Grayson – A Month of Adjustment

Grayson has displayed more intimidation during the first month of life as an Exhibit Pack member, but he’s definitely gaining confidence each day.  We have been very cognitive of opportunities for him to gain confidence, specifically, spending time in the medical enclosure each day.  It’s been a slow transformation, but it is rewarding to see this cautious, yet socially engaged pack member develop.  Grayson has many behavioral traits similar to Aidan’s few months in the pack as a pup.  It’s not surprising that Grayson gets comfort from Aidan interactions.  He is slightly behind in Axel in terms of weight gain, but that has been his pattern since he was a pup.  He has a good appetite and what may seem like a gap at 4-months of age will likely be narrowed as they approach 6 months of age.  We will be offering a Fall is in the Air Webinar on Thursday September 15th that will allow for a live feed from the Exhibit Pack, sharing the behaviors that make this Exhibit Pack blend into a cohesive unit. 

Grayson- Getting Acclimated

This week’s wolf logs are written by behavioral team members Jessica Pierce, Jennifer Ell, and Joyce Turnquist based on their observations during the first week of introduction.

Since introduction day, Grayson has come a long way. This process started with him being very intimidated and having a lot of anxiety due to the drastic change in human interaction. Over the last few days he has sought out humans less and has stated engaging and following the pack. He is still anxious and is very observant before making a decision. However, he has started exploring more on his own and with other members. He still shows signs of intimidation with the adults, specifically Denali, but the progress is evident and increasing every day.

Grayson- Threats from Above

Anyone who’s spent time in the woods can appreciate that wind has an impact.  The swaying of the trees, the creaking of the branches makes one wonder what may land on our head.  Wildlife are no different; Many deer hunters can attest to the fact that they don’t see deer on a windy day.  Predators are impacted as well.  Wolves rely on their sense of smell to identify the scent marking of nearby packs or the howls of a possible intruder.  In the wind, those sensory abilities are lost and can result in altered behavioral patterns in both wolves and their prey.  In captivity, we don’t have as much concern about territorial threats, but the presence of wind still makes the captive wolves nervous.  To aid in the socialization of our newest pups, we help gain some tolerance of wind by the use of a large industrial fan.  The fan is set outside of the enclosure and faces the pups while they go about their every day activities in the pack holding area.  Grayson is positively conditioned to the fan and often on a particularly muggy or buggy evening, will run toward the fan and sit in front of the steady flow of air with his head held high and his ears pricked forward.

Photo by Ann Rasberry

Grayson – Seeking Warmth

Even though the pup’s protective guard hairs are developing, they still have some challenges keeping warm.  Grayson is resting on Axel’s back after a light rain dampened the soil.  Notice the pups have some coloration to their guard hairs.  Their final adult coloration will be determined by around 5 or 6 months of age, but it looks like they may have some variations.  Grayson continues to have a strong association with the wolf care staff and is more timid when the adult wolves display some dominance at the fence.  We have implemented one shift a week where the pups have limited human contact and tend to rely on the Exhibit Pack for a source of comfort in the middle of the night.  This is a transition time to prepare the pups for their introduction into the pack in early August.

Grayback – Caution First

Grayback displays a lot of caution especially when exploring new things.  In this photo, he is observing the pond in the Pack Holding Area and is he does it with a determination that keeps him from falling in or getting stuck.  This is a bit contrary to his littermate.  This behavior will be advantageous when exploring the larger Exhibit Pack space.

Grayback – Predatory Drive

As we have said many times before, the most valuable component of a socialized wolf pup is that they are relaxed enough to display natural behaviors among the many distractions of a captive facility.  In this photo, Grayback displays a stalking behavior as he is about to ambush his littermate.  These social interactions may be described by some as “Play Behavior”, but every practice predatory encounter is honing the skills necessary to be successful in capturing prey.  Of course, in captivity, prey is delivered in many forms, but these are instinctual behaviors and they emerge long before pups are ever exposed to a hunt.  We had a significant growth rate in the last 24 hours.   Yesterday morning he weighed 10.3 lbs.and this morning, he weighed 10.8 lbs, gaining .5 pounds in one day.  This is a great weight gain, but he is a bit behind Axel and we are working on some additional supplements to help him catch up.  He is certainly active and healthy, we just need to monitor the calorie output with the calorie input.

Pup Update – 14 June 2016

The pups have peaks and valleys when it comes to weight gain and can be based on activity, stimuli, amount of time resting and the basic metabolism of an individual pup.  Pup Care Staff and Participants monitor all food consumption  so we know every detail about their diet, but pups can vary. We look closely at the weight gain of each pup to ensure that they are always gaining or at the very least, not losing weight.  Earlier in the week, they gained around .3 – .5 lbs. a day.  From 6/12 to 6/13, Grayback’s weight remained the same at 9.1 pounds with a slight gain up to 9.2 pounds on 6/14.  Grayback continues to have a good appetite and is very active, this may just be a reflection of his own metabolism.   Axel continues to gain on a daily basis, from 9.9 pounds on 6/12 to 10 pounds on 6/13 to a 10.2 pound weight today.   

They have several evening bouts of howling between the pups and the pack (including Grizzer) and seem to want to go outside in the middle of the night. One of the great design features of the new Wolf Care Center is the guillotine gate that connects the building to the outer enclosures allowing the pups a bit more freedom.  Staff will start experimenting with evening excursions to stimulate the pups to key in on their future packmates.  They will be restricted to the vestibule until they form a more protective set of guard hair and can spend evenings outdoors in the Pack Holding Area.  From our past experience, the pups are spending most of their time outdoors by the 1st week in July.   

Grayback – Seeking Cover

Grayback seemed to be a bit shyer from our first initial meeting.  He had a physical response to the transport with a bout of diarrhea even before the the transport to our facility, while Axel seemed to show little effect from the changes.  In the first few days on site, there were many moments that he fell asleep in the arms of the wolf care staff or comfortably rested in their lap while Axel revealed a more independent spirit.  Even though Grayback continues to lag slightly behind Axel in weight, he has proven to be capable of responding to dominance posturing by his sibling.  As a matter of fact, staff have noticed more dominance initiated by Grayback, a reversal of the first few weeks on site.  Grayback is best described as a more relaxed pup with less intensity towards stimuli.  He seems to settle into the routines of the day such as programs, spending time outside with the adult wolves and the rotating teams of the pup care staff.  In this week’s photo, a bison hide occupied Grayback while he seeks out the comfort and security of some pine boughs.   Grayback gained  .4 lbs in the last 24 hours and now weighs 8.4 lbs.

Grayback – Too Tired to Care

After a busy day of media events, Grayback chose to use the birch log as a pillow.  It didn’t appear that the branch was all that comfortable, but he didn’t seem to care.  Grayback continues to lag behind his littermate in weight.  Here is a list of media presentations about the pups:

Main Story on KSTP…

   http://kstp.com/news/arctic-wolf-pups-international-wolf-center-ely-canada/4161644/?cat=127

Exclusive RAW Video of Wolf Pups Journey to America on KSTP…  (10 minutes)

   http://kstp.com/news/video-arctic-wolf-pups-international-wolf-center-ely/4161647/?cat=12157

Wolf Pups Slide Show on KSTP…

   http://kstp.com/news/international-wolf-center-ely-arctic-wolf-pups-slideshow/4161496/?cat=12695

Additionally, the story was carried this evening on additional TV stations, including…

WDIO-TV of Duluth…

   http://www.wdio.com/news/international-wolf-center-ely-puppies-arctic/4161503/?cat=10335

KDLH-TV Northland News Center of Duluth…

   http://www.northlandsnewscenter.com/news/iron-range/New-Arctic-Wolf-pups-make-public-debut-at-International-Wolf-Center-382046071.html

WCCO-TV of Minneapolis

   http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2016/06/06/wolf-pups/

 

 

Grayback – Outweighed and Outmaneuvered

While Grayback’s weight is progressing well, he is still a half a pound behind his littermate Axel.  The pups are weighed each morning at 8 am, on June 5th, Grayback weighed 6.8 lbs. and today he is 7.1, a weight gain of .3 lbs. in 24 hours.  Although weights can fluctuate at this age, the additional challenge for Grayback is that Axel tends to be a bit more mobile and has mastered some dominant moves.  This will also fluctuate between pups, but at this point, it is one of the behavior indicators that may help people ID the pups.