Kathy Jents recently emailed me concerning some work done in the Exhibit Pack during the May "Working for Wolves Weekend". Yes, the log work was tremendous and does the job of keeping snow out of the den and keeping the straw dry. To those "Working for Wolves" hardy soles, thanks again for all your great work. If you haven't spent a weekend doing a good deed for a group of appreciative wolves and staff, check out our websites under the Experience Tab, Northern Minnesota Learning Vacations… Working for Wolves program on May 18 – 20, 2007. We always have a project that challenges the physical and mental being.
As you can see by the various videos this week, the winter dominance is heightened. Grizzer continues to test and circle the arctics, but has been focusing on Shadow more than Malik. This creates a lot of anxiety in Shadow and a lot of vocalizations. One thing staff has noticed is that Grizzer doesn’t seem to know what to do if he wins a dominance dispute. He tests, but doesn’t challenge. He’s more likely to go off with Maya and wrestle after testing Shadow than continue with more dominance posturing.
Grizzer seems to be calmer this week, that first rush of hormones in the fall caused him to do a lot of testing, but now he’s back to wrestling with Maya and showing associative behavior with Shadow, who likes to join in on Grizzer and Maya’s interaction. In this week’s video, you will see Grizzer grooming himself in the sun. Temperatures warmed to near 40 degrees over the weekend, a bit warm for wolves and making the snow a bit icy in the mornings.
Everything is going well here. It appears that MacKenzie has overcome the spinal issues she had earlier and is being weaned off the prednisone. Lakota is still springing around the enclosure as if she were a two year old, instead of a wolf nearing 14 years of age. The male rank order remains calm, with Grizzer and Maya continuing to interact as pupmates, and Shadow maintaining watch over the pack. Malik seems very relaxed and in his video this week is observed with high tail interacting with Grizzer and Maya when they are wrestling, but backs off when Shadow gives him direct eye contact. Thanks for your continued support of the wolf care program. Staff will be monitoring all wolves closely over the coming holiday season and maybe we’ll see you on the webcam.
Grizzer is doing well, he hasn't started shedding, so he tends to spend most of his time laying low and avoiding too much activity. This is great behavior for the staff that endured the puppy stages of testing and experimenting with his new teeth. This wolf has a great personality, and seems to be most likely to get himself into a predicament.
The weather continues to be cool and snowy here. This seems to keep the wolves active. Grizzer had an enjoyable feeding this past weekend, after he filled up on his quota of deer meat, he occupied his time by rolling in front of Malik while he was trying to eat. Malik was less than thrilled, and showed a series of barred teeth threat displays that Grizzer proceeded to ignore.
Grizzer has been much more workable for some handlers. It seems the warmer weather and the advancing spring has decreased some of the aggressive behavior in the enclosure. It is important for all staff and anyone observing these wolves to recognize that even though they are socialized, it doesn't mean that the wolves can't test a handler and attempt to take over their status. It's important to always remember that wolves are wolves, regardless of the captive management philosophy. In this week's photo, courtesy of an email by Cathy Jents, Grizzer is showing that sometimes wolves get so excited that they roll off of rocks.
Grizzer has developed a very dense coat this winter. When doing the daily wolf checks, it's hard to get below the fur to really check him out. He continues to stimulate interactions with his fellow pupmates as well as with the arctics. This time of the year is the most aggressive and as Shadow and Malik have their domiance issues, and Maya and Nyssa have their own issues, Grizzer is sometimes left out of the action. He's been observed chasing his own tail during some of these moments.
Sorry for the lapse in logs, I was at 2 professional conferences in the last two weeks; Wolf Care staff took great care of the wolves in my absence. As a distraction, I fed a donated Bison pelt to the Exhibit pack. The wolves were initially very intrigued, and spent several days tugging, chewing, defending and even sleeping on the hide. This kept them quite busy in the Curator's absence and out of trouble. Grizzer continues to be the third wheel in the dominance hierarchy. He doesn't fit into the intensity of the arctics and he doesn't fit into the female role, so he finds himself left out. He ususally creates a distraction or chase scene that gets the interest of another wolf. Grizzer was quite dominant with the bison hide, in this week's photo you see him in high tail posture trying to possess part of the hide.
Grizzer has had a good week; He's been less of a problem for wolf care staff and seems to be settling in to the role of waiting for the others to finish dominance before he interacts. He does seem to involve Maya in chase scenes more than any other wolf. His size continues to draw comments, even from wolf care staff that see him on a daily basis. He's extremely strong and at this time, hasn't figured out the full potential of his strength. It should be interesting if he ever makes the connection. His easy-going personality is a bonus on a wolf that large.
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.