Grizzer has been very calm lately. He must be getting used to the camera operator, we haven't had an incident of him sneaking up from behind to get a grab bite in on the photographer. We have noticed Grizzer's continued shy behavior towards strangers, he must be picking up his cues from Shadow. In this week's photo, a group of students arrived in a bus causing Grizzer to turn into a parking lot watcher.
This week's wolf logs were written by program participants in the 10/28-10/30/05 weekend program called "Working for Wolves", in which participants performed enclosure enrichment and maintenance projects in both the Retired and Exhibit enclosures. Written by Michelle Amacker, Cathy Jents, and Diane Nelson: During the Working for Wolves program, we noticed that Grizzer was fearful of the changes to the enclosure. In this photo, you can notice that he was very cautious in entering the den. Many changes were made to the den, and it took him some time to get comfortable. You can also notice how wide he appears from behind. He seems to have grown with his full winter coat.
So sorry for the delay in the wolf logs. Preparation for the Wolf Symposium in Colorado Springs has taken a bit of my time. In addition, protocols and contingency plans during my absence need to be written to ensure that every possible wolf emergency is covered. International Wolf Center members and former nannies, Brian and Ellen Dietz will be driving up from Illinois to spend the weekend at the Center assisting with any pack issues that may arise. I am most grateful for their offer to help keep an eye on the pack. I plan to feed a large deer carcass to both packs on Thursday night prior to my departure. A full wolf is usually a sleepy wolf. Dr Chip Hanson and wolf care staff Matt Fetterer and Jim Ziburski will be monitoring the pack as well.
Grizzer has been getting a bit of dominance from the pack lately. He's taking it pretty well, and often gets up after a bout and runs back up the hill toward the pack. The interaction generally starts with Maya and Grizzer wrestling, then the arctics get involved. Maya's very skilled at getting Grizzer down. Wolf care staff saw her dunk Grizzer's head in the pond last week.
Grizzer is growing his winter coat in and looking bigger than ever. He's been very excited, especially when the arctics are in the middle of a dominance display. He continues to be hard on the tree growth in the pen, although we are still maintaining 50% survival of the trees planted during the Pups at One Year programs. Given Grizzer's size and motivation to redirect to something, I think that survival is pretty good.
Today was the first snow of the year, the begining of an intersting winter for Grizzer. He is maturing into an adult wolf, and today's example could be one of the many behaviors he will be showing. Shadow and Malik got into a dominace dispute, Grizzer often mounts Malik from behind during this encounters, but today, he became an active participant biting Malik on the neck several times. This was the first time that the wolf care staff noticed Grizzer actively biting Malik.
Wolf Care Staff member Jen Westlund had an interesting feeding. Grizzer tore the door off the pack holding area prior to feeding. The protocol for the feeding program is to lock the pack into the holding area while the staff wheels out the carcass. There was still plenty of time prior to the feeding, but Grizzer couldn't wait, he decided to let himself out of holding. All is repaired and he enjoyed his deer without further incident.
Grizzer had a good week. The feeding on Saturday night was not nearly as exciting as the previous weeks. The Curator fed some bones from local deer hunters on Friday to give Grizzer something to chew on while he was waiting for the big deer and Saturday's feeding. There's been no change in Grizzer's dominance towards Malik. When it's one on one between Malik and Grizzer, Grizzer is submissive and give in. When Shadow and Malik are in a dominance dispute, Grizzer comes in from behind, but as soon as someone faces him, he avoids conflict.
To prepare for winter in northern MN, there are many things that need to be done in and around the enclosure. One of these is to replace the automatic waterer with the heated waterer so the water won't freeze during the winter months. The heated waterers are encased in cement and are extremely heavy. Setting up the heated waterer in the enclosure was one of the projects done for by the Workin' for Wolves participants. During today's wolf care, wolf care staff found that their water pail need to be cleaned. While the pail was empty, Grizzer's curiosity took over, and he proceeded to check it out. Sorry for the clarity of this picture…..it was hard to get decent pictures during the low light this morning.
Daily wolf care at the International Wolf Center involves checking on the wolves' general health, as well as the delivery of meds (vitamins and Cosequin). When staff go into the enclosure to perform wolf care responsibilites, the wolves are encouraged to jump on the greeting rocks to give facial greetings, rather than jumping up to greet staff. During this morning's wolf care, both Maya and Grizzer were on the greeting rock. Visitors often ask how to tell Grizzer and Maya apart. Aside from size (Grizzer being larger and broader), Grizzer is lighter in coloration on his legs and face, as can be seen in this photo.
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.