Grizzer is a creature of habit. His preference is to rest on the slate den, and as the YouTube video shows, even if Shadow's in his place, it doesn't stop Grizzer from getting what he wants. Fortunately for Grizzer, Shadow is a tolerant pack leader. Grizzer also is conditioned to his feeding days. The Curator was out of town at a Forestry/Wildlife meeting for 3 days this week, and in an effort to keep the pack calm, the wolves were fed on Tuesday, rather than the usual Wednesday. By Friday, Grizzer was expecting food which should have been 3 days from the last feeding.
Grizzer has become very obsessed with food lately. Fortunately for him, the pups always have leftovers. This is typical this time of year as the cooler weather has increased all appetites. We are still lean on food resources, but with deer season starting at the first of November, we are very appreciative of scraps from hunters.
Sorry for the break between log postings, I should be back on a regular schedule now. In the last few postings we've been referencing some cold weather limping on Luna. After consultation with the University of Minnesota, we decided to get an x-ray on Luna. The logs today will feature the reactions of each individual wolf. Even though Grizzer is not an Exhibit Pack member, his proximity to the wolf yard makes him a part of the pack. While Luna was in the medical pen, Grizzer has a direct view of Luna and staff interacting with her. This kept Grizzer very occupied and active. When Denali and Boltz got a deer leg, Grizzer did too and he didn't sleep until Luna was back in the pack.
We've been having a difficult time filming Grizzer lately, he's been very social with staff and spending a lot of time with people. This scenario is great for humans and wolves alike, but difficult if you want more than 30 seconds of Youtube footage. Changes in behavior can be stimulated by seasonal changes. The other wolves who live in social groups are spending more time jaw sparring, posturing and interacting. Grizzer is doing the same thing with Oscar, but the fence separation keeps him from gaining the full effect of social contact.
Grizzer was the most anxious about the Working for Wolves crew but he'[s benefiting form the work. Clearing the branches and hazards in this enclosure is important because we also use the front area of Grizzer's enclosure for holding the pups for various circumstances. One such event will happen tomorrow, when we are holding Luna and Boltz for a 24 hour period. We need blood work on Luna with a 24 hour fasting sample. She will be more relaxed in a bigger area, and will be more relaxed with Boltz staying in the holding pen. This means Grizzer will have to stay in the back half of his enclosure for a day, but the stimulus of the pups close by and the fact that staff will be on site all night will give Grizzer a lot of distractions. We did have one observation today of Grizzer and Oscar. The two diverse pack mates were doing their typical jaw spar at the front panel (thank to the WFW crew, great repair job).. Grizzer was rolling over for Oscar, then he sprung up to do an invite chase, looking back at Oscar who was on the other side of the panel. He came back several times and seemed to want Oscar to follow through with a chase. We think it would be risky for Oscar to be in with Grizzer and don't intend to let these two meet without a protective barrier, but it sure seems like Grizzer would like to spend some time with Oscar.
Grizzer's new enclosure design worked perfectly for our recent need to hold Luna for a 24 hour fasting sample. Grizzer willingly went in the back half of the enclosure (with a beaver and 15 lbs of bone dust) and quietly remained in the back while staff stayed with Luna to try to keep her calm. By 9 am on Saturday morning, the blood sample was taken, Luna was back in the pack and Grizzer had a significant amount of smells to investigate as well as a 1/2 bale of straw used to keep Luna warm. He seemed to enjoy the return trip back into his enclosure.
In this week’s video, Grizzer has been showing an increased intensity and attitude. This is common with a wolf that is reaching full maturity at 2.5 years old. While the dominance behaviors between Grizzer and Shadow appear intense, they are actually common forms of communication for this social pack animal. These daily sessions of body posture, growls and dominance displays help to reduce a more significant issue over rank. We are most impressed with the influence Maya has over the male role. Maya continues to pay homage to Shadow, but if her behavior gets too excitable, Grizzer comes over to inspect.
Maintaining wolves during the winter time requires constant assessment of nutritional status, wolf interactions during the most aggressive time of the year, physical response to changing temperatures and water consumption. The wolves have their winter water heaters installed and have adapted well to the change from the summer water system to the winter system. While wolves in the wild find fresh snow to have insulating value, wolves in captivity need some type of additional insulation due to compaction of snow. Fresh straw bales are given to the wolves several times during the month to ensure a warm place to rest. The den is lined with straw as well, but the wolves rarely use the den except to escape summer heat. In this week’s video of Grizzer, you see him investigating the straw as do the other wolves.
Sorry for the delay in the logs, Wolf Curator, Lori Schmidt was in Anchorage Alaska last week for the Wildlife Society National Meeting and general wolf care was the main priority in her absence. Grizzer has certainly returned to his winter look, a full pelage and the impression that he is wider than he is tall. As you look at Grizzer's video this week, it's hard to believe this is the same skinny tailed wolf visitors saw this summer. Grizzer's excess size is good for Malik, Grizzer doesn't run very fast in the daily dominance displays around the enclosure.
Grizzer’s testing has subsided a bit, although he still has his moments. We know when the wolves are getting along well, when they share sleeping arrangements. As I write this, Grizzer and Shadow are sharing a straw bed together. In this week’s video, Grizzer’s puppy behavior still exists as he rolls in the fresh falling snow. In Shadow’s video, you will see Grizzer and Shadow playing in the new straw.
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