This week has been a bit more challenging for Malik, as it seems to be the peak of hormonal activities in this pack. One of the issues for Malik is that he has a very intense threat display towards the other wolves when he becomes anxious. While the intent of this behavior is to warn other wolves to stay back, it sometimes has the reverse effect in that this level of anxiety appears as a weakness and can make him more vulnerable. Malik had a front paw injury on Tuesday that may have been caused by a dominance issue with Grizzer, or may have been the result of an intense chase around the enclosure in the colder weather. He was treated with an anti-inflammatory and antibiotic for a week and was much better by the 2nd day of treatment.
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Today Grizzer is 77 days old. His fear response to new things has been a challange to the wolf care staff. Today Grizzer had to deal with a new tarp. At first, he was afraid to aproach it, but after seeing her littermate Maya playing on top of it, he decided to give it a try. He spent almost half of the day playing on it.
Today Grizzer is 81 days old. He is getting used to be picked up before entering the programs.Today was very hot and humid and grizzer spent much of his day sleeping inside the cool den or under the tree shades. During the programs, he was distracted with some pig's ear, but not being happy with one, he decided to steal Maya's.
Maya has been very social lately, also likely a response to the increased hormonal surge that seems to be going on lately. This is the prime time of the year for wolf breeding, and even though our pack is spayed and neutered, there cycle of hormones seems to follow the same schedule. One interesting behavior that Maya displays is pair bonding with Shadow. Video and images in the past few weeks demonstrate this strong social behavior between the pack leaders.
Shadow is doing well, and as a continuation of Maya's text, he has been very social with Maya. He is acting very confident, tolerant of Grizzer and calm in his position. This might have something to do with the added restrictions in the wolf yard this winter, with no Behind the Scenes programs unless it is a special circumstance. Regardless, this is a good scenario for the pack. I also wanted to note, these ritualized dominance displays between the male rank order are very critical to maintaining and establishing position. They are generally short-lived and actually result in more significant fights. Shadow rarely shows physical dominance over Malik such as pinning or wrestling, likely because Malik is very anxious. But, Grizzer and Shadow are often observed in this social behavior.
Sorry for the delay in logs this week, Curator Lori Schmidt taught a Moose Ecology course this weekend and the Sunday night log development was replaced with some well-needed rest. The wolves are doing well, although staff have noted a peak in dominance hierarchy between the male rank order in the Exhibit Pack. Grizzer continues to maintain a strong presence around Malik, which makes Malik nervous, resulting in intense growling, threat displays and a noisy exhibit. This behavior coincides with the wild wolf breeding season. One of the VCC moose ecology students noted paired scent marking on the Birch Lake Campground road with estrus blood in the female urine. This is a critical time for dominant wolves in the wild, as they pair mark to defend their territory. I would also like to make a note to the Nannies selected for this year’s pups. We are still juggling teams, and once the teams are set, we will send out a briefing packet to each team member (probably by email), so teams can have some opportunity to converse prior to arrival and possibly offer to carpool to Ely.
May's image and video this week demonstrate a body posture termed "ponytail ears" in the Ethogram. This means that she is so submissive, that her ears are positioned so far on the back of her head that they appear to be pulled back in a ponytail. She is very submissive to Shadow and frequently greets him with a full face licking. Shadow is very tolerant when Maya greets, but when Grizzer joins in, he is likely to do a soft or hard muzzle bite to curb the excitement.
Grizzer continues to be submissive to Shadow, in the daily ritualized dominance displays. While these displays can sound noisy and seem intense, they actually help reduce more significant battles for status by constantly reminding all wolves the rank order. The recent snowfall stimulated the wolves into a more active mode, but as temperatures warm over 30 degrees, they are more likely to overheat. Grizzer doesn’t take to warm temperatures very well, and is often observed panting on the warmer spring days. Wolves don’t have sweat glands over their body like humans, instead, they are covered in hair to keep them warm. Cooling is done by panting to evaporate heat off of their tongue, and some heat is lost through their paws.
Malik’s been seeking more contact with the staff, a sign that he is more relaxed. He continues to have loud threat displays towards Grizzer, but as the weather warms and Grizzer slows down a bit, Malik has actually started using the technique we term “shadowing on Grizzer. This is where one wolf follows another to intimidate them. Grizzer uses it on Malik a lot. Malik is also very active in doing a foreleg stab at Grizzer when Shadow has Grizzer pinned to the ground. This is a common behavior of a wolf that is not as comfortable with approaching and physically grabbing but, wants to get a dominant stab at a vulnerable wolf, especially one higher ranking. We’ve been attempting to get this on film to include in the ethogram.
Shadow has gained weight, but we must qualify, the measurement taken today was post deer feeding. Shadow and Malik shared a deer torso and 2 front legs last night. Today's wolf check revealed very little left from a 50 lb feeding. So, theoretically, Shadow may have 8 – 12 lbs of meat in his system. But, considering he was 71 lbs at his last weight 2 weeks ago, and is now 16 lbs heavier, he did gain something, probably around 5 lbs. We know by interacting with him that his body feels less bony. We will continue to feed Shadow as much as he wishes. If anyone's interested in buying Shadow dinner, you can make a donation to the wolf care fund, and please make a note that it's earmarked for Shadow.
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