During the public programs, the pups are brought into the auditorium for about 15 minutes of activity. Bolts had a bit of a negative conditioning experience with a television camera that had a large lens. He saw it when he came through the door and was startled. For the next few days, he didn't want to come through the door. Staff and Pup Care Participants keep a close watch on the interactions between Peanut and Bolts to ensure that their play activity doesn't get too physical. Peanut is usually the most dominant, doing stand over's and scruff grabbing Bolts. By protecting Peanut, we definitely give her an advantage, and she often responds with more dominance and head shaking behavior. Bolts really has a full run when he goes outside, greeting Oscar first, then running with tail wagging to Aidan and Denali. Here are the weights since the last posting: <li> 5/21 – 17.8 lbs <li> 5/22 – 18.2 lbs <li> 5/23 – 18.6 lbs <li> 5/24 – 19.3 lbs <li> 5/25 – 20.3 lbs <li> 5/26 – 20.3 lbs <li> 5/27 – 21.0 lbs <li> 5/28 – 21.6 lbs <li> 5/29 – 22.3 lbs
Bolts has been actively exploring the water container and seems to have overcome the initial hesitation about getting his feet wet. We discovered another feeding issue with Bolts. When new people come in, he doesn't like people in his personal space. This means that he prefers new people stay around a 1 foot distance, but when he's hungry, he needs to be fed. So, one of the team members discovered that if you put a piece of venison on a stick, he'll eat it. Whatever it takes to get a few more ounces in them. It must be working, here are his new weight gains: <li> 5/30 – 22 lbs<li>> 5/31 – 23 lbs <li>> 6/1 – 23.4 lbs<li>> 6/2 – 23.3 lbs <li> 6/3 – 24.5 lbs
Boltz is really getting tall and lanky. His oversize paws create a few clumsy moments in the wolf yard, but he gets right back up and continues the path he was on. We have discovered that he is very interested in staff when they go in with the adult wolves. He stands on the other side of the fence and watches the entire time. We sure would like to know what he's thinking. <br> Here are the weights since the last posting:<li> 6/16/2012 92 30.7<li> 6/17/2012 93 30.6 <li> 6/18/2012 94 32 (could be a scale error, Boltz was active)<li> 6/19/2012 95 31.9<li> 6/20/2012 96 33*scale change <li> 6/21/2012 97 32.5 <li> 6/22/2012 98 32.5 <li> 6/23/2012 99 34<li> 6/24/2012 100 34.5
As you can see by the posted weights, Boltz has topped 40 lbs. We are still planning for the introduction on July 30th, so we are on the 24 day countdown. There are three things we are mindful of about the introduction. First is his weight, we would rather he was under 50 lbs, although we think that might not be the case on introduction day. The weight issue is important so the adult wolves still see him as a pup and not a competitor. The good thing is, Boltz and Oscar still wrestle and Boltz still willingly submits to Oscar, so given the fact that he's conditioned to be submissive to a larger canid, we think he will submit to Aidan and Denali, even though he might be bigger than we like. The second issue is Boltz's eating pattern. He is a temperamental eater. He eats small quantities, usually after some effort by wolf care staff to feed him over a several hour period. He eats a good amount of food, averaging 1.5 lbs of meat and 10 ounces of esbilac a day. When he goes into the Exhibit Pack, we would like him to consume larger quantities, less frequently. The third issue we are watching is the hormonal influence of Aidan and Denali. Their Youtube video this weeks shows some passive dominance with "Stand Over" behaviors, but still very calm and social. <br> Here are the weights since the last posting:<br> Data is shown as:<br> Date Age Pounds <br><li> 6/30/2012 106 37.0 <li> 7/1/2012 107 37.8 <li> 7/2/2012 108 38.5 <li> 7/3/2012 109 38.8 <li> 7/4/2012 110 39.2 <li> 7/5/2012 111 39.6 <li> 7/6/2012 112 41.4
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. <br> Boltz is very submissive to the adults wolves and as a male pup, receives a fair amount of dominance. This impacts his feeding behavior and often backs off when the others are actively feeding. We had some pigeons donated from Wildlife Services that were removed from the Minneapolis/St. Paul Airport terminal and we will feed the frozen pigeons as a distraction for the pups. On Thursday September 6th, staff wrote the following: <br> "Boltz and Luna are out there eating their pigeons and Denali came by and tried to take Boltz's away from him but Boltz stood his ground and growled at Denali until Denali walked away."<br> As the curator, when I read this, it is reassuring that he has the ability to guard and possess when the possession is more stimulating than a hand full of beef. Boltz is more of my concern than Luna as far as eating. His timid behavior means he'll back off unless you take the time and patience to make sure he gets fed. We spend hours each day making sure the pups get the resources they need, which is why he is nearly 70 lbs this week.
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.
Boltz's confidence is improving as well as his social behavior. I see a lot more of Boltz interacting with Aidan than in previous months and a recent feeding resulted in Aidan and Boltz sharing the beaver together. Boltz has the characteristic "wary eye" stare of a wolf making him very easy to distinguish from Aidan.
We are very pleased with the results of the Name the Pup contest. Botlz is a great name and fits his personality well. Our thanks to the individual that submitted the name and all the people who voted. Boltz had several howling sessions this week with Aidan and Denali and continues to be strongly bonded to Oscar, Aidan and Denali. Luna is still on restricted activity, so when she and Boltz do get together, the staff work very hard to keep her from re-injuring herself. Hopefully after next week's x-rays, we can allow them to be together again. Here are Boltz's weights since the last posting.<li> Date Days Old Weight<li> 6/4/2012 80 25.2<li> 6/5/2012 81 25.7<li> 6/6/2012 82 25.3<li> 6/7/2012 83 26.4
Boltz is 3 months old and at the age when we would normally be ready for an introduction. He remains extremely submissive with Adian and Denali, but every so often he likes to climb on Oscar and pin him. Oscar takes it in stride, but it is definitely a behavior we will be watching. Boltz continues to have some shyness when new people arrive, but if you give him space, it doesn't take long for his curiosity to take over. Here are the weights since the last posting: <li>6/8/2012 84 26.7<li> 6/9/2012 85 26.9<li> 6/10/2012 86 27.6<li> 6/11/2012 87 28<li> 6/12/2012 88 28.7<li> 6/13/2012 89 29.5<li> 6/14/2012 90 29.2<li> 6/15/2012 91 30.4
At the end of the Behavioral Observation week, I asked the team members to write a paragraph about their impression of the individual wolves. The following logs were written by Behavioral Team Members:<br> Claudia Dannelly<br> Gailyn Barela<br> Carla Mounsey<br> "Boltz is well socialized to the adults. He appreciates and engages the adults. Rarely aggressive, but is confident in his personality. It seems he may be the lower ranking male, but that could change. Physically, he is strong and he has a laid back demeanor. He seemed initially to protect Luna when Aidan and Denali tried to force her to submit. His playful nature when pinned allows him to break away from the group, then come back for more play. He appears socially well balanced, not dependent upon the adults very much. He is engaged and curious and investigates every root and rock he sees. He likes to disappear underground for extended periods of time, especially during the warmest part of the day. He can be independent when he wants, but time will tell if he gets the brunt of aggression from the other males as well as Luna. He avoids conflict by walking away or tries to keep the peace by submitting. We think he's the peacekeeper of the group."<br> The following are the weights taken since the last posting<br> Date Days Old and Weight in Pounds<br> <li>8/3/2012 140 54.23<li> 8/4/2012 141 54.67<li> 8/5/2012 142 54.23<li> 8/6/2012 143 54.23<li> 8/7/2012 144 54.67<li> 8/8/2012 145 55.9<li> 8/9/2012 146 55.1<li> 8/10/2012 147 55.99
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.