With the new feeding schedule, we have purchased some small chicken fryers. These whole chickens are about 3 – 5 lbs and a perfect size for a smaller wolf feeding. The good thing about this feeding versus the chicken wing, leg or thigh feedings is that the wolves seem to be stimulated with more carrying and guarding behavior than the smaller quantities of food. Grizzer seemed to really enjoy carrying around his chickens and even guarding them from staff.
We don't have much to say about Grizzer other than we enjoy his company, he is always animated and alert and he has a strong social interaction with most of the wolf care staff. He's been very observant of Malik and seems to be a bit obsessed with any dominance that Shadow may display over Malik. There's a reason why the enclosures don't have a shared fenceline.
Grizzer has become more animated in his actions with staff. His submissive roll overs to staff seem to predictably turn into a chase around the enclosure. But, while his staff interactions increase in social nature, we have noticed an increasing shyness towards strangers. We keep the wolf yard very protective to avoid disturbing the older animals who need their rest, but last summer we had months of activity as the pups were exploring the outdoor world. This may have impacted Grizzer more than we originally thought. We'll be working on this as we prepare for the spring Working for Wolves programs, summer Pups at One Year and Ethology programs.
In the interest of getting logs posted tonight, I’m copying the same text. The priorities in my job include pup feeding time. We have a short period of time to maximize growth and get Luna and Boltz the resources necessary to prepare for a Northern Minnesota winter. Feedings require time, patience and some ingenuity. As I write this, I just finished a successful pup feeding with Luna eating over a pound of venison and another ½ pound of chicken. It was not quite as successful with Boltz, but he was caching everything I offered, so he must have been full. Boltz does utilize the remaining carcasses from previous feedings and his scats are dark, indicating meat consumption. Aidan has had some tremendous social bonding behavior with Luna, unfortunately, I didn’t get it on tape. With cooler weather stimulating hormones, we are bound to see more. Grizzer is the beneficiary of most of the pups left overs. He does enjoy that part of wolf care. Shadow and Malik continue to posture with Shadow more dominant, but they don’t have any issues when it comes to sharing the den in a rainstorm. Thanks for checking in, I hope to have more time next week to give a more complete update of each wolf. We have started to increase the feedings or all the retirees, and are in need of some pigs ears to serve as distractions as the pups continue to be the focus of the staff.
The text for today will all be the same for each wolf. Why? Well, for the first time in my nearly 27 years of wolf care, we are sump pumping the water in the wolf yard. The snowmelt and day of rain has left a 10 inch deep layer of water. This usually happens in April, when temperatures are near 40 and the ground is still frozen, but in April, we know it will drain in a week. It is January and the weekend forecast is for temperatures in the single digits Fahrenheit with a wind chill and more snow coming. If we let this pond freeze in the yard, we will have a serious safety issue for wolf care working on slick ice. The wolf enclosures all have good topography and other than wet from the rain, they have no issues with standing water. They’re just standing on the edge of the fence watching us pump and sweep as the roof keeps dripping. Hence, I don’t have a lot of time to write wolf logs. All wolves are doing well and the warmer temperatures have been kind to Luna.
Grizzer, Shadow and Malik have been moved to an every other day feeding of beef and chicken until we get a few more roadkill in the freezer. This is a short term issue until we see a bit more snow that will restrict deer movements. A low snow year is good for deer, but when the facility relies on roadkill, it's been a bit of a dry spell. While Grizzer likes the idea of having the frequent feedings, he has been picking up the scent of the deer in the main pack causing him to do some whining from the top of the den. We expect this situation to improve in the next few weeks, but if anyone wants to donate to the Grizzer, Shadow and Malik beef and chicken fund, we would welcome the donations.
The logs will be the same this week. We had snow on Monday that required a lot of effort to gain access to all the gates, water containers and dens. Thanks to Danielle and Linda for helping in that Monday morning check. We also had to redistribute straw beds for all the enclosures, a task that can only be appreciated during the spring Working for Wolves program when we have to remove all that straw. We are very pleased that Shadow and Malik are back to their usual invite chase behaviors and both have fully recovered from the gastrointestinal virus that occurred a few weeks ago. Grizzer is more social than ever and staff continue to have relaxing checks on a daily basis. Most of the extreme sub-zero weather is behind us and even if we do have a cold night, the days warm up quickly. Rank order traits are starting to emerge in the Exhibit Pack with Luna showing Denali that she will jaw spar despite his over-towering height advantage. Fortunately for Luna, Aidan watches from and pins Denali if things get a little intense. Spring fever starts kicking in for staff and wolves alike as the warm days of March seem to stimulate some strong social behavior (at least for the wolves).
It's been a quiet week for Grizzer. Oscar took a mini-vacation and has been offsite since Thursday. He'll be back on Tuesday, but his absence in the wolf yard is probably missed by Grizzer. He's had some extra staff time as colder temperatures, snow and the need for extra care has increased wolf care hours in the last few days.
Someone recently asked me if I had a favorite wolf. Certainly some people may think it's hard not to think of some individuals with a greater concern because of their individual needs, but the reality is, every wolf is different and they all have some unique characteristic to make them special. So, I thought I would dedicate this week's wolf logs to those unique characteristics. Grizzer has the most expressive behaviors with staff. He willingly submits and has the most social interactions of any wolf here. He is alert to the activities of all packs and knows exactly when any food resource enters another enclosure and let's staff know through a rattle of a chain, slam of a gate or a snapping of a tree branch.
Thanks for checking for the wolf logs and cameras, even when we aren’t always live. We seem to have an intermittent router problem, and we’re currently working with more tech support people than wolf care staff. With that said, the due to other obligations, the logs are all the same this week. I did produce a Youtube video this week and used some of the surveillance camera footage. The surveillance cameras are motion activated with noise activated sound. They are sometimes choppy, but it is good to have a view of the activity after dark. Shadow and Malik have the most activity, since the camera focuses on their main densite. Grizzer tends to sleep near the wolf yard, and is always resting and waiting for Oscar to make his morning rounds. Aidan and Denali had an interesting week, Aidan has been carrying the crook of his tail with a bit of status. There were several days when Aidan was keeping Denali in a wooded area of the pen, but today, they seem to be back to their usual interactions. We will be doing some concrete work on the Slate Den next week, and will be testing the new enclosure configuration, keeping Aidan and Denali in the Pack Holding area for a few hours, while Grizzer stays in his new habitat. I would expect to see Grizzer with a lot of activity during that project.
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