The wolves are doing well and enjoying the recent snowfall. Grizzer has been very active displaying very adult like behaviors. In this week's video, he does a stalk of Malik, but Malik is wary of his presence. Overall, the exhibit has been very quiet, likely due to the warm weather. Despite the snow, temperatures still remain near 30 farenheit, very warm for wolves with full winter coats.
Grizzer is going to be moved out of the new habitat for a day or two. We are adding a protective concrete slant to the front of his den site. After a recent storm with a significant amount of rainfall, we noticed that the water drainage in front of the den was not adequate and resulted in the den getting wet. It is very important that all dens stay dry, so we will take advantage of one of the last remaining warm days in fall and pour a few bags of concrete and rocks. We have to wait until about noon to do the work, this morning's temperature was 19 degrees, but it is expected to reach 54 degrees by noon. He will be back in the Exhibit on Saturday late afternoon. We need at least 24 hours for the concrete to dry.
This week’s log’s contain all the same text. Not only do I serve as the Wolf Curator for the International Wolf Center, but I also work as an instructor at Vermilion Community College. It’s been a busy day with Vermilion Natural Resource students participating in the Governor’s deer hunting pre-hunt educational activities for area elementary schools. We left for the festivities at 7 am this morning and stayed for the entire day, leaving little time for regular wolf log duties. The wolves are all doing well, we had a few mornings with temperatures near 15 degrees which seemed to stimulate activity. The roadkill deer supply is doing well thanks to a call from the Wildlife Science Center in Forest Lake that provided extra roadkill. Unfortunately, the freezer compressor failed on the same day, so thanks to generous donations from alpha members, we are back in business. Even though nighttime temperatures have been below freezing, the daytimes are relatively warm, keeping the wolves resting throughout the day.
You may notice Grizzer has a new scar on his face, compliments of Malik. There was a scuffle last Monday afternoon, with Malik being very excitable and lunge snapping at Grizzer. Malik continues to be nervous about Grizzer's calmer behavior this winter. When Grizzer took over Malik's rank order 2 winters ago, Grizzer was very clear in maintaining his status. This left no question for Malik as to where he fit into the pack. Since the pups have arrived and Grizzer is so calm, Malik pushes Grizzer to see if he can gain rank, but is anxious about it, since there was past conflict. After the bite, Grizzer did a following technique, which is an assertion of dominance, but wasn't very aggressive with Malik. Wolf care staff are trying many things to keep the wolves occupied, and to keep the stress level down. We did two enclosure enrichments last week, one was scent based that resulted in scent rolling behavior, the other was food based that stimulated the wolves to search and find treats. A YouTube video showing both enclosure enrichment activities will be posted.
Grizzer is getting more assertive with Malik. One issue we have lately is that Malik doesn't want to go into holding with the pack. This leaves him out in the main enclosure while work is being done, and a target for dominance when the rest of the pack is brought back into the exhibit. Most of this is initiated by Grizzer, but the pups follow Grizzer and that puts Malik on the offensive. Even a separation for a short period of time will result in the wolves attempting to reestablish rank order. In an effort to reduce this issue, protocol will include treats being scattered throughout the exhibit before the pack is let out. The hope is the distractions will reduce the focus on Malik. We can't force Malik to go into holding, if it continues to be an issue, then protocol will change to reduce the holding time for the pack until we get through the peak of the hormonal season.
Grizzer has had a tough week, a dominance interaction left him with a tooth mark on the corner of his eye, requiring antibiotics. We're not sure who's responsible, but it could be Malik or one of the pups daily wrestling matches. Grizzer is taking it in stride, and it doesn't seem to be slowing down his activity. Staff are very diligent during this time of year to inspect and record every interaction and monitor the wolves health closely. Dominance is a natural part of wolf behavior, and in captivity, we probably see a heightened level as they don't have an outlet for behavior like wild wolves hunting their own prey. Staff will develop some creative ideas to distract and provide a behavioral outlet to work off some energy. Treadmills aren't an option here, but we will think of something.
Physical mobility is very good. Grizz is now capable of running and romping. Grizz's mobility is better than Groan's. Has been feeding regularly and voraciously, sometimes drinking too fast. He has been engaging in play behaviors with his siblings.
The wolves did well with the recent cold snap last week. Wolf care faced temperatures of – 39 below on 2 mornings, – 32 below on one morning and a warm spell of below and Friday's balmy – 16 below… The wolf care staff are here 7 days a week, 365 days a year to ensure that the wolves have the best care possible. Grizzer's eye wound is healing well and things have been very calm this past week. Maybe it's the cold temperatures keeping the dominance interaction to a minimum, or maybe it's Malik daily aspirin regimen that keeps him happier. Regardless, the pack is calm. Grizzer continues to be very tolerant of the pups, as this week's photo demonstrates.
As I wrote last week, when wolf care staff did a check on the pack last Sunday morning, they discovered Grizzer had a bloody ear. There was no tension in the pack, so the likely cause wasn't aggressive, although the feeding the night before was quite active, with the pack devouring a deer carcass. Well, Grizzer healed well and continues to solicit attention from the pups. To keep the pups occupied, last week was a buffet table of food. Chicken was fed on Sunday, 50 lbs of beef on Monday, a beaver on Tuesday and a deer head on Wednesday worked well to keep the pups active and tugging on food resources, rather than Grizzer's ear. The warming trend also helped in attitude, even the wolves get sick of – 20 below weather.
Grizzer is very excited when the pups are fed, which means, Grizzer has great stimulus twice a day. In this week's Youtube, you can hear him rattling a gate chain when the pups are feeding on a deer carcass. We usually give him a treat which is why he's conditioned to make some noise. It's been a good transition to cooler weather and he's doing extremely well with staff interactions, Oscar visits and taking the opportunity to watch the dynamics in both the Exhibit and Retired Pack.
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.