Grayson – Carcass Time

As I wrote in Denali’s log, Grayson has to wait to eat on some Saturday night feedings due to Denali’s tendency to guard and possess food.  Staff always document the time spent on the carcass by each wolf and an overall assessment of food consumption is best identified by the size and coloration of the scat on the days post-feeding, not to mention a full belly of a species that has stomach receptors allowing for a gorging of up to 20% of their body weight.  Although, for the white wolves, a look at their face can reveal at least a presence on the carcass as shown by Grayson’s picture.   Grayson is a special case for us, he seems to have a different immune system than Axel.  In his short two years, we have had several reoccurring issues of parasites that have been a challenge to treat.  We are glad to report that have 3 negative fecals in the last month and we will continue to check for the next month to make sure he stays parasite free.   With Grayson’s parasite issues and the behavioral challenges with Denali, monitoring weight is a big issue.  Typically wolves lose weight over the winter, but combine that with the competition of parasites and it becomes more concerning.  We are happy to report that Grayson is back on track and aided by additional feedings of chicken and beef that is part of Luna and Grizzer’s daily routine.

Date Wolf Weight in Pounds Change in weights Age
10/2/2017 Grayson 94.8 4.4 17 months
11/2/2017 Grayson 89.8 -5 18 months
12/2/2017 Grayson 87 -2.8 19 months
12/31/2017 Grayson 84.6 -2.4 20 months
2/2/2018 Grayson 82 -2.6 21 Months
3/2/2018 Grayson 84 2 22 Months
4/2/2018 Grayson 86.3 2.3 23 Months 
4/30/2018 Grayson 89.4 3.1 24 months

Grayson- Standing Tall

We have had a lot of opportunity to photograph and videotape Grayson “standing tall” in the last few weeks.  There seems to be a pattern of his confidence increasing and his desire to gain some height.  In this week’s photo, he is in the East Side Retirement area with Denali waiting for the Vermilion College Natural Resource students to finish cleaning hay out of the Exhibit Pack area.  Wolf care staff have witnessed Grayson taking the opportunity to display some dominance  over Denali when he rolls over for the wolf care staff.  Although dominance doesn’t equate to food possession.  Grayson is still timid around feeding, especially when Denali takes possession of a carcass.   Grayson and Axel will be two years old on Wednesday, May 2nd.  Please consider a donation to the Wolf Care Fund in honor of Axel and Grayson as they find their way into the pack. 

Grayson – What Does it Mean?

To summarize Grizzer’s log, we have a recurring issue where Grizzer bark howls in a threat display towards our Veterinarian.  This is due to an incident that occurred over 10 years ago.  In a recent Vet visit for Aidan, when Grizzer started barkhowling, the only member of the Exhibit Pack to respond was Grayson, and not just respond as in a juvenile following along.  Grayson intensely howled towards Grizzer and moved towards the threat while Axel, Denali and Boltz continued to feed on a carcass.  Aidan was watching Grayson, but did not participate in the howling.  I posted the video on last week’s YouTube if you would like to view it.  What does it mean?  For anyone who has been associated with our ambassador wolves over the years, you may recall the power of the bark howl that has primarily come from our pack leaders.  Shadow, the dominant male of the Exhibit Pack from 2002-2010, was the most intense whenever any unfamiliar person was in the yard.  Earlier this winter we filmed Aidan in an intense bark howl when we separated the pack to do some snow removal.  As the dominant male since 2011, Aidan was the one who would respond to the threats in the wolf yard.  Is the pack telling us there is a new wolf on watch?  Is it just Grayson’s more overall personality to be more wary or is there more to it.  We don’t have an answer for that, but will see how the year progresses and no doubt, the addition of the 2020 pups will be an influence.  For now we watch and record data.  Another interesting observation is the fact that Grayson continues to use bark howling to address wolf like situations.  The other day, Luna and Grizzer’s wrestling and growling vocalization started to increase.  Grayson immediately ran to the fence line and let out a series of quick half barks and a bark howl which typically serves as a warning.  Luna and Grizzer immediately stopped and ran to the fenceline to see who just dispensed some boundaries.  Grizzer looked with a bit of a social gaze, Luna a bit more stern in her gaze. Could a maturing juvenile have influence over Luna?

Grayson Observing

Grayson – the Observer

From the earliest moments that Grayson arrived at the Center we noticed that he seemed to be always watching and taking in all activities around him. This continues to be the behavior he exhibits most. In the past week, Grayson has spent time observing Axel, following and testing Denali, then watching Aidan observing Axel and Denali. He continues to vocalize quite a bit as tensions increased between Axel, Denali, and Boltz.  The most important observation staff have recorded is that he continues to rest with Aidan, and seems to still see Aidan as his pack leader.  The reality is that Aidan, while not asserting leadership, has a mere presence that implies leadership in the mind of Grayson, Denali and even in Aidan’s own actions.  It is critical that we acknowledge the psychological impact of retiring a pack leader. 

Grayson – Adapting to Changes

Grayson is in tune with the pack focus when it is directed toward Aidan.  He often does a low throated howl directed towards the pack or if wolf care are in the enclosure, directed right at the wolf care staff.  This communication is not the higher pitched rallying howls, but seems to be stress induced .  We know this winter has been hard for Grayson; Aidan was the one that calmed his anxiety in the weeks following the introduction, intervened on his behalf when the winter dominance increased and would share his food resources when Denali wouldn’t let Grayson near the carcass.  All of this has changed and Grayson needs to adapt to the changes.  He is very similar in personality to Aidan when he was an omega yearling and we all know how that situation changed.  We are focusing on keeping Grayson healthy, building his food resources and monitoring times when he is most anxious with a distraction for not only Grayson, but the pack as well. 

Grayson- Conducting his own Behavioral Observations

This week’s photo was taken by Christina Rizzo while visiting the Center for a recent Wildlife Photography session with Heidi Pinkerton.  Grayson is very keen on activities in the building and when we have a photographic session or behavioral observation, he seems to be conducting his own behavioral studies.  He is especially keyed in to the presence of youthful exuberance (i.e. young kids running) which likely triggers the predatory drive.  Grayson had another positive fecal for roundworms, so he received a treatment as well as the pack to reduce any risk of reinfection.  We will test him again in the upcoming weeks to make sure the treatment was effective.  It does seem that he might have a weaker immune system or may be associated with his underlying stress of the pack dynamics this winter since he seems to have had more issues than Axel even when they were pups.  There is no doubt that Grayson reacts to things with more intrepidation.  We did weigh Grayson on March 2nd and he had slightly increased in weight from 82 pounds at the beginning of the year to 84 pounds.  Of course, wolf weights fluctuate significantly with the fact that they can eat 20% of their body weight while gorging on a carcass, but we still want to get Grayson as many food resources as possible.  Until further notice, staff have been instructed to continue to feed Grayson any chance they get, the problem is, Denali thinks the instructions apply to him. 

Grayson – Ears Pricked Forward

Grayson has been displaying an increased focus on all pack members, but particularly Denali.  At this point, it’s still difficult to determine who will resume leadership in the future, but if keen observations are a skill, Grayson definitely excels, it’s good thing he has such a strong bond with Aidan.  If there was a weak social bond between Aidan and Grayson, I wonder if Aidan’s membership in the pack may be different.  I am particularly fond of this photo because it shows his peaked interest and and a depth of expression in his eyes.  We will be weighing the arctic yearlings on March 2nd to see if we made some progress with the daily feedings.  

Grayson- Greatest Impact to Aidan’s Loss of Leadership

While it is difficult to watch Aidan’s lack of confidence, it is even more challenging for staff to observe the impact of Aidan’s loss of leadership on one of his #1 allies, Grayson.  Since the 2016 introduction, Grayson has been more timid and his lack of confidence was a target for Denali and Boltz to assert their dominance.  But, Aidan was always there to intervene or to give Grayson a social greeting in the most tense of circumstances.  This helped Grayson form some strong social bonds and gain the confidence to mature into adulthood. But, without Aidan, life has changed for Grayson.  The impact is broader than not having an advocate or allie during a pack focus; In Aidan’s reduced leadership role, Axel’s has received less dominance and has less consequences to his behavioral testing.  Without boundaries, he is asserting himself with more intensity and as you can see from this photo, Grayson is responding with threat displays that match that intensity. 

Grayson

Separation for Aidan resulted in Grayson showing dominance over Denali.  Aidan and the arctics were separated from Denali and Boltz by two hours while Aidan recovered from his surgery. Grayson met Denali at the chute and dominated him immediately upon Denali’s entry back into the exhibit. Separation within a wolf pack can create a re-assertion of rank order, and as a young wolf, Grayson is tuned in to opportunities to increase his rank. Grayson continues to periodically give a solo, haunting howl. He seems to do this when he is keyed in to Aidan’s moods and/or stress.

Grayson being chased by Axel

This week’s log was submitted by Wolf Photography Weekend Participant – Robert Sole

During the photo weekend, Grayson was the target of chases and aggression from Axel and Denali. On Friday and Saturday, Grayson was defensive as Aidan, for the most part, stayed in the woods. Sunday morning, Axel was chasing Grayson with his tail raised to a T-1 position. Grayson has his tail at a T-3 position and his ears pricked backwards as he is being chased. Sunday morning, Aidan was much more active and moments before the photo was taken, he came to help Grayson and order was restored.