Written by Kristin Radermacher. Aidan, like his brother, started out the day with a rousing howl. He spent a lot of time outside chasing his brother. He was also observed digging holes and cacheing food.
Aidan continues to be wary of Maya, but there are moments where he initiates play behavior. His video clip this week shows this behavior. He's a bit of a prancer, riding up on his back legs to do a ride up on Maya. It will be interesting to see how he develops as an adult, and if this prancing behavior is just youthful exuberance. We have been experiencing a challenge in delivering daily vitamins to Aidan. The vitamins are given in a meatball, and all wolves are very excited at the fence while they are being delivered. This causes Aidan to be cautious of Maya, as her excitement level often leads to redirection. Assistant Curator, Donna Prichard developed a new protocol, stand around long enough for the other wolves to think you are out of meatballs, as they wander off, slip Aidan his vitamin.
The Webcams are back and installed in the Exhibit Pack. Thanks for your tolerance during these repairs. As soon as I had the Greeting Camera installed Aidan was laying on the rock. He spent some time scent rolling on our window washing soap which was a much better odor than the beaver scent he had been wearing. Aidan continues to paw at the medical pen door when Oscar is gone for a while or if he hears Oscar from inside the lab. He has a great start to a winter coat, which is nice to see on a wolf that had some stress in his life.
Aidan had a great visit with wolf care staff today, submissively rolling over and getting some positive social interaction for nearly 30 minutes. This is such a difference than what we experienced with Aidan during his first two years of life. Previously, as the lowest ranking pack member, it was difficult to give him attention without having the more dominant wolves intervene. Now, we have a similar issue, when Denali wants attention, Aidan intervenes.
Aidan has been increasing his possessive behavior around staff and this seems to make Denali more likely to prance around the Exhibit. Aidan was even described as charging and lunging just like Maya. Which, if you knew Maya, that's a compliment, she was the best at asserting rank order. We fed some additional food when we did the densite concrete and we fed a bit more this week as we had a gate installed for access to the back side of the enclosure. This means, we have some full wolves. Aidan has no problem eating his fair share of resources.
This week’s log’s contain all the same text. Not only do I serve as the Wolf Curator for the International Wolf Center, but I also work as an instructor at Vermilion Community College. It’s been a busy day with Vermilion Natural Resource students participating in the Governor’s deer hunting pre-hunt educational activities for area elementary schools. We left for the festivities at 7 am this morning and stayed for the entire day, leaving little time for regular wolf log duties. The wolves are all doing well, we had a few mornings with temperatures near 15 degrees which seemed to stimulate activity. The roadkill deer supply is doing well thanks to a call from the Wildlife Science Center in Forest Lake that provided extra roadkill. Unfortunately, the freezer compressor failed on the same day, so thanks to generous donations from alpha members, we are back in business. Even though nighttime temperatures have been below freezing, the daytimes are relatively warm, keeping the wolves resting throughout the day.
Aidan has been really demonstrating some intense behavior, following Denali, showing a T-2 tail posture. This usually starts when we begin wolf care, but by the time we're done, they are both lying on the straw den. The Youtube footage this week shows some great social behavior filmed from the auditorium window. There's even some shoulder to shoulder greeting between the two brothers.
We experienced the first week of significant cold with several days of – 20 degree weather. The impact on the wolves includes increased appetite and a slight increase in dominance. Aidan has been much more active and a bit more focused on chasing Denali. He settles down and submits for staff when greeting, but the tension is definitely in the air. This could also coincide with the time of the year, and even though the wolves at the Center are neutered, there is some chemical cycling during the breeding season which should be peaking in the next few weeks.
Staff have been actively working on getting the yearlings conditioned to brushing and techniques of handling. Aidan proves to be a bit of a challenge, as he has many anxious moments when the other wolves are around or are actively dominating each other. It's the job of wolf care staff to read his behavior, and counteract his tendency to redirect predatory behavior. He continues to show a lack of tolerance towards Denali's constant jaw sparring, and we will actively monitor their interactions as they mature into adults during this next year.
Written by Workin' For Wolves program participants Michele Amacker and Robyn Januszewski: Aidan continues to be somewhat reserved during group howls, possibly due to Maya's continued mixed signals. His video shows his hesitation in joining the group howl so as not to assert a status he is still unsure of. As part of the enclosure enhancement this week, minnows were added to the pond. Aidan's photo shows him pouncing on minnows in the pond. Aidan's prowess as a stalker and hunter was proven with the successful capture of numerous minnows.
The International Wolf Center advances the survival of wolf populations by teaching about wolves, their relationship to wildlands and the human role in their future.