The logs will be all the same for this week. We did some concrete work in the Exhibit Pack on Wednesday which took precedence over all filming. The back of the den site in the Exhibit Pack had some old logs as a cover to prevent snow or rain from getting into the den. These logs were starting to rot and with Luna still being vulnerable and extremely active near the den, we decided to concrete a 3 foot by 6 foot overhang at the back of the den site. You may have noticed the densite webcam showing the fencing used to keep the wolves out. They were extremely good about the fencing and other than Denali on circling the fence on the first night, they didn’t dig or push on the fence. This allowed the concrete to dry thoroughly before the form and fence were removed on Friday. Grizzer, Shadow and Malik have had a quiet week and we will have more to report next week.
Boltz has the most advanced winter pelage than any of the wolves on site. His tail has fully developed guard hairs and is mid-back saddle has a dynamic coloration. It's hard to believe this is the same gangly pup that was tripping over his paws. He's gaining height and girth, although he has a lot of height to gain before he compares to Denali, but he's advancing well. It's hard to say if he will top 100 pounds like his adult pack mates, I would be happy if he reached 90 lbs. He was 5 months old last Friday, and in comparison, Grizzer was 85 lbs by 6 months of age, so I don't think we will get the weight gain that we saw from Grizzer, but the next month should produce a noticeable change from that pup look to a maturing juvenile.
There are times when we have to look closely to identify Boltz versus Aidan when they come out of the woods. There's no mistaking Denali, the long legs are a definite Denali trait, but Boltz is really developing well. Boltz continues to be submissive, and he is clearly intimidated when Aidan and Denali show dominance towards each other. We've had some challenges feeding Boltz, even if he's hungry, he doesn't defend food well and will back away if Denali is excited. We've resolved this issue by locking Denali up into holding, or our first priority, getting both pups into the medical pen. Of course, this means Luna would need to come in as well, and that can be a challenge. Luna does what Luna likes when Luna wants… Boltz readily comes into holding and sees it as a relaxing place to escape the heat.
It is very evident that Boltz gains confidence when Aidan is directly involved. There have been several observations showing Boltz with a T-1 tail but as soon as Aidan leaves the area, he's back to a T 3.5. Boltz continues to display some very playful behavior, often tossing items in the air and pouncing.
Boltz has had some interesting interactions lately. He's gaining some ability to defend food, but he remains too timid to allow him to compete fully for his resources. We hand feed Boltz and Luna twice a day during the week, then allow them to feed on the carcass of either deer or beaver on the weekend. Many times staff have mistaken Boltz for Aidan. It's amazing the resemblance between these two.
We have definitely noticed some confidence in Boltz. Not only is he defending his food, he was also observed doing a direct stare to Aidan with ears pricked forward. In Ethogram terms that means, “look out, I’m looking to move up a notch. Aidan held his ears back with a bit of intimidation and averted Boltz’s gaze which means, “ I’m not up for any testing today. Boltz gave him a muzzle bite and they both walked away together. We also see Boltz and Luna wrestling together and Boltz trying to do some dominance behavior over Denali, especially when Aidan has Denali on his back. This will be the last weight we gather until spring due to the cold weather issues with a metal scale. Boltz is well on his way to becoming a healthy adult.
While we still see a timid pup when we try to hand feed Boltz, we are encouraged to see him showing some status. These displays are usually initiated by the adults when the adults are in a social mood to submit with the pups. Of course, when it gets serious, a growl or muzzle bite from an adult will make Boltz quickly submit. It's a similar situation to Boltz's relationship with Oscar as a pup. When Boltz was too excitable, Oscar merely had to do a hard muzzle bite and Boltz dropped to the ground. The difference is, Denali can deliver a much harder muzzle bite than Oscar.
Boltz didn't want to stand on the scale this week, so we don't have a weight on him, but he continues to be physically active with the adults and is nearing Aidan's height. Staff have noticed a lot of ride-up behaviors, especially when Aidan is in a social mood. But, if Aidan wants an end to it, Boltz complies. Boltz is certainly more of a challenge to feed than Luna. With Boltz, if there's any competition from Denali, he tends to drop what he's eating and back off. By this time, we had hoped to feed larger quantities and not do a twice a day feeding, but until we get these pups to their adult weight, we will feed as long as they show an interest.
Observations from the Working for Wolves participants: br> "Luna and Boltz spent their night sleeping in the straw under the eaves and started their Saturday with a howl and some stretches. The howl started from somewhere off in the area of the retired pack, but the pups joined in wholeheartedly for about 10 minutes. After the howl, they headed in the direction of the moose hide (I put a moose hide in to give the pack a distraction during the heightened activity of the weekend).
Other than Boltz getting some life lessons from Aidan, we have observed some good social behavior between Luna and Boltz, especially when it's been below zero. The pups are curling up together and Boltz even let Luna use his tail to cover her nose. Although, Luna doesn't always reciprocate when it comes to sharing of food, Boltz is still a bit timid when Luna is possessive.
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