MacKenzie and Lucas dominance over Lakota, MacKenzie bit Lakota's front and rear legs causing Lakota a slight limp on the rear and licking on the front leg. This may have started over Lakota defending a deer from Lucas and MacKenzie.
Pups are laying on straw bed on hillside, traditionally used by Mackenzie. Lucas and Lakota are together on the straw bed by the greeting rock. Mackenzie later shares the hillside bed with the pups."
Noticed frequent urination, increased water consumption, and frequent squatting without urine flow on both MacKenzie and Lakota; attempts were made to collect a urine sample, but not an easy task on wolves. Both females were sensitive to the touch, and aggressively growled when attempts were made to inspect lower stomach, genital area. Since both have a history of bladder infections, both females were started on SMZ/TMP for treatment. A seven day dose was prescribed by the veterinarian. This may be a reoccurring issue with older females that have a leaky bladder. The next complete physical exam that requires chemical immobilization will have some detailed tests on hormone levels of these older females.
Good interactions with all wolves. In the corner of retirement enclosure, the ground wire facing the main exhibit was significantly dug up and chewed. All wolves were checked for possible teeth/gum injuries, the only thing noticed was the tip of MacKenzie’s nose looked red and irritated. The ground wire damage could have been a result of a wolf (probably MacKenzie) caching food in frozen ground or maybe an attempt to get to the arctic wolves. This area will be monitored daily and repaired when the ground thaws.
1-23-01 "Mackenzie aggressive dominance toward both pups, because they tried to greet the handlers first. Lucas aggressive dominance toward both pups over small chunk of Beaver remaining from 1-20-00 feeding."
Part 3. The pack went up into the woods and remained there for some time. At 9:07pm. MacKenzie stayed either near the windows or up on the path, attentive to the activity in the woods. She made several movements toward the woods with ears forward and tail at T2, but came back a few times before going in at 9:18pm. At 9:25pm MacKenzie came running down from the woods with T3.5 tail and ears back. The pack was in pursuit with Shadow in the lead and Malik close behind. Lucas and Lakota also participated. Shadow caught MacKenzie with a bite on her right rear, which caused her to stumble and fall near the windows. Shadow maintained his hold while Malik and Lakota snapped at MacKenzie's neck. Shadow began to drag MacKenzie across the rocks while she was on her back. Malik and Lakota continued to bite at her neck, but no contact or hold was observed. Lucas observed and paced nearby. Mackenzie took refuge against the side of the building while Shadow and Malik harassed her. Lakota was less participatory as was Lucas. MacKenzie displayed an aggressive pucker and snarl each time Shadow and/or Malik approached her, but remained crouching tightly against the wall, ears back. At 9:30pm, MacKenzie remained by the wall, occasionally being harassed by Shadow and Malik. Lakota, Lucas, and Malik (when not near MacKenzie) engaged in some play and resting behavior. Observation concluded at 9:50pm.
Part 2. At 9pm, Malik returned from the woods, did a stand over on Lakota with tail at T3, sniffed at the scruff of her neck at which time she jumped up. MacKenzie casually watched him for a minute. Shadow came down out of the woods at 9:03pm and solicited play by running, approaching, exhibiting submissive postures (ears back, tail tucked). MacKenzie watched him closely and nervously the whole time while remaining in a curled rest and ears perked. The pack mobbed Shadow in play, with all participating except MacKenzie who held back a bit. Malik did a ride-up on Shadow and chased him into the woods with the others (except Mackenzie). When Shadow returned from the woods with the others in pursuit, he went into the pond where Malik stared and stalked him until he came out. From 9:05 until 9:07pm, several instances of chasing, jaw sparing, and riding up were noted between Malik and Shadow. Lakota and Lucas looked on while MacKenzie remained removed from the activity.
Part 1 – The database only allows for a limited amount of text, so this needed to be placed in several entries. Follow the sequence of logs to get the whole story. There are 6 parts to this incident report, please read them in sequence. The most significant notes from the log during this period occurred on August 6th, with aggressive dominance toward MacKenzie from the entire pack and MacKenzie's subsequent removal from the pack. The August 6th incident report follows: Tuesday, August 6, 2002 – Observation Report – Dominance toward MacKenzie and her Removal from the Pack Observations began at approximately 8:00pm. Shadow and Malik were up in the woods with Lakota in a side rest and MacKenzie in a curl rest with ears perked. MacKenzie was constantly looking up into the woods in the same direction that the rest had gone. Lucas wandered and went up into the woods at 8:15pm. Malik came down out of the woods at 8:42 and defecated in close proximity to Mackenzie and Lakota with his tail at T3. No response from MacKenzie or Lakota other than awareness. He had a long drink from the pond, exhibited raised leg urination at the fence, wandered a bit, and went back into the woods at 8:47pm.
Additional information from Monday July 29, 2002 a.m. examination of MacKenzie: Examination of MacKenzie on Monday revealed a canine bite wound to the left side, abrasion appeared to be approximately 1 inch in circumference, moist exudate covering the wound. An additional bite noted on the mid-neck region, circumference approximately 1 inch with purulent drainage present. MacKenzie appeared on Monday to be confident and at ease.
This log entry is in 2 parts: Part 1. The following list outlines several issues under consideration in the management of the situation between MacKenzie and Shadow: a. MacKenzie's role as a dominant female is her identity with the pack, and changes in her status will affect her psychologically, Mackenzie isn't likely to give up and become a lower ranking pack member without a fight. b. MacKenzie is fairly old for a wolf. She is over 9 years of age which equates to 63 human years. Shadow and Malik are 2 years of age, which in human years equates to 14. It's only a matter of time before age slows her ability to keep up with the younger wolves. Wolves in the wild may not live much past 8 or 9 years of age. c. MacKenzie has had several minor health problems in the past few years. These health issues include lipid deposits in her eye and the beginning of cataracts that will continue to progress making vision difficult, mild arthritis in her hips, and an abdominal tumor (fatty tumor) that could require surgical intervention in the future. While these ailments are not major impediments to her living, they do indicate her advanced age and could be viewed as a weakness in the eyes of the younger wolves.
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