Written by Nanny Team Leader Ann Rasberry: Today the curator, Lori Schmidt, brought her dog Jake in to work with the pups. It is crucial that the pups have exposure to a large, growly canid before they are introduced into the exhibit pack. Submitting willingly and not showing fear are important skills for integration into the pack. Denali, not being as predatory at this point as his brother, bounded into the kennel in wolf lab before seeing Jake. By the time he realized that Jake was there, he was cornered and spooked. Jake was controlled by the curator, but Denali was not sure; he bolted from the kennel. He spent the rest of the session with a curved spine, ears back, a hackles response, and a T4 tail position, although his tail was wagging the whole time. He pawed at the fence and paced at the door; he seemed to want to go in with Aidan but was a little too afraid of Jake.
Written by Nanny Team Leaders Betty Magnuson and Jennifer Ell: Denali seems to be fascinated by water. He is often seen splashing with his front paws with digging motion in a large tub in the wolf yard. During a Pup 101 program, he took a drink from the water pail then started splashing with one paw. He stands in the stock tank in the pup enclosure and splashes and digs. If staff is using the hose he will often lap at the water to drink. Once he did a play bow to the water stream before approaching for a drink.
The pups' urine samples came back from the lab with no problems. This was just a follow-up to issues earlier in June, and is part of the pre-introduction health exam. The pups had blood draw twice this week, and both times, they slept without even waking up to the needle. Joyce Riveroll, visiting volunteer and veterinarian conducted the blood draw as a familiar person in their lives; It is six days and counting until the introduction.
Written by Nanny Team Leader Kelly Godfrey: Ely has been very hot and humid lately. Wolf pups have a harder time in the heat like this and they stay cool by panting. They also lose heat through the pads on their paws. Other ways to stay cool are to play in their stock water tank, digging in the dirt to make a cool spot to lie on, or to sleep often. Denali's favorite cool spot is outside the auditorium door between the cement slab and the fence, using a large rock for a pillow. Today's picture shows Denali deep in the den in the pup pen where it is cooler. The video shows him digging a hole to create a cool spot.
Denali is growing fast he is nearly ¾ of Maya’s height. Sometimes, it is hard to tell if it is a pup running down the hill until they are in full view. Denali continues to associate with Grizzer and is often doing his famous squash posture on top of Grizzer. Grizzer is very gentle with the pups and has no real intense dominance, but does do a soft muzzle bite when necessary.
Denali is definitely developing a different pelage than Aidan. He is much more goldish in coloration and has some very long, soft guard hairs. They are very easy to tell apart, and he continues to be larger than Aidan. Denali is not quite as responsive to dominance from the adults, and does act more independently. During the den construction on Sunday, he stayed in the back of the enclosure until the work was done, showing avoidance rather than fear. The video clips posted with the wolf logs are very short, if you would like to see several minutes of the pack activitiy, we are now posting weekly videos on Youtube. To locate these videos, search for the International Wolf Center.
Denali has been having a great winter and seems to just keep getting bigger. This could be because he, like Grizzer, is very food-oriented. Denali is usually the first one to take his place on the carcass during the What’s For Dinner programs and will defend his share vigorously. The addition of Denali and Aidan to this pack has added a dimension and cohesiveness that the center has not seen before. With three age structures, the opportunities to observe this pack and its dynamics are a sure treat for visitors and staff alike.
Written by Kristin Radermacher, submitted by Kate O'Meara Denali 26lbs This morning the adult wolves were howling, and the pups answered from the pup lab with their own loud howls. Later, when they were out in the pup yard, they paced back and forth wagging their tails as the adult wolves came up to the fence. Maya and Grizzer both whined at the pups. After a few minutes the pups found shady spots to lay down and watch the adults. Back in the lab Denali spent most of the morning sleeping until right before the 11:00 pups program when he stood over Aiden. Aside from a brief skirmish with his brother during the program, he kept himself entertained with a beaver tail. After the program during the heat of midday, he spent his time napping in the wolf pup lab. Added by Kristin Radermacher; This afternoon after the last pup program we took the pups out to the pup pen. Denali found and cached a pinecone and then a stick. He spent a bit of time in the new "pool" in the pup yard.
Written by Nanny Team Members Bridget Lyons & Cathy Jents: Last night Denali attacked and killed his first moose……ok, stuffed moose! In the wolf lab, he spotted the defenseless animal on the other side of the pup pen. He immediately ran over to and attacked the large stuffed moose. He grabbed onto the shoulder with his mighty pup canines and shook his prey with a great head shake. The moose got away and he again lunged at the moose and sunk his canines into his stuffing and took the moose down. Suddenly, Aidan heard the commotion and helped his brother finish the deal. The two brothers continued with bites and head shakes until their prey was conquered. After this long encounter, the exhausted pups curled up and took a long nap.
Denali is much more relaxed in the exhibit than Aidan, but both pups are adjusting well. Denali has much more associative behavior with Grizzer, although Grizz is good with both pups. Denali continues to have good weight gain and is fond of coming back into the pup pen for twice daily feedings. He often lies in the chute after a feeding and has to be coaxed out. This makes management so much easier when they become adults. It is critical now that there is no negative conditioning with the gates, as that is what seems to have startled Maya.
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.