Shadow was always exuberant in his greetings… Curator, Lori Schmidt on the left and long-time volunteer, Sherry Jokinen on the right.
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After 14 years, the memories are plentiful and are often accompanied by a smile; but to honor, where do we start? Because we study behavior, we will use the behavioral terms that most represent Shadow.
- Direct Eye Stare and Avert Gaze: Shadow could control anyone with just one look and knew when to avoid engaging in some juvenile or lower pack member confrontations.
- Greeting: There has been no other wolf in the history of the Center’s operation that could clean a face better than Shadow’s daily greetings (even if they included a low throated growl)
- Invite Chase: Pushing up from a playbow into a full run away from another wolf inviting them to chase… even displaying this behavior in retirement where the chase was diminished but the playbow was alive and well
- Chin Rest: Who could forget the power of one chin on another wolf’s back… wolf care staff borrowed this technique from Shadow and use it to control young pups.. a hand on top of the muzzle, neck or back
- Parallel Gate: He was the master at pair bonding and the image of Maya and Shadow will forever be in my mind
- Howls: Who could forget the pack leader howls and the bark howls that told us when enough was enough
There are so many more memories that remind us how honored we are to work with these complex, social predators… Shadow, you trusted our team. Every time you placed your head on our shoulder or gently rested your head against our head, it reinforced that trust and our commitment to provide our wolves with the best care possible. Our greatest respect and heartfelt appreciation Shadow.. RIP Our Dear Friend…
From the Ely Wolf Care Staff
Shadow was euthanized on Wednesday, July 2nd, 2014 after staff documented a significant physical decline in his overall condition, most likely age-related. While details of the necropsy report may be weeks away, the surveillance camera and video review of his activity in weeks and days before his decline revealed an aging body, but a strong alert mind.
Shadow’s loss so close to Malik’s was hard, but we know, that 14 years of age is a good run and both of these boys had a few good runs in their life. As I review the photos on facebook and images I used for the tribute, there were many good times. Shadow was an incredible personality, a strong pack leader that held the Exhibit Pack together for 8 years and we were fortunate to have known him. Certainly Shadow began to show his age as he led the Exhibit Pack, but the few months we have witnessed a notable change. As Wolf Care Staff, we always want to be responsive to that moment when pain and discomfort is too much to bear. We are legally bound to this management by USDA permits and ethically bound to this management when we bond with socialized wolves. We owe it to the wolves who have served as ambassadors, “Teaching the World about Wolves”. There are countless visitors that witnessed Shadow displaying the intricacies of wolf behavior and Shadow has made a lasting impression.
The thoughts, kind words and stories are welcome and shared by the wolf care staff. So, let’s welcome, yet again, another wolf to the “Gone but Not Forgotten Pack” and rest assured, our staff will never forget Shadow.
On the night that Shadow made his final journey with the Wolf Care staff to the University of Minnesota Diagnostic Lab, Grizzer had several bouts of howling. No doubt, the activity of all the wolf care staff in the yard is unsettling for Grizzer. There have been many emergencies when he was the source of the attention. But, after the yard cleared and he had some quiet time with staff, he settled down and showed very little anxiety of Shadow’s loss. We waited for the noise of the 4th of July weekend to subside and allowed Grizzer access to the main retired enclosure on Monday morning. Surveillance cameras show that Grizzer slept in the main den that night. He has access to all 3 areas. the front “Pack Holding Area” “Grizzer’s Habitat” and the” Traditional Retirement Enclosure”. When there is activity in the yard, he comes to the front, when the Exhibit Pack is racing around, he watches from the top of his den in the back habitat and when things are relaxed, he seems to rest on the pile of wood chips that Shadow so frequently used. We will make every attempt to draw him over to the webcam, but with the freedom to roam about, we don’t always know when he will arrive. One thing for certain, Grizzer is too much of a roll on back wolf to have greetings on the top of a den. He nearly rolled off the main den on Monday. We will have to work out a routine that is safe. In June, Grizzer weighed in at 123 lbs, life in retirement must be good.
| 8/8/2004 | Grizzer – Pup | 41 lbs |
| 5/6/2005 | Grizzer – Yearling | 93.5 lbs |
| 5/2/2008 | Grizzer – 4 Years | 110 lbs |
| 4/22/2009 | Grizzer – 5 Years | 121.25 lbs |
| 4/29/2010 | Grizzer – 6 Years | 124.52 lbs |
| 3/6/2012 | Grizzer – 8 Years | 116.16 lbs |
| 6/4/2013 | Grizzer – 9 Years | 118.6 lbs |
| 6/13/2014 | Grizzer – 10 Years | 123.0 lbs |
Luna has been showing some strong predatory drive, not only in social interactions with her pup mate (Stalking and Pouncing on Boltz), but whenever there is some fast movement that catches her eye, she is quick to react. We will be doing our annual blood work on Luna to look at her nutritional status, specifically vitamin D. All external indicators show that she is doing well. Her coat is glossy, she is active, alert, clear eyes, strong teeth (personal experience tells me this), but we need to know medically how she is progressing. We are very impressed with her weight. Here is a progressive chart of her weight since she was a fall pup. I don’t think anyone would have predicted her to be a 91 lb female. There were days when we didn’t know if she would survive her first winter, but other than a slight limp, she seems to be thriving.
| 8/17/2014 | Luna-Pup | 44.5 lbs |
| 6/4/2013 | Luna – Yearling | 79.4 lb |
| 6/13/2014 | Luna – 2 Years | 91.7 lbs |
For comparison purposes, here are Maya’s comparable weights, although Maya (born May 5, 2004) was very reluctant to get on the scale, so we missed he weights between 2 and 4 years of age:
| 8/8/2004 | Maya – Fall Pup | 38.8 lbs |
| 5/6/2005 | Maya – Yearling | 79.5 lbs |
| 7/7/2008 | Maya – 4 Years | 93.5 lbs |
It always amazes me that these young adults can be so intent on testing and looking for every opportunity to climb social rank, but when a bee or a hoard of flies is overhead, they run for the hills. This is the response Boltz has been having as the biting files (the ones that chew their ears have emerged). The good news is that his ears don’t have one fly bite, the bad news is, no-one sees Boltz during viewing hours. We are working on a solution, and Boltz seems willing to accept Cedar Oil spray which keeps the hoards at bay. Combine this tolerance with the fact that so far, the summer seems to have at least one day a week with a high in the 60’s and we are managing just fine. I don’t know where the summer went, but it is going fast.
Due to Boltz’s shyness, it took a while to get his weight on the scale, but here is his weight progression since his fall pup weight.
| 10/18/2012 | Boltz – Pup | 85.5 lbs |
| 6/5/2013 | Boltz -Yearling | 102.5 lbs |
| 6/13/2014 | Boltz – 2 Years | 111.9 lbs |
Let’s just say, the title says it all. Denali hasn’t seemed to grow out of some of the juvenile displays of dominance like squashing your packmate. Boltz seems to willingly accept this behavior, after growing up with Luna as a pupmate, it might be a welcome relief to have a “Pupmate” that socially engages without teeth. Regardless, there seems to be little strife between these two males who are clearly subordinate to Aidan. We did get Denali to shed most of his undercoat. It seemed to come out in a 48 hour period. Fortunately, we had a strong wind, and the undercoat that we didn’t save for hair samples (the retail store will be selling vials of hair), blew away in the wind and probably became some good fiber for a birds nest. We did weigh Denali in June and he is weighing in at 134.5 lbs. nearly equal to Aidan, but with Denali, we know he can put on the pounds with a full meal.
| 8/29/2008 | Denali – Pup | 55.7 lbs |
| 4/22/2009 | Denali – Yearling | 108.03 lbs |
| 4/29/2010 | Denali – 2 Years | 107.36 lbs |
| 6/5/2011 | Denali – 3 Years | 124 lbs |
| 6/4/2013 | Denali – 5 years | 130.1 lbs |
| 6/13/2014 | Denali – 6 Years | 134.5 lbs |
Not sure why we missed his weights in 2012… the weight scale is a large metal scale designed for pigs… it can be intimidating for wolves, usually Denali is the first on the scale, but it is a major event to get the wolves to stand still long enough to get a read on the digital box.
The pack is definitely displaying summertime activity patterns with activity beginning at dawn (usually with a howl), and fading by 10 am, then picking up again at sunset. Since we started the probiotic, Aidan is definitely in a much better physical and mental state. He is very social and despite Luna’s “in your face style of greeting”, Aidan has displayed several roll on back greetings to the pack. His pigmentation remains dark on his nose and shows no other signs or issues with his health. When we moved Shadow into the lab, we did bring him next to the Exhibit fence, and while Aidan was whining at the edge of the fence, he didn’t show any signs of anxiety or withdrawal from social behavior. I’m not sure why the last logs didn’t post, but we did take weights on June 13th. Aidan weighed 136.25 lbs, making him the largest wolf currently on display at the Center. It doesn’t beat the largest weight ever recorded at the Center, that goes to Denali, who weighed in at 138.6 lbs last fall. Of course, these weights are subjective, a wolf can gorge and carry 20 lbs of meat in their stomach, but we try to weigh on Friday’s before a big meal. This is also when we have the most staff available to accomplish this multi-tasking event. Getting one wolf on the scale to stand still before the others try to join in is a challenge for the whole wolf care team.
Aidan was born on April 27, 2008. Here is a chart of his weight progressions by year:
11/21/2008 Aidan – Pup 87.2 lbs
4/22/2009 Aidan – Yearling 106.70 lbs
4/29/2010 Aidan – 2 years 106.92 lbs
6/5/2011 Aidan – 3 Years 124 lbs
6/14/2012 Aidan – 4 Years 123 lbs
6/4/2013 Aidan – 5 Years 129 lbs
6/13/2014 Aidan – 6 Years 136.25
Grizzer is the Opposite of Denali in most behavioral interactions and he is the opposite in his shedding patterns. Where Denali has barely shed a handful, Grizzer has shed half of his body size in one brushing. When we say Grizzer blows his coat, we mean, his undercoat has let loose and it his coming out in sheets. We do save the hair and in the past have made bracelets from the undercoat. At this point, we are producing more hair than product.
Last week, we attempted to reunite Grizzer and Shadow long term, but came to the realization that Grizzer is a strong 10-year old that has had life his way, on his terms for a while. It is hard to adjust to competition again. The reality is, Shadow is only 4 years older, but at the age of 14, he is too old to put up with the activity level and food defense of Grizzer. We know Shadow’s time is limited at this age, and we don’t want to have more stress than he needs. We also have to be mindful that, if they were together again, and Shadow dies, Grizzer is left with another transitional separation issue. At this point, weighing all decisions, we think it’s best to have 2 retirement options. To see our initial reunited efforts between Grizzer and Shadow, see last week’s Youtube.
Denali has a full undercoat and shows limited signs of blowing his coat like Grizzer. We do brush it, but it just doesn’t want to let loose. He may be the smartest of us all as the constant barrage of bugs can’t find their way to Denali’s underbelly, but the hot humid days are hard. It’s not that Denali doesn’t want to be brushed. He stands on the rock like he’s spending a day at the groomer and would probably even tolerate having his toenails clipped (haven’t tried it because wolves dig so much caching that they don’t need it). Eventually, we will see some movement, but for now, you can tell Denali apart because he is the only wolf in full winter pelage.
