Lakota attempted to howl to the pack, but with the loss of vocal chords from age, no sound comes out. A recent howl with the pack did result in some dominance from Shadow, but while it initially startled Lakota, she continues to spend time at the fence line. Her photo this week shows Lakota in a full run as she comes out of the Retired Pack to spend time with staff in the wolf yard. She is eating over 3 lbs of meat a night and her weight remains healthy. The video clips posted with the wolf logs are very short, if you would like to see several minutes of the pack activitiy, we are now posting weekly videos on Youtube. To locate these videos, search for the International Wolf Center.
Lakota continues to enjoy good health. She is lively and energetic. It certainly is nice to see Lakota romping in the pen.
Lakota’s pond was completed on Saturday morning, and she had to stay in the pack holding area on Saturday night. We installed a secondary gate system tighter than Fort Knox, so there is no way that we can have a repeat performance from last week. She finished a week of antibiotics and is back to eating 3 – 5 lbs a day, sometimes accepting hand feeding from staff, sometimes eating from the bowl overnight. We know she is feeling better, as I write this, she just stole a shoe from the lab and ran off with it. She still wants to be near the pack, and as I reviewed the photos from the mishap in the enclosure, it did appear that Lakota was trying to walk a parallel gate with Shadow, seeking acceptance in the pack. But, we couldn’t leave her in the enclosure with the younger ones, she just couldn’t keep up and the focus on her weaknesses would have increased as the winter approached. Lakota is physically doing well, but every day is an effort to make sure she is psychologically doing well. Improvements to the Retired Enclosure will be great stimulus for her, and we are grateful for the upcoming “Workin' for Wolves program. To those participants registered, bulk up on food, there is A LOT of work planned for the weekend.
CVC to all. Lakota spent time lying on the straw in the sun while the yearlings were in the pack holding area. When the yearlings were released, Lakota went uphill, while the yearlings were intent on pig ears that the staff provided as a distraction.
On Thursday, the Center's Educational Program staff sent an emergency call to Curator, Lori Schmidt, Lakota had somehow gotten into the Exhibit Pack and was being chased around the pond. Fortunately, wolf care staff were only minutes away. Curator, Lori Schmidt entered the enclosure, and walked Lakota back into the retired area. The pack was actually quite calm, but Lakota did get a bite wound on the hip, likely from Shadow. Visitors to the Exhibit shared some photos, and it appears that Lakota was sleeping adjacent to the gate in the pack holding area, with her tail through the fence. It's uncertain who initiated the interaction, but activity at the gate (where Lakota was sleeping) broke the latch, and the side gate opened. Photos show Shadow and Malik as the lead in dominance activity, likely because they were the initial wolves to send her into retirement. Observers said one of the pups may have been running along side, but there was no indication of increased arousal from the pups. Once Lakota was back in retirement, Assistant Curator, Donna Prichard cleaned her wounds, and wolf care staff rotated shifts to provide 24 hour a day coverage to monitor her condition throughout the weekend. She is back up and moving around, as her video shows, and she is even approaching the Exhibit Pack, but she now has restricted access to the pack holding area until a seperate gate system is constructed. When staff are in the lab, she can be in the wolf yard, always attended. When staff aren't in the lab, she is locked back in retirement. She is a bit disappointed with this, even though she got a bite in the hip, she still looks into the Exhibit Pack Enclosure. But Thursday's activity is why we made the management decision not to introduce her into the pack, but to manage her as a lone wolf.
As I write this, I see Lakota racing around the enclosure acting like a 2-year old rather than a wolf nearing 12. She enjoys the colder weather that October brings and the excitement of a new straw bed in the den box. She continues to dig the den hole, with a mound of dirt growing in front of the boxes. Staff have climbed into the hole and find the work to be most impressive, extending over 15 feet deep right now. It's not helpful to the tree roots though, but seems to keep Lakota entertained. It will be interesting to see if she uses them this winter, or if this was just a response to get out of the heat over the summer.
The retired wolves had their medical exam on Friday October 8th. The rain held off until after the exam was complete and made for a nice cool recovery rather than the warmer than normal fall we've been experiencing. The injections went extremely well with all wolves essentially lying down and showing limited response to the injection. The immobilization was extremely smooth, I would classify it as textbook. I don't think the drugging could have gone off better. The lab was fantastic to have tables set up to process the wolves, much better than the auditorium floor or outside in the slightly drizzling day. Lakota was in excellent health for an 11 going on 12 year old. Lakota showed some laxity in the right hip, and her right knee was a bit stiff, but otherwise her movement was good. Both eyes showed signs of Grade II cataracts. The IOP (glaucoma test ) was 16 mm hg which is considered good. She had very healthy teeth with limited tartar. The Vet's took a sample on a small mass on her right leg, will wait for the results.
Lakota is also doing well, there’s been no sign of the abscessed tooth issue reported earlier. In her video, she is also caching extra meat. As fall approaches, the raven population increases and the wolves seem more likely to cache food.
Lakota Lakota is doing well, the abscessed tooth seems to have subsided. She continues to be very mobile and has no problem jumping, climbing or racing around the enclosure. Her appetite is good and she has been enjoying the many scraps from the local deer hunters.
This is a photo of the tree that split in the Retired Enclosure
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.