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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.

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.

boltz – Jul 12, 2013 12:00 AM

We hope everyone has had a Happy 4th of July and continues to enjoy the days of summer. All wolves are doing well here, we are monitoring a growth that opened on Shadow’s cheek and are doing some repairs to the pond. Grizzer had a new concrete floor installed in his den because he was continually digging under the foundation. Luna’s growing back a winter coat, so we must be on the downhill side of summer. The Ethology Course begins on July 20th, we are sure to have some good behavioral observations to report next week.

boltz – Jul 19, 2013 12:00 AM

Boltz is having a rough time with the flies. He is panicked with them overhead and runs with his tail down and head low, panicked. This is a problem in the heat, and he's taken to lying underground at the top of the enclosure. This puts him away from the rest of the pack and he is so anxious about the bugs that he doesn't get much time with staff. The flies are worse during hot, humid weather which describes this week. Boltz did manage to spend time howling with the pack and he immediately ran towards Aidan when the howls started. He seems to be drawn to Aidan when rallying.

boltz – Jul 25, 2013 12:00 AM

Written by Ethology Participant: Martine Squageau<br> While observing Boltz this week and interacting with his pack mates. I witness the enrichment, that included scents of other animals which the wolves rub on, rolled on, and marked over. During one of the enrichment's they threw apples into the exhibit packs pond Boltz went in and grabbed at apples. The wolves were fed a deer this week and ate off of it all week. The summer bugs are really annoying poor Boltz.

boltz – Feb 8, 2013 12:00 AM

Someone recently asked me if I had a favorite wolf. Certainly some people may think it's hard not to think of some individuals with a greater concern because of their individual needs, but the reality is, every wolf is different and they all have some unique characteristic to make them special. So, I thought I would dedicate this week's wolf logs to those unique characteristics. Boltz is extremely timid and he has a way of looking at staff or wolves, with his head down and a gaze of mistrust. This may be a result of him being much older than the neonate stage when we acquired him, or the challenging summer of keeping Luna protected by stopping Boltz's dominance interactions. Staff need to move very slowly around Boltz, quick movements make him nervous. He shows trust in staff, but only if it's on his terms.

boltz – Jun 14, 2013 12:00 AM

Boltz was the most nervous about his recent vaccinations. He has a certain level of mistrust that is quick to activate when something is different. Fortunately, he allowed two of the staff to vaccinate him while he was in the medical pen. There may be some association with this area and staff handling from when he was a pup. Boltz is the oldest pup we have ever socialized (over30 days before we began our socialization process) and even though he was handled in the neonate stage at his natal facility, there's a difference in getting a wolf to trust our staff and our facility. We will continue to work with him to build his trust and have positive experiences with staff. Today, while I was in the enclosure trying to film, he got so excited that he climbed on my lap. That's definitely positive reinforcement.

boltz – Jan 1, 1900 12:00 AM

The logs will all be the same this week. The weather creates added challenges to the daily job of caring for wolves and we've had a variety of weather. The warm spell that melted a significant amount of snow led to standing water which later froze when colder temperatures returned. This week's Youtube video features some great demonstration of Aidan doing a stiff leg jump to crack the ice. Boltz is a bit hesitant on the ice since he fell through the ice into about 2 feet of water (thanks to Denali's hefty body size on the ice). Luna's displaying less stiffness as the temperatures warm and she's been spending a lot of time digging. This week is another special week as Grizzer turns 9 years old on May 5th and Shadow and Malik are 13 years old on May 8th.

boltz – May 4, 2013 12:00 AM

The logs will all be the same this week. The weather creates added challenges to the daily job of caring for wolves and we've had a variety of weather. The warm spell that melted a significant amount of snow led to standing water which later froze when colder temperatures returned. This week's Youtube video features some great demonstration of Aidan doing a stiff leg jump to crack the ice. Boltz is a bit hesitant on the ice since he fell through the ice into about 2 feet of water (thanks to Denali's hefty body size on the ice). Luna's displaying less stiffness as the temperatures warm and she's been spending a lot of time digging. This week is another special week as Grizzer turns 9 years old on May 5th and Shadow and Malik are 13 years old on May 8th.