Lakota was very playful while Curator Lori Schmidt was shoveling snow. Lakota exhibited a playbow and spent time chasing around the pen. New straw was placed in the enclosure and Lakota bedding down for the night.
Lakota is doing well. She seems to be very active, with a lot of energy to run around the enclosure and jump on the mounds of dirt she created. There seems to be less construction noise across the road and that seems to make the wolves a bit more relaxed.
This will be Lakota’s last posting before she joins the others in the Gone But Not Forgotten pack. She was a pup who knew how to possess food, and this trait continued throughout her life. I thought I would write the most notable behaviors that come to mind when we think of Lakota. She was the omega or lowest ranking pack member and maintained this pack status throughout her entire life. This didn’t mean she was down and out, just that she served an important role at the bottom of the pack rank. She was often the instigator of dominance chases, with the pack close on her tail. She was also an efficient excavator, creating most of the den holes in the enclosures. The area for the new pond in the Retired Enclosure was primarily dug by Lakota, the staff just shaped it as a pond. The most notable was the last 6 months of management, when we gave her free reign of the wolf yard and lab. Having Lakota in the wolf lab did have its management issues; she became quite fond of taking items from the lab and running back into the Retired enclosure. Her list of larceny items included: pillows, backpacks, water bottles, bags of dog toys, sweatshirts, pizza’s, a block of cheese, compass, stuffed moose and a bag of grass seed, just to name a few. Her role as the instigator of chases did not diminish as the sole pack member, now, it was the wolf care staff chasing her to retrieve the many items she took. It appeared that this was the most enjoyable part of the interaction for Lakota. Lakota was the instigator of many things, and taught us that the bottom of the rank order is just as important as the top. The wolf lab will never be the same without her. I posted a video on YouTube as a tribute to the job she did as an ambassador wolf, to see the video, follow this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIRNpz9IEUU
Very exhuberant greetings from all wolves. Lakota was able to approach and greet staff with no aggression from Mackenzie. Lakota's wounds are nearly healed, no sign of further aggression from the other wolves.
The Retired Pack has been enjoying a nice warm winter. January went on record as being the warmest recorded month in the area which suits these nearly 13 year old wolves just fine. They were very active and did several snowplows in the fresh snow.
Lakota is doing well, and back to her regular routine. Wolf care staff wake her up in the den box, and after a stretch, she gets up and comes to the wolf lab. She has been getting a bowl of food in the morning and evenings, which she regularly eats. The weather has been warm, and she has been more bold with the new den, but still doesn't lay in it. I think she likes to stretch out in the old wooden box. We will be custom ordering a new den that is longer in size, with the same door opening. We like the smaller door size as it is more protected in winter.
All relaxed today, Assistant Director, Gretchen Diessner, visited Lakota today. Lakota was excited about the new visitor and was a bit jumpy, but relaxed later. Mackenzie and Lucas came in later, but again spent time searching for cached food.
Lakota is very playful today, Lucas is observed licking Shadow's face, all appear in good spirits."
CVC's to all, Lakota received 2lbs of venison soaked in water since she hasn't been drinking a sufficient amount of water. She also received another pound of bone dust later in the day and is no longer growling at LS. Lakota is coming to edge of den hole, but is still hesitant.
There was another work crew this weekend, adding upper overhanging wire on the new enclosure fence, and adding panels to increase the fence heights of the existing enclosure. This required Lakota to stay in the pack holding area all day, as VCC student volunteers worked in her enclosure. She did well, lying in the straw in the holding area, occasionally getting up to watch the students. After the work was done, she spent quite a while sniffing where everyone had been. I really want to reiterate how important the Workin’ for Wolves program was this fall. The work completed by this weekend program, truly made a difference in Lakota’s life. The additional space and stimulus of the new area keeps her alert and active. In addition to the daily wolf yard and lab visits, she is very mobile. One of the wolf care staff brought her a grouse on Friday; she was excited to carry it around the enclosures, running the fence line with the Exhibit Pack, and later took it to the back of her enclosure and plucked it. This kind of stimulus will keep her young.
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