Written by Nanny Team Members Tina and Ed Stimpson. Denali showed no fear avoidance with the new male nannies. Denali was active during the morning program. He was less active during afternoon programs. One of the Wolf Care Staff came to the Wolf Yard in the evening. He showed some fear avoidance. The staff person said his name. Denali recognized the person and he became relaxed. After eating in the evening, Denali was playful around the Wolf Yard. He was chasing Aidan and jumping on and off the picnic table.
This pup appears to be more alert and timid than the other pup. He is more inclined to move away from staff, requiring more patience and handling to get him to relax. He was the first pup to take to the bottle and he really seeks out comfort spots in the enclosure, including the curator's pillow on the first night in the wolf lab in Ely. You will notice this pups left front toenails are painted red to aid in identification until the pups get more distinguishing marks.
Denali has no problem with any contract work, and he constantly amazes us in his tolerances. The difference between the littermates is dramatic and we learn from each individual wolf. Denali has been quite interested in the pond treatments for algae. Based on research from livestock watering tanks, we discoverd that Hydrogen Peroxide in 35% solution is used to clean tanks and keep them algae free. We use small quantites to dilute with the pond water so the wolves don't have direct contact with the peroxide. We lock the wolves off in the medical pen when we apply the treatment and stir it around the water before allowing the wolves out. Of course, when Denali comes back out, his curious nature draws him to the pond. We aren't certain how this is going to work, but it's safer than the many chemical products sold.
The wolf logs are all the same this week due to the obligations to the Ethology class and an 80 degree heat and humidity spell that requires the curator to be spending time keeping the wolves cool. We had a great Ethology course this week, and the staff at the Center learned some great new techniques for managing anxiety, thanks to some tremendous resources among our program participants. The wolves did extremely well, even allowing for small group tours of Grizzer’s enclosure extension on the last night. Grizzer’s ground wire is in place, the next week will focus on burying the ground wire, completing the concrete pads and laying out the den. Our hope is to move him by July 15th. Shadow and Malik have a significant amount of hair remaining, but we continue to hand pluck the hair on a daily basis. Today is extremely warm and humid, so extra sprinkler time and use of the water hose is critical. Enjoy the 4th of July weekend, and be safe. Someone had asked if the wolves panic due to the fireworks noise, and the answer is no, we do some very positive conditioning as pups to fireworks, and they are very accustom to thunderstorms, showing no negative issues with this noise. Wind on the other hand, makes them nervous.
Denali has no anxiety towards any work, and has really become conditioned not only the bell as a sound condition, but prior to the Enclosure Enrichment program, he waits at the holding pen doors to come into the medical pen. I wish Aidan was that easy, but Aidan continues to show hesitance at the gate and anxiety about people approaching the wolf yard from the driveway.
Denali is really increasing in height, his long lanky legs make him a bit uncoordinated, but he manages to coordinate his efforts to get enough food every week. He is the most active on the bi-weekly feeding programs, and will always take a meal. There are noticeable signs of Denali doing more ride-up behaviors, as an indication of testing behavior, but Shadow is very much in control off all situations. Denali seems to respect Shadow, although he continues to use Grizzer as a chew toy.
Denali is really developing a long sleek coat. Wolves shed around early to mid-June, then by the middle of August, begin to grow in the undercoat that makes their guard hairs more prominent. Denali is an active yearling, testing whoever allows it. At this point, that's Grizzer, as every other wolf, including Aidan, give Denali a hard muzzle bite when he pokes them, rides up on them, or generally annoys them. So far, Denali continues to be the most food focused of all the pack members, and even with beaver fed on Wednesday's, and a deer on the weekend, wolf care staff have yet to take out any uneaten, rotting food.
Someone recently asked Denali's height at the shoulders. It's difficult to measure him as he thinks anything that is dangling in front of him should be his possession, but based on his height against the curator's leg, he is 33 inches at the shoulder. This is taller than any of the other wolves. If we can get enough wolf care staff together, we will get weights on them in the next week. Denali continues to escape the dominance from Maya or Shadow, which leaves him free to mount from behind, do a foreleg stab on any wolf that is busy, and generally, be an obnoxious yearling. We hope he grows out of this, but there are indications that this is his personality trait.
Due to the fact that we're a bit short staffed, and it's been a busy weekend with the Alpha Member's/Board Meeting weekend, we will be posting the same log for all wolves. The video this week will be featured on the International Wolf Center's YouTube video channel, and will include a video on the factors we monitor when deciding a wolf needs to be retired, and a feeding program that we did without public viewing. Usually, when we feed, the public is on site with people at the windows. Shadow is a bit shy about feeding in front of people and cameras. On Tuesday night, September 8th, the Vermilion Community College Wolf/Deer Interaction class did a deer dissection, and Curator, Lori Schmidt fed the torso after everyone had left the site. Shadow was the actively feeding the entire time, and was very dominant on the carcass. All wolves are doing well, although this unexpected 80 degree weather in September has been keeping the wolves calm. They have grown in their winter coat, and are adapting to the heat by staying down for most of the day.
Denali has been testing every pack mate in the exhibit. He follows behind wolves and gives them a foreleg stab, poking at them until he gets a response. If Shadow is dominating Grizzer, he does a ride up or scruff bite behavior. He prances and stimulates chase behavior and is quick to guard a food cache, or any object that is near his face. All in all, he's a typical yearling, and the behavior of the wolves is to ignore him, until he's too much, and then deal with him. Grizzer has recently started rolling him over and doing a neck pin, holding Denali to the ground until he submits, but usually, he just springs back up again. Aidan has been observed trying to squash Denali as a method of dominance. This scenario can be viewed in Denali and Aidan's video this week.
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