As Gretchen Diessner and Andrea Lorek Strauss were leaving from the office, heard loud barking, went back to check and observed MacKenzie growling at Shadow through the fence. Shadow jumped high along fence, lunging at MacKenzie. MacKenzie continued to growl, bark and bite at the plywood barrier. Tried to distract verbally, but no response, left them to calm down on their own." Curator's note: Redirected aggression during times of stress is not uncommon for wolves. The on-site construction brings new equipment and people, causing the wolves to become agitated and nervous, sometimes resulting in a redirect to each other. The other problem is the current shared fence line allows the wolves contact with each other even though there is a plywood barrier. The completion of the retirement pen (being built away from the main enclosure) will happen soon, and we expect the back of the wolf yard to return to a calm state with only wolf care staff visiting the wolves.
Vitamins to all, MacKenzie still fence fighting, gave Moose bones to MacKenzie and Lakota to distract them from the construction. When the workers arrived, there was more fence fighting and pacing. Lucas and Shadow had their own issues; Lucas has become more aggressive with Shadow, showing hackles and high tail position. He has been observed attempting direct eye contact stares, but Shadow ignores him.
Mackenzie fence fighting with Shadow, a log bench in the enclosure was chewed to pieces. Gretchen Diessner and Lori Schmidt removed the bench and provided Mackenzie with a beaver to chew on."
Good interactions with all, Mackenzie's eye is still irritated. Noticed fly bites on both Lucas' ears. Will start using fly ointment on a daily basis. Malik was anxious in the holding pen, so he was released almost immediately. Lakota is very relaxed in the pack holding area despite the construction.
At 8 pm, Mackenzie located and killed a ground squirrel from under the rocks in front of the observation windows after nearly 33 minutes of digging, whining and lunging to get under the rock. The pups watched intently and even began digging adjacent to the rock. After Mackenzie ran off with the squirrel and she guarded it from all including the puppies, but at a later observation shift ( 5:40 am on the 16th) the pups play tug a war with the squirrel and both end up eating it.
The pups were introduced into the exhibit pack today. The following is a summary from the Behavioral Observation Team. Behavioral Observation team members: Team 1: Carol Moore, Joyce Powers, Debra Mendrick Team 2: Claire Belle, Jeanette Howard, Kara Milnes Team 3: Jessica Reihing, Susan Toochin, Dari Quirk, Kristine Radermacher For the first time since the introduction, Mackenzie was observed to be in a deep sleep for multiple hours. Prior to this day, her resting periods included alert ears, eyes slightly open and quick response to any noise, movement of the pups or other adult wolves. During this sleeping time for Mackenzie, Lucas was sleeping within 4 feet of Mackenzie and woke several times to walk the lower portion of the enclosure, approaching the pups and circling back to the spot on the hill near Mackenzie. He later slept on a rock in the middle of the enclosure and often sat up during a 2 hour resting period. In the later part of the shift, Lucas was observed approaching the pups and lightly sniffing and licking the pups heads, the pups readily submitted and Lucas went back to the hillside to lay down. The pups are being separated twice daily into their overnight kennel for feeding. They readily enter the enclosure and roll in the straw after feeding. After the pups are fed, the adults enter the enclosure and search for pups caches. There has been no aggression toward the pups, before, during and after the feeding separations.
All adults observed scent marking on an area where a Franklin Ground squirrel was killed and consumed. Lucas rolled first and Raise Leg Urinated (RLU) on it, and Mackenzie was next and she did a modified RLU, then Lakota rolled on it with no scent marking. The pups were later seen rolling on the area, with less coordination, as Malik's scent rolls turned into somersaults. Seemed like a true pack during this session, more than the previous days. Very little conflict, but Mackenzie continues to be the calming force if activity gets too rough toward the pups.
Edina feeding program: Mackenzie took possession of the beaver, then Malik bit onto it, too. Lucas growled at Mackenzie to the point of her letting go, Malik and Shadow bit together then Malik growled until Shadow left. Malik ate alone.
Staff have noticed MacKenzie showing much more social behavior than in previous weeks. During the winter season, aggression seems to be heightened in both enclosures. This creates a situation where MacKenzie is more focused on dominance not only with Lakota, but the activities inside the Exhibit pack. As her focus intensifies, she spends less time interacting with staff. During the last few sessions, MacKenzie is back to her old self, getting as much attention as Lakota. Of course, she still needs to tell Lakota who's in charge, but it's with a lot less intensity.
MacKenzie's eye seems to be doing extremely well since the medical exam. She continues to be the dominant force in the pack, pinning Lakota when Lakota gets a bit excited. MacKenzie has claimed the far corner of the pen as her straw bed and cache spot. Of all the wolves on site, she tends to be the most expressive in eye contact, facial and body postures. In this week's photo, MacKenzie let's out a yawn showing the jaw spread of an adult wolf. It's no wonder they have the abililty to grasp on to an adult Moose.
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