Guarding Food

This entry was written by visiting Wolf Care Staff Volunteer, Cameron Feaster. Boltz’s ability to guard food from the other members of the exhibit pack has increased greatly in the past year. When he was much younger, Boltz would often abandon food he had possessed rather than defend it, leading wolf care staff to worry about his nutritional intake. But we’ve seen his ability to take possession of a deer leg, or a scrap of meat, grow rapidly. This week he was seen actively defending his portion of a deer leg from Luna, who is perhaps the most food possessive of all the packmembers.

Sharing Dominance

Aidan’s been sharing some dominance with Luna over both Denali and Boltz and while he can take control of situations, he often stands back and watches. With all dominant animals, we know that stress levels are higher for the wolves that are keeping the pack under control. We want to make sure that Aidan gets enough relief from the yearlings to keep stress levels down. The Exhibit Pack will really start to increase as Boltz matures and winter advances.

Increase In Activity

This entry was written by visiting Wolf Care Staff Volunteer, Cameron Feaster. With the winter making an early arrival, we’re already beginning to see a big increase in activity from all the wolves. Aidan is a perfect example of this activity increase, as he is commonly seen initiating play with the other wolves. This week he was seen performing several playbows and foreleg stabs towards Luna, trying to initiate some form of interaction with her. Wolf care staff hope that this behavior towards Luna may be a part of the pairbonding rituals commonly seen in the dominant wolves of a pack.

Giving Thanks

I would like to thank all of the members and donors who support our educational mission at the International Wolf Center. I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving and would like to report that all of the wolves are doing well. We have some great pack interactions as the winter begins and our wolf care staff are so honored to work with these incredible ambassador wolves.

Giving Thanks

I would like to thank all of the members and donors who support our educational mission at the International Wolf Center. I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving and would like to report that all of the wolves are doing well. We have some great pack interactions as the winter begins and our wolf care staff are so honored to work with these incredible ambassador wolves.

Attempts at Testing

Boltz is showing more testing behavior and seems to be attempting to test Aidan whenever Aidan is preoccupied with Luna or Denali. Aidan is very strong in his response to show dominance, and so far, this is enough to keep Boltz submissive. It is natural for a yearling to attempt multiple tests when the situation arises, but if the pack leader is strong, it’s been our experience that there’s a level of acceptance of their position as they reach two years of age.

Treatment Finished

Aidan’s finished his treatment for lupus, and the pigmentation on his nose has returned with the exception of two spots. We are keeping him on some additional vitamins and monitoring the pigmentation status closely. He’s been very relaxed and we are starting to see some strong social behavior that may be close to pair-bonding with Luna. This behavior will likely increase as the winter advances.

Testing

Boltz has been feeling the affects of a young wolf with some new hormones. He already has an eye stare that makes us wonder what he’s up to, now he’s getting some frisky behavior that seems to increase as the temperatures decrease. As a young male with two fairly strong males above him, he’s taking his testing behavior and redirecting it to Luna. Luna and Boltz jawspar just like a pair of pups, but the intensity is increasing by the day. The good thing is that Boltz is easily distracted. He seems to enjoy taking items, and frequently checks the staff pockets. A deer hide is gold mine for Boltz and if he is too excited, we can easily divert his attention. The only problem is, if Luna gets there first, she will guard it with all her might.

Winter is Here

Sorry for the delay in logs, time is slipping by as we are getting ready for winter (which arrived last night). We have 4 inches of snow on the ground and whatever was laying in the wolf yard will now be stuck in the snowblower. Let’s hope there are no moose bones. Aidan is doing extremely well with a lot of good social contact with staff. We have about 4 days left with his Discoid Lupus treatment and we will be taking a break for a while to see the pigmentation stays on its’ own. Aidan has a clear command of the male rank order, but Luna still makes him cringe and avoid her. We have started to see him assert some dominance, but Luna’s fairly intense greetings can be overwhelming. We do see Aidan doing a lot more chasing behavior than earlier this fall, and the distended stomach issues that we noticed in late summer seem to be gone. The vets tested for parasites, cushings disease and even considered doing an immobilization for more invasive sampling, but we decided against taking him out of the pack even for a short veterinary procedure. He might have just had a bit too many of Luna’s leftovers.

Sideward Glance

I can always tell when Boltz has a slight surge in hormones, he gets extremely friendly, not just with wolf care, but he seems to increase his social behavior with the wolves, specifically Denali. Boltz is known for his sideward glances of mistrust towards both wolves and humans, but as he matures, he seems to be getting more comfortable with the dynamics of the group.