Today Grizzer is 86 days old. This morning he was observed digging a new hole in the enclosure and attempting to defend it from Nyssa and Maya. Grizzer did exceptionally well at the 11:00 Pup 101. He stayed the entire time without showing signs of anxiety.
Today Grizzer is 59 days old. Grizzer has been showing a lot of aggression towards nannies and staff today, growling and snapping at them when touched. Staff must endevour to work with Grizz to discourage and prevent this kind of behavior in the future.
Today Grizzer is 56 days old. Outside, Grizz did not seem intimidated by anything: the wolves howled, the wheel barrow went by to dump hay. He explored the pond, chasing the beetles off the rocks and wading in the water. He played an energetic game of chase over a pig's ear, often in the lead. During the programs Grizzer had some moments where he was anxious and was eager to get out of the pen, but then was also calm and willing to spend the program chewing on deer hide or a pigs ear. Staff and nannies continue in their efforts to help Grizz work through his fear issues.
As a young adult, Grizzer is still full of youthful enthusiasm. He’s been very submissive to Shadow and shows no signs of moving up in rank. This is a good situation prior to the pup’s arrival and we are confident that the pups will add more youthful enthusiasm to the exhibit. Grizzer and Maya will definitely exhibit play behavior and keep the pups occupied, relieving some of the focus on the older wolves in the pack.
The spring melt has been very slow here. We have had several weeks of temperatures around 30 degrees, compared to last year at this time, where temperatures had exceeded 70 degrees. The Exhibit Pack was scheduled for a full medical exam on April 4th, to get a complete physical , vaccinations and blood draws prior to the pups arrival. This is necessary to ensure that there are no issues that might be contracted by the vulnerable pups. Due to the lack of snow melt, this exam has been postponed until the 18th of April. During this medical exam, the wolves will be sedated with a reversible drug, and hopes are to get a current weight on each wolf. We would estimate that Grizzer is ~ 100 lbs.
The logs this week will all contain the same text… Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow. A spring snowstorm dumped nearly 30 inches of snow on the Ely area on Saturday and Sunday, leaving the wolf care staff to shovel, clean gates, blow snow, clean cameras, uncover heated waterers and pick up dead branches from trees that couldn’t support the weight of the wet snow. The wolves enjoyed the snow, although a few of the branches startled Maya. It’s not unusual for a spring snowstorm, but with temperatures usually in the 40’s and 50’s they go quickly. This time, the weather forecast doesn’t predict much above 40 degrees this week, and there are a few more days of snow predicted. Enjoy the webcams; I’m sure you will see the wolves romping through the snow.
As you probably noticed on the web cams, we are dealing with 3 feet of snow in the last week and it is still snowing as I write these logs on Friday, April 11th. Yes, April in Minnesota can be an interesting month. Initially, the wolves were excited about the snow, but the restricted movement because of the deep snow has created a bit too much concentration of wolves in the front of the exhibit. Grizzer and Malik have been having some issues and it appears that Malik is using this opportunity to take back some rank from Grizzer. Needless to say, Grizzer is a bit stunned by this behavior. Malik is now the one following Grizzer and it is making Grizzer nervous. Being a bit heavier, Grizzer sinks in the snow more than Malik who is a lean wolf by physiology. It is hard to predict when the spring melt will occur, but at this point, we have again postponed the wolves’ medical exams. We did vaccinate Grizzer and Maya for Parvovirus, but all the other wolves are old enough that a parvovirus isn’t necessary. With new pups coming in a few weeks, we always want to make sure that Parvo vaccines are given at least one month prior to new pups arrival, as there is a slight risk of live virus shed in the scat after a vaccination, especially when using a modified live vaccine. It is a small risk, but any risk is not worth taking. The entire pack will receive their annual rabies vaccinations, a complete blood panel and exam when the weather warms and the snow actually melts from the medical exam enclosure. Hopefully, that will be during the first week of May.
The following text was written by Workin' for Wolves participants: Liana Volpa and Linda Duffy. A camera crew came Sunday morning and Shadow got unnerved by strangers. Grizzer tried taking advantage of the situation by stalking Shadow and trying to unnerve him further. Shadow wouldn’t allow Grizzer to take advantage and did a chin rest and later stood over him. Grizzer accepted Shadow’s dominance by putting his head further under Shadow and averting his gaze.
Grizzer and Maya are four years old today, May 5. It is hard to believe four years have gone by since we selected these pups to join the Exhibit Pack. Grizzer continues to maintain the testing status of adult, while occasionally reverting back to a pup mentality when interacting with his littermate, Maya. All of the wolves received a complete medical exam on Friday, including detailed blood work, ear treatment for flies, and a tick treatment. The results of the blood work won’t be back until later in the week, but it is critical before the pups arrive that we know all individuals are healthy. Wolf care staff attempted to get weights on Grizzer, but he bottomed out the scale at 110 lbs. So, this likely means that he is a healthy amount over 110 lbs. He generally loses this extra weight during the summer, but the only opportunity we have to weigh him is when he is sedated for an exam. We won’t need to do another routine medical exam for three more years. The video for the Exhibit pack was taken a day after the medical exam, prior to the Saturday night feeding. As you can see, everyone recovered well and was excited about the deer feeding.
Grizz is 91 days old today. The pups received their vaccinations today. Grizz was a bit hesitant to meet the Vet, but relaxed and approached without problems after Curator, Lori Schmidt picked him up to greet. All pups are healthy…As you can tell by the weights, Grizzer is eating well.
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