Lakota has finally completed shedding, leaving a lean body structure. She actually deals with the heat pretty well, but enjoys the sprinker hose when available. She's also known for sticking her feet in the pail and scooping all the water out of the pail. Her most favorite activity is sleeping in the fresh wood chips designed to help with the fly problem.
Lakota sure does seem to enjoy digging in the dirt. At first we thought it was a method for escaping the heat, but after watching her, she seems to be motivated by the height advantage the residual pile gives her. She can climb on the den boxes, and pounce down on her littermates from her higher vantage point. In this week's photo, she's made a leap of the pile and starts to run around the enclosure encouraging her littermates to chase her.
Just when we thought the retired wolves were too old to bother the supplies… On Monday, the stock tank in the retired pack was cleaned and refilled with fresh water. The wolves were all sleeping so, Wolf care staff member Jen Westlund and I left the hose in the pen for a minute to go to the lab to update the wolves logs. From the window, I saw the garden hose getting pulled through the fence. Lakota had taken the hose and played a bit of tug of war with the staff before she was convinced to leave the hose and have a meatball. There were no photos of the incident, because the focus was on getting the hose back. But, a lesson was learned, wolves are curious animals, no matter what the age.
The retired wolves were fed on Friday, May 5th, the night before the immobilization in the Exhibit Pack. This gave them full bellies and a desire to sleep through the commotion of the exam. Wolf watchers observed Lakota going through the motions of howlng with no sound coming out. Possibly a sign of old vocal chords or a full stomach that couldn't take the pressure.
Lakota continued to be very active in the milder weather, and seemed to enjoy visits from staff during the week. She is very observant of all that goes on in the retired enclosure, and is always looking for an opportunity to grab a hat or a glove from an unwary human.
Lakota has had no further abscessed tooth problems, and is very active. In this week’s video, you will see her feeding on a deer torso. The deer was given on a Friday, and by Monday, there was no sign of the deer, only a few bones left. The retired pack has a great appetite and is fairing the cold weather much better than they handled the heat of summer. A good thick coat and plenty of straw beds is the key.
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.
A tree split in a wind storm earlier in the week. A professional tree feller was hired to take the tree down. To avoid stressing the retired pack from the tree felling (as well as dropping a tree on them), they were moved into the pup pen adjacent to the main enclosure. This was stressful enough as there is aggression from the arctics to the retired wolves. All did well, Lakota spent most of her time digging in the hole in the puppy pen.
From the Retired Wolves, Lakota is the only one enjoying the pond. During the morning, when the temperature was high, Lakota was seen several times in the pond refreshing herself. After that, she started play bowing to Lucas and ran all around the enclosure. That is not too bad for a 12 year old wolf.
Andrea Lorek Strauss fed the pack on Saturday's What's for Dinner Program. After the food was brought into the enclosure, the pups took possession of most parts, but Lucas and Lakota were able to possess some as well. Mackenzie exhibited very excited play behavior to the pups, rolling over, wagging her tail and displaying a play bow. Pups wouldn't move off the carcass and defended the carcass aggressively often snapping and growling at Mackenzie during her display. Pups maintained possession of carcass throughout program.
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.