This weekend is the Working for Wolves weekend, and due to the significant amount of preparation work, we will be posting the same text for all the logs. The main priorities for this weekend include straw removal, cleaning and filling the ponds in the Exhibit and Retired Enclosure, putting a roof and protective walls on the medical enclosure and starting the fence layout for Grizzer’s new enclosure. It will be a busy weekend, and work will continue in the upcoming weeks on Grizzer’s habitat. The goal is to get him into the new area by June 15th. All the wolves are doing well. Aidan and Denali are having no problem eating their entire deer carcass on weekends, and Shadow and Malik are transitioning to more food carcass meals with chicken on Tuesday and Thursdays. Grizzer gets chicken on a daily basis as he has a small area left to heal from his head and we want to maximize his nutrition to keep is immune system strong. Someone emailed with concern about Malik in the den, because he sleeps so soundly, they were concerned that there was something wrong. Old wolves do like their sleep, but we keep the camera on the wolves and staff are aware of their condition.
Grizzer did well with the work crew considering he was at times, surrounded by work crews. We did resort to a dose of valium to take the edge off, and are hoping to get a fence company in soon to get his new habitat ready. Our goal is to have him settled by early June, before the Behind the Scenes programs start. We want to offer as much privacy for him as possible when the wolf yard gets busy. We did resort to a lot of pigs ears for distractions last weekend, and we are always grateful for the donations. We have 2 boxes of pigs ears, so we should be set, but they are Grizzer's favorite distraction. In the photo, you will notice a little white spot on Grizzer's head, he has a very small portion that needs to grow hair. Based on his rate of hair growth, this should be covered by June.
This past weekend was the first in a series of three Planning for Pups programs. Denali and Aidan did an excellent job of demonstrating the value of socializing pups. Grizzer was tolerant, although we were very careful to give him his privacy. Shadow started a bark howl on Sunday morning, but that was probably more directed at the Curator for applying fly ointment to his ears. Due to the extra work load this weekend, all wolves will share one log posting.
We started the process of grooming Grizzer and he rolls in full submission to get brushed and to trim some hair on his head. He’s found a cool hole to for relief from the heat, and we did give him a small tank to splash in the water. It’s not like the big pond, but Grizzer never did care much for swimming, he is more of a wader. He usually scoops all the water out of his drinking pail, but now that he has the tank, he spends time splashing in there. We will see how the new habitat progresses and if we can improve on a watering source, but his main preference is the sprinkler systems which will be installed in the next few weeks.
Our biggest surprise during the medical exam was Grizzer's response to one of the Veterinarians. During a 2008 medical exam, the vet was checking Grizzer's abdomen for any signs of bloating, and Grizzer was alert enough to snap and grab the vet. The incident happened in less than 5 seconds, but Grizzer developed a negative conditioning to the vet. Prior to that exam, Grizzer had no issues. When we immobilized Shadow and Malik, Grizzer did a threat display with barks and howls, scraping the ground in a confident defensive manner and showing a high tail. He was adamant about the warning to get out of the territory and he stopped as soon as the vet left.
Grizzer continues to show great interest in the pups and is very calm during wolf interactions. I believe there is a strong influence of prolactin affecting his behavior. He even allows Malik to be more dominant, which has increased Malik's confidence and his tail. If there is a wolf at the window looking at pups, it's usually Grizzer.
Grizzer has been experiencing what we call the prolactin high. He is extremely dosile with all wolf care staff, and just has that feel good look to him. He even overlooks the many Malik postures that will likely be addressed once prolactin begins leveling off and decreasing around August. This week's photo shows Grizzer averting Malik's gaze after Malik jumped on the rock when Grizzer was sleeping.
Grizzer is really starting to shed, and he is returning to the lean summer wolf pelage. Staff are brushing him on a daily basis and getting bags of hair. He is still showing strong social behavior towards the pups and is often at the fence for a greeting. Grizzer is shown in several photos this week, his own photo showing his shedding, in Lakota's photo, greeting her at the gate, in Maya's photo, where he is also greeting the pups. He does get around and interacts with everyone.
Grizzer's howls continue, but can be best correlated with wolf care staff leaving the enclosure or when staffing has less hours dedicated to wolf care on site. He is very relaxed with wolf care staff in the enclosure and is receiving daily powder to his head to increase healing and willingly allows wolf care staff to clean the area. He received a bit of a trim of his hair today and had no problem with the scissors. His eating patterns are unique, as he seems to only consume chicken legs or wings, leaving the thigh and breast meat. In recent feedings of deer legs, he seems reluctant to consume large quantities of meat. We did discover this with Lakota and Malik when they were alone, it appears that the lack of competition for food might influence their behavior. Grizzer gets chicken on a daily basis and still gets small carcasses, even though they might not be consumed. We are waiting for spring melt to layout Grizzer's new habitat and hope to have ground breaking by mid-May.
Grizzer had a great time rolling in the fresh snow and seems to be very interested in the Malik/Shadow relationship. Every time Malik tries some opportunistic behavior, Grizzer is right at the adjoining gate posturing with a T-2 tail. This makes for some very interesting interactions and is the reason why Grizzer can't join the arctics in retirement.
The International Wolf Center advances the survival of wolf populations by teaching about wolves, their relationship to wildlands and the human role in their future.