Aidan – Middle Age Woes

Aidan is seven years old and has an active job managing this pack.  On Friday morning, we noticed that he didn’t come out of the den to interact with staff.  This is atypical for Aidan, he likes to greet staff especially the Friday morning team which usually has enough people to ensure that every wolf gets a human.  Upon further investigation, we discovered sensitivity in his right knee.  The vet’s prescribed a 7 day treatment of anti-inflammatory and within 30 minutes of the first dose, was running, jumping and chasing with the pack.  (this is probably how he got the injury in the first place). Even though his attitude is willing, his body reminds him that he is a middle-aged wolf.  Notice how Boltz is close to Aidan as this examination occurred.  We are seeing some very alert behavior to Aidan’s weaknesses.

Aidan – Wolf Ethology Observations

This week’s wolf logs are based on observations by our Biology 1476: Wolf Ethology participants

Laurie Groskopf – Aidan was disturbed by the high winds today, causing stressed behaviors. The cooler weather relaxed the pack and some social and play behaviors ensued. Aidan enjoyed grooming from staff, but remains stressed by crowds. Each wolf took a turn gnawing on bones from the deer carcass, and little competition was evident. Luna squashed Aidan several times, and he displayed social behavior towards the other wolves, soliciting interaction. Everyone feels better in cool weather!

Tara Morrison – Aidan seemed not to like the wind last night, but was still playful at times with the other wolves. He did seem somewhat stressed though, yawning frequently. He played tug-of-war with Boltz over pieces of the deer carcass for about 10-15 minutes. He seemed to enjoy the grooming he was receiving from staff during the webinar. He displayed somewhat submissive behavior to Luna when she squashed him.

Aidan – Prolactin has come late

A nurturing hormone referred to as prolactin often spikes right around the time of year that pups are born, but we’ve seen a delay in this surge for spring 2015. Now we’re beginning to see signs that the hormones have finally arrive, albeit a bit late. Luna and Aidan have been observed spending more time with one another, in a calmer manner. Luna can still become very excitable and go into bouts of obnoxious submission to Aidan, but more and more frequently we have been witnessing calmer interactions between the two.

Aidan – Fit and Trim this summer

You may recall last fall we took Aidan to the clinic (under immobilization) and had an ultrasound and x-rays over concern for his distended stomach.  The vet results, too many treats for enrichment, he just got fat.  So, this year, we are careful about the noon enrichment program and are avoiding a lot of treats and Aidan is better for it. He is active, has a spring in his step and seems to feel better about the pack dynamics (meaning, Luna). 

Aidan – Dog Days of Summer

If you’re heard of the phrase “Dog Days of Summer”, then you can relate to the challenges for wolf care in managing a captive exhibit.  Wolves and dogs are covered with hair (or for some dogs, fur), and only have sweat glands between their pads on their feet.  It was likely more efficient to stay warm in winter than stay cool in summer.  So, how does a wolf cool itself?  They pant to evaporate heat and moisture off their tongue and they alter their patterns of activity.  Our Exhibit Pack will consistently settle down at 10 am and not get back up until 7 pm.  Because we are a public display, we provide stimulus or “Enclosure Enrichment” programs at noon every day, then several hours throughout the day we will wet down the soil to provide a cool place to rest.  If you’ve ever watched a dog on a hot and humid afternoon, you can appreciate the term.

Aidan – A Relaxed Birthday

Even though this image was only taken 7 days ago, a lot has changed.  We have finally lost our snowfall, but ice remains under the cover hay and the pond water line is still frozen underground.  The incidents of jaw sparring have decreased as the temperatures have warmed up.  We had a great webinar for Aidan and Denali’s birthday on April 27th.  Denali and Boltz feasted on a large chunk of meat first while Aidan relaxed, then in true wolf form, as soon as the webinar ended, Aidan got his fill.  Afterward, he proceeded to display some social interaction with Boltz, before displaying an invite chase to Luna.  Before starting Ivermectin treatments in May, we weighed all the wolves. Aidan continues to gain from 129 lbs in 2013 to 137 lbs today.  We prefer to have him lose these 10 lbs that have been added in the last two years, but managing one wolf’s diet when a deer is fed can be challenging.

6/4/2013 Aidan 129 lbs
8/14/2013 Aidan 133.32
6/13/2014 Aidan 136.25
5/1/2014 Aidan 137.79 lbs

We are also concerned that his excess belly fat may be related to higher levels of cortisol due to increased conflict as the dominant male of the Exhibit Pack.  In the past, I have written grants for lab equipment to measure fecal cortisol, but unfortunately, I have been unsuccessful.  I will continue to seek funding to be able to monitor stress condition for our ambassador wolves, but until then, I will be monitoring other facts that might indicate stress. 

Aidan – Willing to Pairbond?

There are times when Aidan shows his tendency to pair bond with Luna (as shown in this photo, standing shoulder to shoulder with Luna), then there are times when Luna drives him to avoidance behavior.  We know Aidan can pair bond.  We have fond memories of he and Maya pair bonding in what turned out to be the last few weeks of Maya’s life.  Aidan is extremely possessive of pups (yes, even Luna) and has a strong associative behavior with Denali.  But, pair bonding takes two and when the energy level is calm, we see the possibility in Luna.  Unfortunately, these calm moments don’t last long and she’s back to wrestling with Boltz or tossing a deer hide in the air.  Aidan is strong and we are on a good path of treatment for his Discoid Lupus. The presence of pups next summer will stimulate prolactin.  We know Aidan can bond, maybe the prolactin stimuli will be to key to maturing Luna’s behavior.

Aidan – What’s in the Pile…

There’s no shortage of scraps now that spring is arriving. We quickly transitioned from temperatures below zero, to reaching highs in the 50’s. As I write this, we’re forecasted for 60 degree Fahrenheit weather today. With all of the snow caches surfacing, there’s a lot to possess and re-cache. In this week’s photo you can see Aidan investigating a scrap that Luna had hidden in the straw. This straw pile will remain in the enclosure until our Workin’ for Wolves crew comes later this spring to help us clean up (We’ve got a lot of work to do!).

Aidan – The excitability of spring

Aidan has been seen in a great deal of excitable interactions with the other pack members. Some of this is general play behavior, and a lot of it is ritualized dominance. The focus of the domination has primarily been on Denali this week, but Aidan and Boltz have also had their dominance bouts a few times. As spring approaches, hormones will slowly die down, and a calmer energy will often come over pack as the warmer weather warrants it. Perhaps the change in the air, or the suddenly melting snow has done it, but for now, the wolves remain quite excitable and active.

Aidan – Resting with EPTS

What is EPTS – in our Ethogram code, EPTS means Ears Pricked and Turned Sideways.  This ear posture is usually an indication of tension in the wolf.  Most people assume the dominant wolf is always in control and has a carefree life, but there is a lot of research that indicates that high-ranking individuals tend to have higher metabolic rates and higher levels of cortisol.  In our captive facility, Aidan is the only individual wolf with an auto-immune disorder.  We have witnessed the impact of aging on our other pack leaders, and some days, Aidan looks much older than Denali.