere, and Maya’s skilled predatory behaviors are stimulated. Maya has also been showing much more whining, submissive and greeting behavior. As this week’s image shows, she has many nose to nose responses. This may be the influence of the spring and summer hormones of prolactin. This is likely to increase dramatically when the pups are on site, and this will be important for her as she becomes the surrogate mother to the newest pups. She is an ideal candidate for this maternal behavior and the Maya/Shadow combination will make great pack leaders.
Wolves don’t typically start to shed their winter coat until early June. Some people theorize that this may be a preventative measure against invasive insect populations in the early spring. We don’t know if there’s any truth to that, but they certainly are protected from the late spring black flies. This cooler spring is actually better for the wolves, last year, when temperatures reached 70 degrees in April, the wolves were easily overheated. In this week’s video, Shadow does a roll-over in the snow, possibly to cool off, but more likely, just a social behavior in the pack. Wolves evolved to have hair over their bodies rather than sweat glands like humans, so they function much better with cold than with heat. One way to modify behavior to deal with heat is to reduce activity during the warmest part of the day. This is the transition we will experience in the next few month, more nocturnal wolves.
Maya took advantage of a recent snowfall to demonstrate a wolf behavior termed “roll on back. This behavior is different than the behavior termed “snowplow, where a wolf pushes the snow with their nose and rubs their head side to side. The purpose of this behavior appears to be just for the purpose of enjoyment. Whereas the snowplow, appears to be a cleansing behavior and commonly follows a meal.
When the time comes to photograph for the logs, the Retired Pack can be the most challenging. Lakota often races around the enclosure at such a rate, that it is difficult to follow her with the camera. The den boxes which give the wolves added comfort, make filming a challenge. This week, a treat of beaver feet were given to the Retired wolves, to aid in filming and as a stimulating reward. By the complete consumption, it appears that they like the taste as well.
Even though the wolves have two heated waters with fresh clean water available at all times, they still prefer to drink from the puddles created by spring snow melt, as Malik’s video demonstrates. Malik was a dominant figure on last week’s deer carcass, actually using a threat display to drive Grizzer off the carcass. Rank order doesn’t necessarily dictate who eats first. Wolves have a possession rule, if you get to the carcass first and possess it; you can defend it no matter what your rank. Malik’s anxious growling at the other pack members when he is being followed has subsided, as the spring nurturing hormones of prolactin increase, Malik’s willingness to initiate play behavior is likely to increase as well.
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