Put in more wood chips, Mackenzie remaining away from pack. All other wolves laying under the building eaves, Mackenzie laying by herself in the rain.
Mackenzie very slow to come down to greet. Whined allot, ears in submissive posture, subordinate urination. There appears to have been an intense interaction between Mackenzie and Shadow, possibly over deer carcass from Saturday's feeding. Mackenzie exhibiting some shadowing of Shadow, but minimal dominance from Mac. Lucas guarding the remainder of carcass, but allowing Malik to feed occasionally. Mackenzie eye is still red, with slight discharge. Lakota greeted then retreated into the woods.
Good interactions with all wolves, Mackenzie's eye appears much more irritated. Lucas's eye looks better, but still appears slightly irritated. Lori Schmidt applied eye ointment and will continue treatment for 5 days. Lori Schmidt and Jen Westlund did mock injections with all wolves in preparation for the medical exam scheduled on April 23rd. Fed the wolves 5 lbs of moose meat and beef as the last food prior to the exam.
What's for Dinner program again dominated by the pups, specifically Shadow. At this time, the adults seem tolerant of the pups on the carcass, but there are increasing signs that the pups are on the receiving end of more dominance displays from Lucas and Mackenzie. Lucas's tolerance of the pups seems to be diminishing to the point where he growls and snaps at Malik as soon as he approaches. Lucas continues to be more tolerant of Shadow. Mackenzie also appears to have less patience for the pups play behavior and is commonly seen snapping and lunging at the pups when they begin to bite too hard. The staff will continue to watch for signs of the pups integration into the rank order.
Feeding program- Pups took possession of deer. Other wolves moving around enclosure anxiously. Lucas aggressive dominance toward Mackenzie. Shadow and Malik joined in. Mackenzie bark (huffed) several times. Lucas then stopped interacting and Mackenzie proceeded to follow Shadow around for 20 minutes. Shadow dropped his tail to a submissive posture and appeared to be trying to ignore Mackenzie, but she continued to follow him.
Mackenzie has been observed following Shadow throughout the enclosure. It appears to be an intimidation tactic, and by the reaction of Shadow, it appears to be working. Shadow becomes very nervous, and even if he lays down, Mackenzie will either stand over him or lay within feet of him. When Shadow gets up, Mackenzie gets up and follows him. This is all part of a complex communication system and certainly is a method for maintaining dominance. Several years ago, when Lakota appeared to challenge Mackenzie's status, Mackenzie used the same "Shadowing techniques", it's quite ironic that the technique is now used on Shadow.
Wolves very excited prior to feeding (deer in wheelbarrow at gate waiting to be wheeled into enclosure). Mackenzie guarded gate with full body contact, growls and charges to other wolves including the pups. Malik zipped in and bit Mackenzie in the rear once, but Mackenzie retaliated. Pups jumping high against the fence with Lakota getting chased by the pups, but it was clear that Mackenzie was in charge. Lucas was involved, but not very aggressively. The feeding consisted of a 3 Beaver and 3 deer legs, so Mackenzie grabbed one and ran off with it, so we didn't see the carcass defense that we anticipated since the wolves didn't share a carcass, but we predict that the next time a whole deer is fed, that Mackenzie will dominate rather than the pups, as we have seen to this point.
Medical exams began at 10 am and were completed by 2 pm. Everything went extremely well. The main tasks during the exam included: – Complete blood chemistry – Extensive physical examination – Dentition examination – Body weights and measurements – Determination of the pigmentation loss in Lucas's nose, lips and pads – Shadow and Malik were neutered Everything went extremely well, we even had enough time to get hip x-rays on Lucas and Mackenzie, as their hips seem to be more troublesome with age. A detailed analysis of the exam will be presented in the Fall issue of International Wolf Magazine. The weights of the pack are as follows: Alpha Male – Lucas 93.2 lbs Alpha Female – Mackenzie 95.2 lbs Omega Female – Lakota 92.0 lbs Yearling Male – Malik 86.5 lbs Yearling Male – Shadow 87.3 lbs
All wolves greeted staff, Mackenzie tried to grab Shadow's tail each time he tried to greet on the rock (3-4 times). Mackenzie "shadowed" Shadow most of the hour, often growling if Shadow tried to greet handlers. Mackenzie dropped to the ground and submitted several times to Linda Aylsworth. Pups and Mackenzie chased Lakota to dent, pups followed Lakota into the den, heard yipping from inside.
Good interactions with staff, Ivermectin tablets to all (monthly heartworm treatment), wolves seemed very relaxed. Mackenzie chased Lakota into den, but without intensity.
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