Sorry for the delay in logs, the Wolf Curator took her first day off since May 2nd. The pups are starting to gain guard hairs, these are their permanent hairs that will dictate the color of their pelage. The hairs are starting at the base of their tail and they are very silver in color. The pups are responding well to the antibiotics for the bladder infection and are gaining weight again. We are still going back and forth between the gruel and the bottle, some of this is related to the pup preference. Red Paw still enjoys a full meal from the bottle. Their canine teeth have grown enough for us to start taking measurements. We avoided it until know to not cause any gum irritation with the calipers, but we are definitely seeing canine teeth.
Red Paw became very excited when the Nannies left to go set up the enclosure for the 11 am program today. He was doing multiple single howls in a very low throated tone. They enjoy the chance to get outside, but we need to balance this with programming time. Let them out too early, and they wear themselves out before the program starts. The favorite program distraction is a deer leg, they truly have wolf genes when it comes to food possession. Both Red Paw and Attila have an intense growl. They are both responding to the pack howls and both ears are erect on both pups.
The pups are doing much better in programs with Red Paw showing the greatest tolerance for noise and activity. It’s the wolf care staff’s job to find items that distract the pups and encourage them to socially interact. Previously, we have been using a deer leg and a beaver tail, but that seemed to not get the same response as it did when it was introduced. So, at the 3 pm program today, Curator, Lori Schmidt, cut off a fresh deer tail from one of the roadkill in the freezer. Red Paw immediately took possession and defended it from Attila during the whole program. He aggressively growled, and ran with it anytime Attila approached. Of course, Attila, being Attila, was able to tug at it and get possession of it momentarily, but Red Paw is tenacious. After the program, Curator, Lori Schmidt attempted to get the tail back from Red Paw and he clamped down hard on her finger and wouldn't let go. Needless to say, Puppy teeth are extremely sharp and we now have our first pup canine bite for the year. It is important to try to offer a distraction before taking something from a possessive pup.
Sorry for the delay in logs, there was an extreme thunderstorm here that knocked out the server for the webcams and caused the lab computers to be in the shut down mode for a while. The pups are active and healthy, and we are in the process of setting up a portable webcam to keep up with them as their time indoors is diminishing. They want to be out and play in the wolf yard. I received an email inquiring about the pups and Lakota. We will not be placing the pups with Lakota, for two reasons: # 1 – they scare here.. she sees them at the gate, and they get nose to nose contact, but when they start to wrestle and growl, she backs off. # 2 – Shadow is very possessive of the pups, as the Nannies have experienced. We have some good cohesive behavior between the pups and the Exhibit Pack, if Shadow or Maya see the pups interacting with Lakota, they may peceive them as hers, and may be less enthusiastic about the introduction. So far, Lakota likes coming to the fence to be part of the action, but she also likes to the freedom to walk back into the Retired enclosure. When the pups are sleeping and in the lab kennel, Lakota gets free reign of the wolf yard, and she sniffs everywhere the pups have been.
As I write this log, the pups are outside playing next to the Exhibit Pack. They are spending more time outdoors and are exhibiting submissive pawing behavior towards the Exhibit Pack. Grizzer was intensively whining at the fence and causing Attila some anxiety, but Red Paw remains calm, even when Shadow comes over and dominates Grizzer when he gets so intense. These are all good signs of a cohesive social group.
The Wolf Logs for the week will contain the same text for each wolf. The curator was at a conference during the week, and time is limited for Friday duties. The pack did well in the Curator's absence, it is important that wolf care is not dependent upon one individual, but a multitude of individuals that can meet the wolves' basic needs. There are 16 people associated with the wolf care program and all have their own strengths and skills that help manage the packs. Aidan continues to be confident and Grizzer is still showing some anxiety when Aidan puts his tail in a T-2 posture and follows him. There will be a Vermilion Community College Ethology class beginning some observations, and we hope to have some good data to share by the end of April.
Denali has been posturing over by Grizzer's enclosure, making Grizzer a bit nervous, but not showing any aggression towards Grizzer. Denali seems more inclined to seek attention from wolf care staff, and his posturing at Grizzer's fenceline may just be an attention seeking maneuver. Behaviorally, we have noticed Denali having some confidence issues (tucking tail and hackles) when Aidan follows him, but overall, they are spending time separately in their own space. We expect this type of separation anxiety from a social pack animal, and in our previous experience, this may go on for weeks. We continue the same daily routine for the aid of giving them some security, but wolf care staff need to be cautious about favoring either one of them, this can start more intense interactions.
Denali’s tail posture has been lowering as the activity increases in the pack. His lower tail posture is most commonly observed after a chase scene. Most of the chases result in Boltz or Denali being chased after some excitable social behavior gets too intense. Aidan is the one who might initiate a chase, but Denali gets attention especially when he tries to take possession of something from the pups. Aidan is still protective over the pup’s food possessions. What’s been interesting is that Denali doesn’t do much to show dominance over the pups. This is very similar to the relationship that Grizzer had with Aidan and Denali when they were pups. Without limits, Boltz will be opportunistic, we’ve observed this wolf behavior before
Denali seems to favor Boltz in interactions, possibly because he and Luna are always in conflict over food and Boltz always gives in to Denali. We have had a much calmer interaction since we reduced the amount of daily feedings for the pups, Denali is now allowed to stay out when we feed. This is in part due to Luna's ability to control possessions by use of body language and Denali's behavioral tendency to avoid facing Luna.
Denali has had some intimidating moments this week. The dynamics of the pack are increasing and it appears that Luna is right there when Aidan dominates Denali. This is a change for Denali who spent the last year only living with Aidan. Denali always seemed to rely on speed, but it's hard to outrun Aidan when Luna is hanging on to the scruff of his neck. At this point, the response from Denali has been intimidation with hackles and a tucked tail, but eventually, Denali needs to reduce some of his over excited testing behavior to reduce some of the focus from Aidan. Boltz and Denali do get along well, but Denali's tendency to take food from Boltz can lead to some conflicts between the two.
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