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.
The following log was written by Wolf Watch Observer:Joanne Wessels<br><br> Denali continues to instigate the majority of the chases and wrestling matches within the pack. He was also observed performing RLU's, and following up with ground scrapes, several times after marking. Denali urinated on a log and Maya immediately went to the log and over marked his scent. Not to be outdone, Denali returned to the log 3 minutes later and over marked Maya's scent, Maya did not return the message. Finally, Denali was observed standing beside Aidan for almost 7 minutes licking Aidan's leg's in a grooming behavior. <br> Note from the Curator <br><br> As a reminder, the Wolf Watch program will be scheduled the first Thursday of the month until the pack dynamics settles into some defined leadership. For more information, check out the Program tab on the website under Seminars…
The following log was written by Wolf Watch Observer: Peggy Peregrine<br><br> Maya is definitely the wolf that is very observant of the pack and the surroundings. She is always on alert and investigates sounds and movements inside as well as outside of the enclosure. Maya showed much more tolerance of Aidan than she has earlier in the week, with no chasing behavior observed during our observation period. This week's photo shows Maya rubbing under Aidan's chin, a social acceptance behavior. During our watch, Maya showed a brief submissive roll over to Aidan and Denali. Aidan and Maya spent the night together in the rock den, is this the beginning of an alliance? <br> Note from the Curator <br><br> As a reminder, the Wolf Watch program will be scheduled the first Thursday of the month until the pack dynamics settles into some defined leadership. For more information, check out the Program tab on the website under Seminars…
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>Denali is very tolerant of the heat, which may be related to his long legs, and the long expanse of his vascular system close to the surface. Denali deals with heat by finding some spot under the dense vegetation, but will share the den with Aidan. As the heat spell continued, there was far more agitated wolves in close proximity to each other, the warmer it was, the less tolerant they were in touching each other while sleeping. So, Denali would often get booted out of the den, usually by Grizzer.
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>Grizzer has two distinct habits. He can be a den dweller, and is frequently found with Aidan and if there's room, Denali. But, Grizzer is best known for digging a shallow depression, removing all the vegetation that might inhibit a good rest (he is a twig biter since a pup), then settling into some contorted posture for the duration. The YouTube video this weeks shows one of his creations.
Despite being the omega, Aidan has a significant amount of tail wagging greetings with Maya. It's always hard to separate the human emotion from the wolf reality, no doubt, as humans, we are always sympathetic to the plight of the underdog. But, the one thing we have learned about working with wolves is that wolves have social rules and a wolf pack has a top and it has a bottom. As wolf care staff, we need to be cognitive of the social rules. If we greet Aidan first out of sympathy, we can create redirected aggression towards Aidan from Maya and sometimes Grizzer. When we enter the enclosure, we greet Maya first, then deal with Denali, which is a whole other set of logs, then if Grizzer chooses to interact, we greet him. By the time this cycle is done and the other wolves move off, Aidan has some quiet time with staff. The best thing we can do for Aidan is keep the wolf yard quiet and avoid too much outside stimulus that gets Maya excited. Calm is best in a wolf yard.
Shadow has been a real treat to work with since retirement. His greetings are like no other wolf on site, and his relaxation as he transitions into the retirement life is very apparent. In an effort to increase his weight, we are now feeding Shadow at least 5 lbs of meat on a daily basis in addition to the twice a week larger feedings of deer or beaver. Shadow readily eats, so the issue of his weight loss is probably more due to stress and competition from his time in the Exhibit Pack. Shadow does initiate howls to the main pack, but overall, spends his time resting. It is interesting to note that Shadow hasn't bark howled since he's been retired. Bark howling is a warning communication generally directed towards strangers in the wolf yard and a responsibility of the pack leader to place himself between the strangers and his pack. Shadow certainly doesn't appear to show any of the behaviors of guarding the pack, I guess that's why they call it retirement.
Aidan can deal with Maya's dominance, and even though she is hard on him at times, he comes back to follow her and engage her in contact. Grizzer is another story, when Grizzer gets tense, he has been redirecting to Aidan and Aidan is showing a fear response from that interaction. For most of Aidan's 2 years of age, Grizzer has either been the source of wrestling, chasing or resting behavior, not aggression. Grizzer is going through a transitional stage on his role in the pack, and this uncertainty makes Aidan nervous. This relationship will be the focus of our upcoming wolf watch.
Maya has been very active guarding food in the enclosure, including beaver and deer carcasses. The wet, cooler weather has increased the wolves appetite, and the twice a week feedings have been a big benefit for Grizzer and Maya.
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