Grizzer – A Great Patient

Grizzer has had issues with his right eye for several years.  He received some tissue damage at the top of his head from altercations with Denali that resulted in some nerve and muscle damage.  This resulted in his inability to blink his upper eyelid.  His 3rd eyelid or nictitating membrane does close offering some relief from irritation.  When we watch nightime surveillance video, we are able to document the movement of this membrane as it obscures the “night shine” of the cornea, at a rate of about 1 movement per every 5 blinks of his left eye.  The nictating membrane is important to remove debris from the cornea and it’s wolf care staff’s responsibility to clean debris from the corner of his eye (actually, all the ambassador’s) on a daily basis.  During last week’s unusually dry and windy weather, his eye was a bit irritated.  To provide him some relief, the veterinarians prescribed an eye ointment that was delivered twice a day.  Grizzer willingly took his treatment and his eye is better this week, especially with the return of some moisture to the air.  We weighed Grizzer on May 1st as part of the spring medical regime.  Grizzer’s weights have fluctuated the last few years, but we are certainly at a heightened state of awareness with Grizzer’s loss of 11 pounds since last spring’s physical.  Grizzer is scheduled for a full blood panel later this spring and we definitely want to test all systems to make sure he is aging well.  The loss of weight might be in response to the fact that he tripled his real estate by having access to the East Side enclosure after the sad loss of Shadow and Malik.

6/4/2013 Grizzer  118.6 lbs
8/14/2013 Grizzer 122.76 lbs
6/13/2014 Grizzer 123.0 lbs
5/1/2015 Grizzer  111.9 lbs

 

Boltz – Will Luna Ever be Anything More?

Boltz and Luna were both born in 2012, and even though they had an unusual separation because of Luna’s condition, they were pup mates.  Pup mates wrestle, scruff bite, growl, bite some more, snap, bite some more and drag each other around as they practice skills to be an opportunistic predator.  When one pupmate is the lone female and is expected to fulfill the rank of the dominant female, it’s hard for the other pupmate to transition to this change in relationship.  Will Luna every be anything more than a pup mate to wrestle with?  As they both mature, they both may grow out of the need for the pup to pup rough housing.  Although, there are times that Aidan and Denali still act like pup mates, so it could just be in their nature.  At this point, we just need to calm the rough housing a bit so it doesn’t create a stimuli for Boltz to test Aidan.  We’ve been seeing a little testing as he matured, but nothing that Aidan can’t handle.  One more winter and then the pups come.  Pups will be the change in focus that Aidan needs to give him some relief.  If Boltz wants to wrestle, the addition of two male pups in the fall of 2016 will give him the chance.

Denali – Looking for Some Personal Space

When Aidan gets a bit frustrated, he tends to dominate Denali (Aidan on Denali’s back)… but that doesn’t seem to bother Denali as much as when Luna is in his personal space.  There seems to be about a one-foot buffer around Denali’s face that will get the annoyed threat display response if you enter his space. Fortunately, Denali has a good demeanor and within minutes of this facial expression, he will do a playbow and tail wag to instigate more interaction.

Grizzer – That Feels Good

Grizzer likes the wolf care checks when we massage his coat and do a good check for ectoparasites and other issues.  His facial expressions certainly tell us that it feels good.   During a Wolf Enrichment Webinar last week, the pack was very distracted and seemed to be focused on the upper wood line of the enclosure.  Based on the pack’s behavior, I asked a staff member to go to the back door and check it out.    We had a wolf adjacent to the fence line by the Exhibit Pack.  I don’t know who was more startled, the wolf or the staff member.  The wolf took off and circled behind the enclosure to the East side enclosure.  Grizzer didn’t respond much at the time, but Aidan was sure hopping and running the fence line. Several bouts of howling were recorded on the Wolf Watch program on Friday night (the night before the webinar), I guess we have our answer as to the stimuli.

Aidan – Willing to Pairbond?

There are times when Aidan shows his tendency to pair bond with Luna (as shown in this photo, standing shoulder to shoulder with Luna), then there are times when Luna drives him to avoidance behavior.  We know Aidan can pair bond.  We have fond memories of he and Maya pair bonding in what turned out to be the last few weeks of Maya’s life.  Aidan is extremely possessive of pups (yes, even Luna) and has a strong associative behavior with Denali.  But, pair bonding takes two and when the energy level is calm, we see the possibility in Luna.  Unfortunately, these calm moments don’t last long and she’s back to wrestling with Boltz or tossing a deer hide in the air.  Aidan is strong and we are on a good path of treatment for his Discoid Lupus. The presence of pups next summer will stimulate prolactin.  We know Aidan can bond, maybe the prolactin stimuli will be to key to maturing Luna’s behavior.

Luna – Three and Going Strong

So sorry for the delay in postings.  We celebrated Luna’s 3rd birthday on March 25th with a webinar featuring a short clip of her birthday. She received a cow leg, and in a behavior uncharacteristic of Luna, chose to lie quietly with her cow leg until the webinar ended.  Of course, moments later, she was wrestling and defending her leg from Denali and Boltz, but proceeded to carry it around, drop it in front of the other wolves wolves, then growl in defense of the leg.  This went on for hours after the webinar, and reminded us of Lucas’s behavior from the 1993 litter.  Lucas was the only male in a litter of 4 and without another male, he tended to stay out of the rank order.  He was famous for carrying deer heads, dropping them in front of the dominant female, MacKenzie, then growling at her if she showed interest. 

This week’s image shows Luna doing a play bow which was followed by an invite chase behavior.  I posted the video of this on YouTube last week, Aidan was pawing the ground like he was in a bull fight.  Could this be Luna’s idea of pair bonding?

Boltz Turned Three on March 17, 2015

Boltz was three years old on March 17th, and in honor of his birthday, we attempted to provide him a significant treat in the form of a cow leg.  Unfortunately, Boltz’s lack of confidence in keeping the steer leg resulted in Luna spending most of the webinar enjoying it, with only a brief loss to Denali.  As the evening advanced, surveillance video captured Boltz enjoying the leg 4 hours after the webinar ended.  Boltz did manage to guard 3 beaver feet.  As the photo shows, his lip curl is sufficient to keep the other wolves at bay.

Luna – Spring Fever

Luna has become extremely excitable and interactive with other members of the exhibit pack, as seen in this week’s youtube video. Perhaps this excitement is coming from all the new smells and weather patterns we’re seeing with the coming of spring. Winter hormones will soon be on the decline, as the breeding season has come to a close.

Grizzer – Sharing Territory

 We continue to see a lot of howling behavior from Grizzer towards the back of his enclosure. We likely have some activity from other animals in the area surrounding the International Wolf Center. There have been several sightings of Lynx and Bobcats in the Ely area, and prior to the melt, we’ve seen quite a few signs of wild wolves nearby. With the melt, it’s very difficult to determine what is hanging around the enclosure, but Grizzer is certainly aware of it.

               The International Wolf Center is also hosting a fundraiser to help us expand the Wolf Lab, to allow more space for new pups, but also an indoor enclosure that older, or sick wolves may be brought into for better care. This expansion would connect directly with Grizzer’s enclosure, allowing him to come into the indoor enclosure with ease if needed! Please keep an eye on our facebook profile for more information on how you can support this project!

 

Denali – Feet made for snow walking

Wolf physiology is made to thrive in winter, right down to the toes. In this week’s photo, Denali demonstrates the spread of the wolf’s paw, allowing them more surface area on their step. This can help their stability, but also their ability to reduce the amount they will sink into the snow. Their toes have partial interdigital webbing, a segment of skin that can stretch between toes to further this surface area.