Denali has remained relatively unchanged by the stresses of the week. We did see one incident of posturing after Aidan returned to the pack, but it did not last. Aidan is quick to remind Denali of his rank within the pack. Denali remains close to the pups, often engaging them in play behavior, and in general accompanying them on their investigations within the enclosure.
Upon Aidan’s return to the pack after his medical examination, we did notice some posturing towards Aidan from Boltz. 2 year olds will often test the ranks, perhaps to climb them. Aidan ignored most of the advances however, and Boltz did not push his limits. It is important to note these behaviors however. Boltz could very well be the next dominant male after Aidan retires.
On Thursday of this week we immobilized Aidan to take to the local veterinarian in order to diagnose the recent medical issues he’s been facing. We’ve been noticing a distension in his belly, and it hasn’t been due to food. With the recent medical issues we faced with our older wolves Shadow and Malik, we were concerned about a potential mass or tumor in Aidan’s abdomen.
Thankfully we were able to determine that there was nothing physically abnormal about his abdomen, no masses nor tumors, the distension appears to be fat. We took blood and urine for analysis to determine the reason for this excess fat.
When taking a social animal, like the wolf, out of the enclosure, it is important to note the possibility of the pack not accepting him back in. The short few hours of separation can appear to be dispersal from the pack, meaning that he has left the pack. This often occurs in younger animals in the wild, when sexually mature wolves leave the pack, often in search of a mate for their own. This risk is why we seldom sedate an individual animal for diagnosis unless it is absolutely necessary. In this case, Aidan returned to the pack strong, and hasn’t had any major issues since returning. We are still waiting for the test results to determine how we can make him feel better, but for now, he has returned to the pack maintaining his status as the dominant male.
Boltz may try to catch Denali, but with those long legs, he can turn on the speed and put some distance in between his lower ranking packmate. Denali will probably be the most affected if Boltz starts testing, I am not sure how Denali will take being number 3 male in the rank order. Of course, as long as he gets his deer deer carcasses, Denali seems content.
Grizzer likes his massages from wolf care staff and he doesn’t like to end a session. His relaxed look on his face tells the tale, as far as Grizzer is concerned, that’s the reason we exist. It’s hard to believe he’s 10 years old, his actions resemble a two year old somedays, especially if staff are working on other tasks and ignoring him.
We started noticing Aidan’s guard hairs beginning to gray around his forehead and at the tip of his tail. It seems like it happened overnight. Denali has always been the gray ghost of the enclosure, but if Luna and Boltz keep testing their limits, Aidan may continue with this premature graying. Of course, we are always concerned with Aidan because he has an autoimmune disorder. Stress for him has some negative implications.
Boltz has been the lowest ranking pack member since he was a pup living with all of Luna’s “Special Needs”. He joined a pack of two strong males, both weighing over 130 lbs and neither one willing to just let Boltz climb to the top of the male rank order. But, now that Boltz is maturing, we are seeing some sign of his confidence building as he comes of age. He will be adding a bit more bulk in the upcoming months and will definitely be a player in this winter’s dominance.
Soon, the summer season will be a distant memory and the fall leaves will turn. The contrast between Luna in the fall colors is striking, but even more striking is the tendency of the younger wolves (Boltz and Luna) to ambush birds as they make a stop in the enclosure before they finish their migration south. For some, they don’t make it, for others, their skills of flight keeps them alive another day. Luna seems to have a very strong predatory drive. This might be why she has a tendency to watch the TV near the auditorium window. Luna provided some good behaviors during the recent wolf watch, tossing deer hides, attempting to distract Aidan so she could take his deer leg. She even showed a pairbonding moment with Aidan. We have it on film, so there’s no denying that Luna has the ability to be part of a socially bonding dominant pair.
There are few things that can stop Luna when she decides she wants to guard food, or begin a chase, or in general roughhouse with another wolf. In this week’s photo you can see Luna leaping away from Denali during one of these playful sessions. She’s standing with her weight completely on her back legs, her back right leg being the one she had injured as a pup. As we mentioned last week, her Vitamin D levels are finally in a normal range, and she certainly shows it. Now and then we still see joint aches, but overall, Luna has not been slowed down by her condition.
One of our wolf care staff commented that Grizzer’s pond in retirement is beginning to look like a tropical spa, what with leaves and berries hanging closely over the clear water. Grizzer often takes advantage of his cool retreat during the last few hot days of the summer, which seem to have finally caught up to us here in Northern Minnesota.
