Aidan appears to be the pup with the most predatory behavior. This is most noticeable when there's a chase in the enclosure, he has honed his lunging and grabbing behavior. Likely from the hours of wrestling the pups do on a daily basis. The temperatures continue to be in the -20 below range, but the pups show no problem with the temperatures. They are active all day long, and appear to both bed together in the new slate den.
The wolves did well with the recent cold snap last week. Wolf care faced temperatures of – 39 below on 2 mornings, – 32 below on one morning and a warm spell of – 26 below and Friday's balmy – 16 below… The wolf care staff are here 7 days a week, 365 days a year to ensure that the wolves have the best care possible. Aidan has been the most active in this cold, he actually has developed a prance to his step. If Denali is bedded down, Aidan will run in front of him, hopping on his back feet, pouncing on anything under the snow. This usually gets Denali up to interact. Staff have noticed that Aidan is quick to exhibit predatory behavior. When spreading straw, fast movements shaking the straw will result in him coming in for a grab of the straw and possibly the arm attached to the straw. This was a behavioral trait displayed by Kiana, another wolf who resided here from 1993 – 1998, she had a strong predatory drive as well.
The pups are starting to be more active in the adult dominance rank order. Aidan is clearly more serious about the interactions, taking the lead from Shadow and Grizzer. He is quick and intense, requiring more distractions than Denali. Wolf care staff will be developing a list of distractions to keep the pups occupied. These may include hides, food resources, non-toxic and hardy items on which they can practice their predatory skills, even a cardboard box will allow them to vent some behavior and reduce their tendency to make Grizzer into a chew toy.
Aidan continues to show fear aggression to one of the handlers based on a negative experience that he had as a 4-week old pup. Wolves have a much stronger response to negative experiences and it is very difficult to overcome this behavior. This is why we have to be so selective on Nanny applications when we are working with pups. Overall, the remainder of the staff have a good relationship with Aidan, but one of his characteristics is aggressive grabbing when he's insecure. Grizzer did the same thing when he was a pup, now he's a very calm adult. When Aidan finds his role in the pack, his insecurities will likely diminish.
When we do wolf care in the morning, we never know what we will find. Overnight activities can include dominance, social behavior, facility issues, and pups up to their usual active antics. Last Sunday was one of those days. When wolf care staff came in for the morning check and delivery of meds, Grizzer had a tear to his ear and some significant blood loss. The first thought would be aggression, but as staff entered the enclosure to check out the wound, the wolves were very calm. After viewing footage of the wolves normal patterns of activity, it does appear that the pups, and specifically Aidan is still actively using Grizzer to practice dominance, and Grizzer is allowing it. Grizzer's ear may have been a tug from a pup in one of the many wrestling sessions involving these three wolves. Of course, Aidan is still getting the brunt of Maya's winter time dominance, and while he takes it in stride, he has increased his threat displays and is very aware of her ever watching eye.
Every day we do wolf care, staff write notes in the logs to inform other staff of any issues or concerns as well as give overall status information on the individual wolves. I thought I would share some of these comments in this week's logs. On September 4th, Staff came in to do the morning pup feeding routine. They open the medical pen to allow the pack to come in and out and eventually try to separate out the pups. Here's their comments from the logs. <br>"After 15 minutes or so, Denali and Aidan were growling at each other and then Boltz, and sometimes Luna, would go after Aidan because Aidan was anxious. Boltz did a ride up several times on Aidan and Boltz wouldn't back down. Aidan got more nervous so we made them all leave the medical pen until we were ready with the morning meds and feeding." <br> As the curator, when I read this, it reinforced the concerns I have with Aidan's anxiety towards strangers and holding and the potential for Denali (and the pups), to take advantage of this and affect the rank order. We have two Behind the Scenes scheduled in September, but after that, we are going to limit activity in the yard with unfamiliar people. Aidan is such a great pack leader, we don't want to create a situation that affects his status do to human interaction. We will also be very mindful of this during the fall Working for Wolves program.
In the interest of getting logs posted tonight, I’m copying the same text. The priorities in my job include pup feeding time. We have a short period of time to maximize growth and get Luna and Boltz the resources necessary to prepare for a Northern Minnesota winter. Feedings require time, patience and some ingenuity. As I write this, I just finished a successful pup feeding with Luna eating over a pound of venison and another ½ pound of chicken. It was not quite as successful with Boltz, but he was caching everything I offered, so he must have been full. Boltz does utilize the remaining carcasses from previous feedings and his scats are dark, indicating meat consumption. Aidan has had some tremendous social bonding behavior with Luna, unfortunately, I didn’t get it on tape. With cooler weather stimulating hormones, we are bound to see more. Grizzer is the beneficiary of most of the pups left overs. He does enjoy that part of wolf care. Shadow and Malik continue to posture with Shadow more dominant, but they don’t have any issues when it comes to sharing the den in a rainstorm. Thanks for checking in, I hope to have more time next week to give a more complete update of each wolf. We have started to increase the feedings or all the retirees, and are in need of some pigs ears to serve as distractions as the pups continue to be the focus of the staff.
We noticed some new open spots on Aidan's nose that may be signs that the Discoid Lupus condition has returned. It also may be signs that Luna bit him in the nose, so we will have to watch this closely. Aidan continues to stay with the pups when they are fed to create a calmer environment. Aidan continues to be extremely tolerant of staff and the food bowls.
Aidan is fully healed from his surgery and is enjoying life in the pack. He is still the most needy of the two pups with staff and wants attention when staff do checks. The pups are now on a twice a week feeding protocol, and we are leaving more scraps in the enclosure to give them something to chew on (besides Grizzer). Aidan continues to associate well with Shadow, and is very submissive to Shadow in all greetings. Maya’s initial fall hormone rush has calmed a bit making life easier for Aidan. A new YouTube video has been posted showing scenes from the early winter in Ely.
Due to the weekend blizzard and the resulting time spent shoveling and blowing snow, the wolf logs will all be the same today. Despite windchills in the 30 to 40 below range and nearly a foot of snow, the wolves are doing great. These are animals that are clearly adapted to winter environments and they are much more comfortable than during a warm summer day. Staff provide straw beds to give them a comfortable place to rest and insulates them from the cold ground, the dens are dry and well covered in straw, but unless the wind is bad, the wolves usually don't use the densites. Staff make sure there are plenty of scraps available for a quick snack, and the water heaters are monitored daily to ensure there is always a fresh, warm source of water. We are aware of some issues with the pond cam's exposure problems, and we are doing some adjusting to see if we can repair it, thanks for your emails about the issue. I hope to get a youtube video posted later in the week, filmed on a -26 below morning to show the activity levels of the wolves in these temperatures.
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.