KARE 11 filming of pups went extremely well, with camera access to pups in pack holding pen away from the adults. Malik grabbed wind cover off the camera microphone, creating a slight aggressive encounter with the Wolf Curator when she tried to retrieve it. Otherwise, the filming went extremely well.
Feeding program went well, Lucas and yearlings are on carcass. Lakota acted very submissive when Shadow approached her, Malik was later observed food begging from Lucas who responded by chasing him away.
Feeding program went well, Lucas and yearlings are on carcass. Lakota acted very submissive when Shadow approached her, Malik was later observed food begging from Lucas who responded by chasing him away.
Lucas took advantage of the cooler weather this morning to come out of his den. With the welcome absence of the biting flies, he found a piece of deer left from their last feeding and decided to finish it off.
Mackenzie and Lucas had much more interaction today. They were observed face licking, with Mackenzie on her back, Lucas would then roll on Mackenzie and then they would reverse rolls. Near the end of the 15 minute display, Mackenzie was observed resting her chin on Lucas's neck. Overall the wolves seemed very relaxed today.
Lucas spent today's check investigating the smells of the new straw beds. He even spent a bit of time chewing the straw before he settled in for his morning nap.
Lucas Removal from the pack on November 9th, 2002 At 8:30 am, I received a phone call from Wolf care staff member Jen Westlund pertaining to harassment of Lucas by the Arctic wolves. Lucas had been dragged by the neck and hind quarters by both Malik and Shadow. Shadow appeared to have been on the hindquarters where 2 puncture wounds were observed on Lucas. There were no bite wounds on Lucas's neck, nor was there blood on Malik, but Shadow appeared to have blood on his neck. Jen Westlund placed Shadow and Malik in the pack holding area. I immediately phoned Dr. Chip Hanson who met me at the Center. The wounds were not deep, so the immediate need for removal was not a clear-cut issue. But, over the last several weeks, staff have noticed Lucas slowing down, showing hesitation when getting up or lying down and a limited ability to climb rocks in the enclosure. Due to these obvious signs of aging, Dr. Hanson and I discussed the need to consider Lucas's vulnerability if he were to remain in the pack. It was predicted that the harassment would likely continue and may lead to more intensive injuries in the future. With consultation from Assistant Director, Gretchen Diessner, the decision was made to retire Lucas. Dr. Hanson prescribed a 7-day course of anti-biotics for Lucas's hindquarter bite wounds. The transition to the retirement pen went smoothly with the recent completion of the adjoining chute and vestibule system. Lucas showed initial anxiety and aggressive dominance toward Mackenzie, and then settled into eating a beaver. Lakota and Lucas were later observed sleeping in close proximity. MacKenzie has been anxious lately, but this may be more of a response to her advancing eye conditions. Staff will continue to monitor the retirement group for compatibility issues. There will also be directives to monitor the main pack and determine if there is a rank order change between Shadow and Malik.
Lucas has been observed doing several stand-over's on his sister's. This behavior is when one wolf stands over the head of another wolf that is lying down. It is usually associated with a dominance posture, in Lucas's case, the other wolves ignored him, so it lost the intended effect.
Evening Feeding program, Malik and Shadow on carcass initially, both then chased Lucas from deer. Eventually, Shadow did lie down near the carcass and Lucas approached the carcass. As Lucas approached the deer, Malik barred his teeth and growled, but Lucas continued to eat, appearing submissive.
Lucas is doing well, he's started shedding more than his sisters. He still likes to maintain his status of the top ranking male (only male), in this week's photo, Lucas is doing a raised leg urination (RLU), but his aging hips requires that he leans a bit on a stump.
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