Denali is starting to act more like a pup than an adult. If we turn back the clock to the winter of 2008-2009, Grizzer did the same thing for Denali. The problem was, when Denali reached adulthood, there appeared to be very little respect for Grizzer, which is why Grizzer is not a member of the Exhibit Pack anymore. Boltz may have the same response for Denali in the future.
Denali has been a focus for the pack, usually led by Aidan, but Aidan's increased relaxation has given Denali a break. If the pack leader is calm, the pack is calm. What has contributed to this calmness may have something to do with the cold snap that arrived a few days ago. With temperatures reaching -25 Fahrenheit and subzero daytime highs, the pack tends to find a warm bed of straw and conserves energy. This calmness may also be influenced by an increased amount of food resources keeping everyone with a good supply of calories in this weather.
The logs will be the same this week. We had snow on Monday that required a lot of effort to gain access to all the gates, water containers and dens. Thanks to Danielle and Linda for helping in that Monday morning check. We also had to redistribute straw beds for all the enclosures, a task that can only be appreciated during the spring Working for Wolves program when we have to remove all that straw. We are very pleased that Shadow and Malik are back to their usual invite chase behaviors and both have fully recovered from the gastrointestinal virus that occurred a few weeks ago. Grizzer is more social than ever and staff continue to have relaxing checks on a daily basis. Most of the extreme sub-zero weather is behind us and even if we do have a cold night, the days warm up quickly. Rank order traits are starting to emerge in the Exhibit Pack with Luna showing Denali that she will jaw spar despite his over-towering height advantage. Fortunately for Luna, Aidan watches from and pins Denali if things get a little intense. Spring fever starts kicking in for staff and wolves alike as the warm days of March seem to stimulate some strong social behavior (at least for the wolves).
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. Denali seems to be a juvenile in an adults body. He has very little aggression with the exception of food. Some people may question that statement considering what Grizzer went through with Denali, but Grizzer initiated the issues with Denali. Most of the encounters between Grizzer and Denali were Denali defending himself, often with tucked tail as he ran from Grizzer. The problem Grizzer had was that Denali was nearly a foot taller than Grizzer, leaving the top of his head as the main contact with Denali. Denali does not like conflict and is often observed rolling around with the pups (of course Grizzer did the same thing for Denali.)
Thanks for checking for the wolf logs and cameras, even when we aren’t always live. We seem to have an intermittent router problem, and we’re currently working with more tech support people than wolf care staff. With that said, the due to other obligations, the logs are all the same this week. I did produce a Youtube video this week and used some of the surveillance camera footage. The surveillance cameras are motion activated with noise activated sound. They are sometimes choppy, but it is good to have a view of the activity after dark. Shadow and Malik have the most activity, since the camera focuses on their main densite. Grizzer tends to sleep near the wolf yard, and is always resting and waiting for Oscar to make his morning rounds. Aidan and Denali had an interesting week, Aidan has been carrying the crook of his tail with a bit of status. There were several days when Aidan was keeping Denali in a wooded area of the pen, but today, they seem to be back to their usual interactions. We will be doing some concrete work on the Slate Den next week, and will be testing the new enclosure configuration, keeping Aidan and Denali in the Pack Holding area for a few hours, while Grizzer stays in his new habitat. I would expect to see Grizzer with a lot of activity during that project.
Denali has shown no significant guarding behavior toward the pups, his sole interactions including joining in on the chase and attempting to take their food. His behavior is similar to that of an overgrown juvenile, except that he's four years old and should act a bit more mature. We have had some interesting dynamics between Denali and Aidan. Aidan is quite intense if Denali is too close to the pups when they are interacting and Aidan has done several lunge displays with teeth barred, growling and in full hackle response. Denali would normally run and keep his distance. On two occasions, I've observed Denali doing a full threat display with direct eye contact back to Aidan. This is the start of what may be some intense brotherly dominance to settle the rank order and definitively put Aidan on top. The interesting component is the pups. Boltz clearly aligns with Aidan, which may be a factor in the future.
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.
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> Amanda Poynter<br> Keli Bonanno<br> " Denali doesn't tend to show any aggression or dominance toward the pups unless it is food related. Even then, as the week progressed, he was observed less often. He wants to socialize with the pups. He tends to interact when Aidan is not present, but hangs back engaging when Aidan is present. This is probably due to guarding and threat behavior displayed by Aidan toward Denali in regards to the pups. Despite intensity of the week and issue with Aidan, Denali seems pretty relaxed. He returned to tail wagging and Ears Pricked postures immediately after negative interactions. He was always the first and sometimes the only wolf to respond to wolf care staff checks, possibly due to food motivations."
Denali continues to be a challenge for the pup management, showing no respect for feeding bowls, staff or pups. Fortunately, he is willing to go into the Pack Holding area twice a day to allow staff to meet the needs of the pups. We have noticed Denali on the receiving end of some dominance, led by Aidan and assisted by the pups. At this point, Aidan is keeping Denali under control which gives Boltz the time to gain a little confidence. We're not sure how long Denali will submit to this situation, but if food resources are plentiful, Denali would rather avoid conflict and just eat.
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.
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