Boltz – A Year in Review

What a difference a year makes…

Boltz’s tail shows a T-1 posture, a sign of intensity, and in this case, it’s involved in a social greeting, but a T-1 tail can also be a sign of aggression, predatory behavior or threat display.  In the last month, Boltz has show an increase in intensity, particularly towards Aidan, but Aidan maintains a strong show of leadership and has become more physical in showing Boltz some limits. 

In contrast, this post was from a January 2014 log:

“Boltz continues to show tendencies to be the lowest ranking pack member and we have spent a lot of time trying to keep his confidence level up and make sure he takes enough initiative to get his fair share of food.  He does seek out the straw beds and is frequently resting with Luna.”

What a difference a year makes…

Denali – A Year in Review

Denali spent the year avoiding conflict and trying not to be the center of Luna and Boltz’s attention.  It appears, that is how he is spending the end of the year as well.  The best way to describe Denali is a mild- mannered wolf that likes to avoid conflict and never wants to miss a meal.  He is very responsive to his litter-mate, Aidan and as you can see in this photo, he often shows social displays while greeting.

Luna – A Year in Review

We started out the Year 2014 with -40 below zero temperatures on January 1st, and a winter that continued to dump snow and cold weather.  Luna did extremely well last winter and all evidence shows that she is tolerating this winter as well.   In August 2014, we received great news about blood work, for the first time since we acquired Luna we had all normal values in every one of her nutritional tests, and most importantly, her vitamin D levels.  We are watching for signs of Luna pair bonding with Aidan, but at this point, the best we have to offer is Luna choosing to sleep closer to Aidan.

Aidan – A Year in Review

Aidan continues to lead the Exhibit Pack, but seems to be a bit more relaxed than last year at this time.  Luna and Boltz may be part of the reason, they will be three years of age in March, 2015 and maturing beyond some of the indiscriminate testing behavior of two year old wolves.  Aidan had some medical concerns in 2014 related to his food consumption and digestion.  Initially, we thought it was improved by the addition of probiotics in his diet, but by August, he seemed to have some issues with lethargy as well.  We made a decision to immobilize him and take him to the Veterinary clinic, something we rarely do with dominant wolves (we risk losing their status when removing them from the pack).   Fortunately, we found no physical cause of the digestive issue, but a month-long dose of Pepcid AC seemed to improve his physical condition and his activity level. He continues to be very active, frequently greeting all the wolves and continues to maintain a strong bond with his littermate Denali.

Grizzer – A Year in Review

Grizzer started the Year 2014 in the middle of two packs, the Retired Pack and the Exhibit Pack.  The Retired Pack stimulated most of the howling and kept Grizzer stimulated to rally with high pitched chatter that was unique to his personality.  Grizzer howled the low toned howls with Shadow after Malik passed away, and joined the silence of the Exhibit Pack as Shadow, the true pack leader passed away in July.  It has been a year of transitions for Grizzer.  In late July, he transitioned into a 3-enclosure design, using the pack holding area, the pine habitat and the east side enclosure (formerly Shadow and Malik’s area).  This freedom to roam throughout three enclosures has increased Grizzer’s stimulus and has made him more active.  We have also incorporated more staff into Grizzer’s enclosures, increasing his opportunity for social contact.  We are also in the design stages for an expansion to the wolf lab that will allow direct access from and indoor kennel to the Pack Holding area.  This will be used by the 2016 pups, but as Grizzer ages, he can also use this design to get some relief from cold nights.  We have a good start on funding this project and hope to have some building designs available soon.

Grizzer – Exciting Visits

Grizzer has been very excitable in his greetings recently. Some wolf care staff are only able to visit him on a monthly basis, but when they do return he seems to take great joy in seeing them again. We’ve seen many more Grizzer 500’s as of late, and we’ve been greeted many times with Grizzer rolling to his back and soliciting scratches. Overall, Grizzer appears to be in a great mood.

Luna – Where she goes, crazy follows

Not much has changed in Luna’s world recently, she is still instigating many chases and mobbings, but we also see a few odd behaviors now and then (Odd for her at least). Yesterday she was seen fully submitting to Aidan, an even that’s often much more loud and obnoxious for her. We still hope to see some pair bonding between the two of them, but for now, Luna continues to live out her juvenile behaviors.

Denali – Eating in Peace

Denali seldom gets a chance to eat in peace. His pack mates, primarily Luna and Boltz, commonly beg for, or try to snatch meals whenever they can. In this week’s photo you can see Luna soliciting some attention from Denali. At first this just appears social, but it most often ends with Luna rolling between Denali and his food, only to snatch it and run off with it.

Denali is relatively good at guarding his food, but every once in a while he misses out from Luna’s tactics.

Boltz – Keyed in to the Environment

Staff noticed Boltz panting and looking up repeatedly one day last week. There was no evidence of anything that could have frightened him, or otherwise made him so nervous. Wolf care staff conducted an extra perimeter check and found no tracks, nor downed branches. It’s important to remember key things that tend to make the wolves nervous, such as things moving over their heads. Likely a branch did fall down near to where Boltz may have been sleeping, causing him to exhibit this nervous behavior. We’re happy to report that this has subsided in the days following whatever may have occurred.

Aidan – Finding the Balance

With Aidan’s abdominal issues this summer, wolf care staff treated him with several medications to remedy his discomfort. As we approached autumn, the problems seemed to subside. Aidan has been much more social with both the pack, and wolf care staff, and all around seems to be feeling much better. Now our job is to find what medications of his are required to maintain his current state, and which ones we can back off on.