Grizzer and Denali certainly have a strong social bond, and Denali's constant desire to chase and wrestle has improved Grizzer's physical shape. He seems to be slimming down a bit, but still has his wide statue that helps us ID the wolves. Someone recently asked how to ID Grizzer and Maya other than size. If you look closely at the Youtube video this week, there is a clip towards the end that shows Grizzer's face, he has a white patch between his eyes, while Maya has two dark lines that accent her face.
Sorry for the delay in the logs, the spring semester started at Vermilion on Monday, and the Curator has a full teaching schedule on Monday and Tuesday mornings. The Priority for time at the Center was placed on the wolves, leaving other duties to wait until Friday. We will transition the logs to be posted on Friday's throughout the spring semester. Grizzer really seems to enjoy Denali's company, and their frequent social chasing and wrestling behavior has been good for Grizzer's health. He seems to have dropped some weight, and isn't nearly as stiff has he's been in previous winters. Of course, we can't weigh them now as we have a metal scale, and I'm sure you've all heard the stories of skin on cold metal. But, in spring, we expect to see a leaner, trimmer Grizzer on the scales. One other noteworthy observation is that Grizzer and Denali don't only wrestle together, they are often found sleeping together.
The weather here has turned cold, with morning temperatures for the last several days ranging from -25 to -30 below zero. Wolf care staff have increased the amount of straw in the enclosure to give the wolves more insulation. Wolves in the wild bed in the snow for insulation, but in captivity, the snow is compacted, leaving it ice cold. Grizzer does have some cold feet issues in cold, which is why he is first to claim one of the straw beds. He's usually found on the slate den, but lately, we placed some straw in the front of the enclosure in the direct sunlight and he spends a fair amount of time there, off camera. He still seems to enjoy Denali's wrestling, and these two are a perfect match for each other, focusing some of Denali's energy.
As the photos and the Youtube video show, Grizzer and Denali spend a lot of time in social wrestling. I call it social because it doesn't lead to an aggressive interaction and when Denali or Grizzer are on the bottom (it rotates)… the wolf being pinned rarely has his tail tucked in a more anxious or fearful posture. Grizzer is very relaxed, and seems to start these chasing wrestling bouts with Denali. Grizzer shows no sign of testing Shadow, actually, Grizzer shows no signs of asserting any status over anything, he seems content to chase, wrestle and rest, usually in that order. Of course, there's always eating too…
This is just a reminder that the wolf logs are now posted on Friday rather than Monday due to a change in the Curator's teaching schedule. The last posting was Friday, January 29th, but on February 1st, the January postings are automatically moved to the archive section, which is why the main log screen has appeared empty since the 1st of February. To see archive data, just click the month/year that you would like to review and you can see the log postings. Grizzer continues to be the calm, good nature wolf that we have observed all winter long. Wrestling with Denali continues, but he has shown much more social interest in Aidan, which is good for Aidan. Grizzer is also the first to claim some fresh straw and find a good place to rest and watch ravens.
Activity has been increasing in the Exhibit pack lately with the cooler mornings. Grizzer's appetite is increasing and his insistence to get a meal. Over the weekend, he attempted several times to remove the chain on the gate, unsuccessful, but hard on the gate latch. In this week's video, he discovers a spider in the exhibit, a bit timid for such a big head.
The wolves are enjoying the fall weather which is brining cooler nights. Due to time constraints, this week's logs will be duplicate for all wolves. Some general comments on the videos. In Lakota's video, small rodent populations have increased due to the new seeding in the pack, she enjoys the hunt. MacKenzie's vision may be going, but she can still hear the movement of a ziplock bag of meat in the lab. Grizzer, Maya and Shadow enjoy a pack howl together, with Malik watching the action. Even though Malik doesn't chose to be very interactive with Maya and Grizzer, he still gets his fair shair of beaver.
Grizzer has been showing a bit of interest in dominance. He's been observed attempting to make direct eye contact with Malik, but so far, Malik averts his gaze. Maya doesn't miss out of any of the interactions in the pack, she readily interacts with Grizzer and as last week's video's showed, is often in a dominance ride-up or scruff display with Grizzer. Grizzer continues to show a quick submissive response to Shadow, but spends more time socially interacting with Shadow than attempting dominance.
Grizzer has been very photogenic lately, spending a lot of time on the greeting rock in front of the maple trees that are just reaching their peak of color. He continues to attempt to make eye contact with Malik, but Malik continues to avert his gaze. Grizzer and Maya create good distractions for each other, as shown in this week's videos for both.
Wolf Care Staff have been busy providing logistical support to a film crew, working on a series called "Ms. Adventure" for Animal Planet. So, needless to say, there's not much time today for wolf logs. So, we'll have the same posting for all wolves. The Retired Pack is settling into a routine, when small amount of food are given, Lakota is fed in the holding area, while MacKenzie gets her fare share in the main enclosure. The Exhibit Pack is doing well, there's a bit of tension between the male's over rank order position, but so far, no real issues. Maya continues to be the predatory wolf, hunting small birds that are landing in the enclosure searching for seeds before their fall migration. Other than a few noisy moments, the wolves are still calm and remaining in a more crepuscular (dawn and dusk) pattern to avoid the heat. All the wolves have begun the winter hair growth of their dense undercoat, so when temperatures increase now, it's even more uncomfortable. As you can see by the video this week, the best place to be is in the wooded portion of the enclosure.
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