Visitor

The logs this week are all the same. It’s been a busy week. We started with the discovery of some damage to an outside security fence behind the Retired Enclosure. It appears a wild wolf attempted to get into the secondary security fence behind the retired enclosure. There were a significant number of boards torn from the fencing with a lot of teeth marks. Surveillance video shows that it likely occurred on Sunday morning, although we don’t have a camera pointing directly at this fence, Shadow showed some tension and agitation. We had a group of students from Vermilion Community College volunteer with some invasive species removal. This is critical as the plants that they were pulling harden off with hundreds of burrs that get stuck in the wolves coats. Unfortunately, Aidan seemed to have the most stress about the work project. He was agitated while he was in holding, then after the students left and Aidan was released, he proceeded to have some fear avoidance behavior throughout the weekend. This created some interest from the other wolves that saw the dominant pack leader showing some weakness. We impose a lot of limits on activity in the wolf yard as winter approaches, but the removal of the invasive species is critical work that saves a lot of wolf frustration as staff try to pull burrs from their coat.

Relaxed and Full

Aidan has been completely relaxed this week. It seems the intense testing behavior experienced from Boltz a few weeks ago has subsided. Aidan showed a threat display that clearly indicated who was in charge. Boltz seems to respect that. So far, we have no medical reason why Aidan may have a bit of a distension on his stomach. He was sensitive to the touch, but that seems to have improved. The obvious cause is that he is over eating due to Luna’s needs. So, as you will see on Luna’s logs, we are redefining management a bit. If Aidan’s belly is from a few too many beaver popsicles, this is a good time of the year. Wolves typically lose weight over the winter as calorie output to keep warm increases.

Learning Lessons

Boltz seems to have learned a valuable lesson when testing Aidan. The lesson is, don’t do it unless you want a very powerful wolf to bite you in the head. It seems to have worked because Boltz has not shown any indication of testing Aidan since that video posting and images that I posted in mid-August. His new tact is to try to take advantage of Luna and treat her like a pup mate. He’s also finding that Luna’s not much more tolerant of his testing behavior than Aidan. The maturing juvenile seems to be driven to test his boundaries, the question is, on what.

Hormones

The YouTube video this week shows Boltz in some more pup-like behaviors than in previous weeks when he showed some inclination to climb rank. Young adult hormones can have these swings in behavior, but it also helps that Aidan showed him a strong defense to his testing and it seems to have reduced the intensity and focus of Boltz. Of course, it’s early in the fall and most of our testing takes place in winter, but we do know that Boltz is calmer if he is occupied. Let him get bored, and we have issues. Items that are stimulating include deer hides, legs, beaver tails and rib cages. All items that we have readily available.

Fall Calm?

Since Aidan asserted some active dominance over Boltz a few weeks ago, Boltz’s testing has diminished and the pack has been very calm. We also have reduced the number of programs and Behind the Scenes issues which stress out Aidan. If Aidan shows anxiety, Denali and Boltz are quick to take advantage of it. Historically, we know that the highest level of pack tension is when the new pups are between their first and 2nd year. The winter of 2001 – 2002 saw some dominance and the ultimate retirement of the 1993 litter when Shadow and Malik matured to 2 year olds. In 2006, Grizzer had a short bout of testing, but Shadow was such a strong pack leader, he showed Grizzer his place, and we had some good dynamics for several years. Aidan shows similar traits to Shadow and we will be watching to see if the same dynamics plays out with Aidan as the pack leader.

No New News

The logs are all the same this week. As the curator, I work full time during the summer months and when I return back to school, my hours are reduced to part time status of 20 hours a week. Friday was my first day back, so the Friday routine of Youtube and log postings was affected. I hope to return to the Friday schedule as I get settled into a routine, but the 20 hours are dedicated to wolf care, and combined with other wolf care staff, the wolves won’t notice a change in schedule. As far as the wolves, we have had a very calm, socially active week. It’s also been over 80 degrees, which might have an influence on behavior. I will be back to posting individual logs next week.

No New News

The logs are all the same this week. As the curator, I work full time during the summer months and when I return back to school, my hours are reduced to part time status of 20 hours a week. Friday was my first day back, so the Friday routine of Youtube and log postings was affected. I hope to return to the Friday schedule as I get settled into a routine, but the 20 hours are dedicated to wolf care, and combined with other wolf care staff, the wolves won’t notice a change in schedule. As far as the wolves, we have had a very calm, socially active week. It’s also been over 80 degrees, which might have an influence on behavior. I will be back to posting individual logs next week.

Gaining Confidence

Boltz still remains shy of some events, but his confidence is definitely picking up when it comes to the male rank order. It’s a natural response to try and climb rank order as the wolves mature, and Boltz is good at waiting for Aidan to be occupied by Luna and Denali, then coming in from behind for a ride up or a grab bite. Aidan clearly has the authority to give a lip curl or threat display and make Boltz’s ears drop. Body language is extremely important to wolves and it makes these ritualized dominance displays noisy, but it also prevents a lot of fighting for position. Boltz’s weight is 109.56 pounds at 1 1/2 years. We didn’t get a weight on Grizzer at this age, but Boltz’s weight match’s Grizzer’s weight of 110 pounds as a 4 year old wolf.

Summer Weight

We weighed the wolves this week and Aidan is now 133.76 lbs. That’s about 3 pounds heavier than the spring weight, which is to be expected. The late summer weights are usually the heaviest weights as they had a summer of enclosure enrichment programs that always means treats. We have had a vet consult and some medical testing for Aidan because of a concern over his sensitivity to areas on his stomach. He also has a bit of a stomach distension that may be more than just eating too many treats. The challenge is, Aidan’s status can be affected if he is immobilized while Boltz and Denali are not. The separation can cause them to test Aidan more intensely and is Aidan is still groggy from the medical exam, it can affect his ability to maintain status. We will weigh this option carefully as we try to make sure Aidan is as healthy as he can be, he will have a busy fall and winter establishing the Exhibit Pack rank order.

Testing

Boltz is showing much more signs of testing than in previous weeks. We’ve started to see more ride-up behaviors, lunging, T-1 Tails and jaw sparring as evidence that he wants to move up in rank. Fortunately, most of it has been directed towards Denali, with very little evidence that he will take on Aidan. We won’t intervene in rank order issues as long as there is no external stimulus that is affecting the outcome. Wolf care staff are most concerned with Boltz’s weaker social bond with humans. Of all the wolves on site, Boltz is least likely to spend social time with humans. The early whelping period in 2012 and the later acquisition age certainly influences the dynamics of the wolf exhibit as they age. Luna doesn’t have as many issues because her medical condition required constant attention and interaction with staff.