Written by Nanny Team Members, Tina and Ed Stimpson – In the morning, Denali spent thirty minutes caching chicken. He would cache it and Aidan would find it and dig it up. Denali would find it again and dig it up and cache it again. After thirty minutes, Denali decided to eat the chicken. Denali and Aidan both did jaw sparring, tug of war, food possession, and squashes during the Behind Scenes program this morning. Denali was anxious today during the afternoon programs.
The pups are slowing down in weight gain, as metabolisms begin to change, they will still have spurts of growth, gaining 1/2 lb increments, but not on a daily basis.
The following log was written by Nanny, Deb Lewis: Denali was so sleepy this afternoon that he had to be carried into the Pup 101 program. He soon woke up and began tussling with Aidan. Denalie tries to copy Aidan and jump up on the window ledge, but even though he is larger, his coordination is not quite there.
Denali is 73 days old today and is about to hit 30 lbs in weight. He doesn't have as many food preferences as Aidan, and spends a significant amount of time sleeping. Denali also has a deeper howl than Aidan and frequently joins in on pack howls. We have added straw in front of the webcam area and are hoping that will draw the pups on camera more often.
Denali and Aidan alternated between hard play and deep naps all day. Written by Nanny Team Members Art & Vicki Bomberger: The pups were extremely active during the 5 PM program, but slept deeply through the 11AM and 3 PM programs. As part of the general action, Denali chewed on a deer leg and tried to cache his venison bratwurst on the sleeping pad and in the corner.
Denali has been showing some fear avoidance behavior to people entering the back side of the garage. This is some new behavior, and we will definitely need to work on this as the final weeks of the socialization process are completed. In contrast, Aidan, who was the most fearful of the two pups in June, has now become extremely tolerant of most activity in the wolf yard. In today’s video, you will see Denali howling to the pack.
Logs written by Nanny Team Leader Steve Lokker. During a 10 – 15 minute period of chase this morning, much of it revolved around the stump in the pup pen. Red Paw displayed a half a dozen "Hip Slams" against Attila. This is a dominance behavior and seems to be some of the first coordinated "Hip Slams" observed. Red Paw pinned Attila and held him against the wall. Red Paw is a calm pup, but when Attila gets to be too active, he uses his body weight to his advantage.
Red Paw didn't shrink yesterday, he was just a bit too squirmy to measure, we believe we got an accurate measurement today. The most noteable physical development is in their paws and the size of their ears. They are gaining in height on a daily basis, we will attempt to get a height measurement, but their sleep patterns are pretty active during the day and they are waking up easily if we bring out the tape measure. Red Paw continues to be more curious, a Behind the Scenes program last night was another positive experience for the pups. Shadow is also becoming more tolerant of people in the wolf yard. Both pups howled to the pack this morning.
Red Paw is 46 days old today. The following log was written by Team Leader Steve Lokker. "Over a period of nearly a week with the pups, the difference between wolves and dogs becomes readily apparent. One example is the incredible growth rates at this young age. Red Paw's typical half pound per day and nearly an entire pound in the last 24 hours clearly shows that wolf pups develop quickly so they can go from being recipients of to contributors to the pack's drive to survive. And, it's the tools used for survival that are growing the fastest, Red Paw's ears, paws and legs."
The Pups are 47 days old today and received their official names. The winning names were Aidan and Denali. Originally, Denali was on the list for Wolf Pup 2 – or Attila, but after we saw the pups progress in weight and size throughout the naming contest. We thought it was more appropriate that Wolf Pup 1 – Red Paw, be named Denali. So, that's what we've decided and from now on, we will refer to the pup formerly known as Red Paw or Pup 1 as Denali. We are planning to post video again this week, please let me know via email if you have difficulty in playing the video. My email address is curator@wolf.org.
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