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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Denali continues to test and bears the brunt of Grizzer's frustration with his behavior, usually a chase around the pond. Grizzer has yet to physically dominate Denali, he does a good enough job through body language and eye contact to keep Denali on the run.
Malik has a great video clip on the YouTube this week, he's doing some scent rolling, then he does a whirl and excitably runs through the enclosure, with Shadow chasing behind him. This wasn't an aggressive behavior, merely an excitement probably stimulated by the cooler weather. They certainly didn't act their ages.
Malik is certainly benefiting from Shadow's daily meal delivery. No matter how well the staff distracts, Malik manages to steal a fair amount of morsels from Shadow. Fortunately, we have plenty of food available, thanks to the kind donation of Retired Wolf Supporters, Judy Adler, Sharon Hibbard and Sharon Siebert. Your recent donations purchased a case of beef and chicken, which is about a 2 week supply. Thanks from the Retired wolves and the staff that care for them. Malik is starting to show some signs of social interaction above and beyond food possession, these littermates certainly get along well.
This week has been extremely warm for Ely, Minnesota standards with temperatures nearing 90 degrees and humidity exceeding 80%. It has been extremely hard on the wolves, and wolf care staff are doing what they can to make them comfortable. Wolves have are covered in hair and don't have sweat glands at the surface of their skin, resulting in a cooling mechanism of panting to evaporate heat and moisture off the surface of their tongue. This isn't a very efficient method in high humidity. Each wolf has distinct tolerances of heat, and has their own method for cooling. <br>Aidan is a den dweller, whether above ground or below, he seeks out the coolest protected ground he can find. The protection may have something to do with his status, being lower ranking, it's not just the heat that he's escaping, but the focus of the dominant female.
This week has been extremely warm for Ely, Minnesota standards with temperatures nearing 90 degrees and humidity exceeding 80%. It has been extremely hard on the wolves, and wolf care staff are doing what they can to make them comfortable. Wolves have are covered in hair and don't have sweat glands at the surface of their skin, resulting in a cooling mechanism of panting to evaporate heat and moisture off the surface of their tongue. This isn't a very efficient method in high humidity. Each wolf has distinct tolerances of heat, and has their own method for cooling. <br>Malik doesn't appear to have as much hair as Shadow, meaning he stays cooler. Malik also frequents the back of the Retired Enclosure, staying in the shade of the tall pines.
This week has been extremely warm for Ely, Minnesota standards with temperatures nearing 90 degrees and humidity exceeding 80%. It has been extremely hard on the wolves, and wolf care staff are doing what they can to make them comfortable. Wolves have are covered in hair and don't have sweat glands at the surface of their skin, resulting in a cooling mechanism of panting to evaporate heat and moisture off the surface of their tongue. This isn't a very efficient method in high humidity. Each wolf has distinct tolerances of heat, and has their own method for cooling. <br> Maya is a swimmer, who frequently takes a dip in the pond to cool off. Lately, she's been kept out of the den by Grizzer and possibly Aidan. This is an interesting dynamic, and certainly causes Maya a bit of redirected aggression when the temperatures finally do cool off at night.
This week has been extremely warm for Ely, Minnesota standards with temperatures nearing 90 degrees and humidity exceeding 80%. It has been extremely hard on the wolves, and wolf care staff are doing what they can to make them comfortable. Wolves have are covered in hair and don't have sweat glands at the surface of their skin, resulting in a cooling mechanism of panting to evaporate heat and moisture off the surface of their tongue. This isn't a very efficient method in high humidity. Each wolf has distinct tolerances of heat, and has their own method for cooling. <br>Shadow has been digging, trying to create an underground area near the pond and on the back side of the smaller den. He's also been caching a significant amount of the food we've given, which tells us that we have probably satiated him. We are hoping for a weight in the next week, but based on a physical observations and how he feels, we think he gained a fair amount of weight since retirement. Thanks again to the individuals that supported Shadow financially through this transition, we think he's back on track and his photo this week shows an alert, healthy individual who happens to still have dirt on his nose from a cache. On August 1st, Shadow was weighed after a large feeding, resulting in a probability of higher weight than actual. Today, we believe we have a more realistic weight of 85.4 lbs. This is a good weight gain since July, and after the weighing, he ate 2 more pounds of chicken, with 10 more thawing in the sink for tonight.
Shadow and Malik are starting to interact more, even though sleeping is the dominant activity of retired wolves. When the main pack starts a chase, Malik is very excited and runs the fence line in high tail. In contrast, Shadow is more watchful, but doesn't engage in the chase behavior. This may be related to the status of the two individuals when they were Exhibit Pack members, Malik, as lower ranking, was often being Chased, whereas Shadow, dominant wolf, was watchful of the pack.
Staff have noticed a change in Maya, being far more social. During wolf care today, Maya submitted for one of the staff members and stayed in a submissive posture with Denali on the rock above her. Of course, that only lasted less than 5 minutes as Denali rolled off the rock and landed on Maya, but it was quiet time, at least for a few minutes. It is interesting to watch Maya as she interacts with the pack, and for those of us who raised her from a pup, we need to remind ourselves how timid Maya was as a pup. She would squat urinate from 10 feet away as she approached staff, and she was clearly subordinate to Nyssa. It's hard to believe that she's the same wolf, but Shadow's interest in her boosted her confidence, and look at her today. There's hope for Aidan after all. Maya's down a bit in weight, weighing 85 lbs, down from the 89 lbs in April, but that is typical of summer.
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