shadow – Dec 17, 2007 12:00 AM

When we got the call last Sunday from the education intern about one of the arctic wolves limping, there was a sinking feeling that it was Shadow the dominant wolf. The challenges of treating a dominant wolf are quite different than any other ranking pack member, and Shadow is a critical component to the successful introduction of the pups in 2008. It is critical that the dominant wolf is not separated or removed from the lower ranking members, as they see this as an opportunity to move up in rank. It is also critical that during inspections or treatments, the dominant wolf is not shown to be vulnerable in front of the other wolves. In early attempts to inspect Shadow, Grizzer was placed in holding, but when he was released, he redirected aggression towards both Shadow and Malik for being separated. Staff needed to be creative to ensure that Shadow received treatments without agitating Grizzer. In addition to this challenge, Shadow decided to stop taking meatballs (he and Lakota must be up to something)… So, Shadow's daily anti-inflammatory and his twice daily antibiotics are now delivered in a small slice of butter. We have also added his cosequin to the butter ball and have decided to place him on Durlactin as well. Hopefully this meatball phase will end soon, but for the current bout of treatments, Shadow takes his pills well. He is definitely healing, feeling better and still in charge of the pack.