Luna is displaying a “Stand-Over” behavior to Denali. This is typically a passive show of dominance and can be a method for getting another wolf to get up and leave a certain area. Notice this behavior is occurring on the cover hay beds, which Luna possesses on a regular basis. But, if you look closely, Denali is chewing on a bone, and this behavior could also be motivated by food possession. Denali displays another common wolf behavior…Ignore.
Snow has insulating value and for Luna, this is a comfort. When temperatures decrease and the snow gets compacted, we also provide the wolves with a bed of cover hay in the front of the enclosure where the darker hay absorbs some radiant heat from the sun. But, when a least weasel makes his way into the enclosure and hides in some rocks, Luna will plant herself on a cold shelf of ice to be there when the weasel decides to vacate the rocks. This was the scenario during last Monday’s wolf check. When we arrived, we noticed Luna resting in a rather odd posture and it appeared that she had been lying down for a while. We physically checked her, but she became increasingly aggressive when we blocked her view of the rock pile. It was then that we discovered a little white head of the weasel. Luna was obsessed with the weasel and no amount of physical discomfort could distract her from her watch. It wasn’t until later in the day that we managed to give the weasel an escape by lying a wheelbarrow over the rocks and within a minute, watched him scurry back into the garage where he has been keeping a good control of the rodent and shrew populations. As soon as the weasel was gone, Luna’s obsession ended and she went about the routine of being a normal pack member.
Luna has been somewhat of the focus of many mobbings recently, perhaps because of her crazed personality. She’s often the instigator of the many interactions with the pack, but the focus of each interaction may shift back to her every now and then.
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We started out the Year 2014 with -40 below zero temperatures on January 1st, and a winter that continued to dump snow and cold weather. Luna did extremely well last winter and all evidence shows that she is tolerating this winter as well. In August 2014, we received great news about blood work, for the first time since we acquired Luna we had all normal values in every one of her nutritional tests, and most importantly, her vitamin D levels. We are watching for signs of Luna pair bonding with Aidan, but at this point, the best we have to offer is Luna choosing to sleep closer to Aidan.
Not much has changed in Luna’s world recently, she is still instigating many chases and mobbings, but we also see a few odd behaviors now and then (Odd for her at least). Yesterday she was seen fully submitting to Aidan, an even that’s often much more loud and obnoxious for her. We still hope to see some pair bonding between the two of them, but for now, Luna continues to live out her juvenile behaviors.
Luna is perhaps the quickest wolf to play-bow. In fact, wolf care staff witnessed Luna play-bowing to a Raven near the carcass earlier this week. All of this social solicitation often ends with a chase of Luna around the enclosure. We keep a close eye on her leg, but as for right now, it’s not slowing her down one bit.
Luna has claimed her straw bed for the season. It’s not an uncommon sight to behold Luna resting in the front-most straw bed. She’s often resting in it by herself, but we’ve seen the other wolves join her now and then. Thankfully, she’s not as possessive of straw beds as she is of beaver.
Luna will typically possess food whenever she can, regardless if she’s planning on eating it in the near future. The rest of the pack does eventually eat, but at times it can be a long wait before Luna is done with the carcass. When she does eat however, she eats well. Last weekend she possessed a majority of the beaver we had placed in the enclosure, she ate well that night. The next day she was a bit disinterested in the food the rest of the pack had, likely due to a very full belly.
During our last “Wolves to the Web” webinar, we placed hay inside of the enclosure for the comfort and warmth of our wolves. Luna is always quick to conquer these beds, but we were interested in observing which wolf would share with whom, and we were pleasantly surprised to see Luna and Aidan sleeping in the same hay bed with one another. We still don’t see much pair-bonding behavior, but research has shown that pair-bonded wolves tend to have closer proximities to one another when sleeping. It may still take a few seasons for Luna to get into the rhythm of pair-bonding, but we may be one step closer.
Luna displays a T-2 or straight tail as she assists Denali in a dominance display over Boltz. Luna is very agile considering her back right femur/joint issues. Someday she may need repairs, but for now, she is extremely agile and is often the instigator of activity whether it be Ravens or Wolves, she can ambush either.
