The logs will all be the same today. We’re doing some improvements to Malik’s enclosure, so Malik gets all of my time today. This past week has been busy getting the Exhibit enclosure ready for a Chamber of Commerce mixer on Wednesday night. Windows were washed, straw was removed, the summer wood chips were added and the pond waterline thawed with enough time to fill the pond. Of course, the upper pond line is still frozen in the concrete, so the waterfall isn’t flowing, but the main pond has been a source of stimulus for the pack. When it finally thawed, the weather was 70 degrees and sunny, and all wolves romped in the water, followed by a Grizzer/Denali chase though the woods. Aidan is still getting some dominance from Maya, usually followed by one of the excitable chases though the woods, but as the photos show this week, Aidan is engaging Maya in social behavior. He does a double foreleg stab while she is on the top of the den. We have noticed some instability with Shadow after he was chasing Grizzer and Denali, he seemed to have a dizzy spell, was off balance, before planting his paws in a wide stance and gaining his stability. As with any aging wolf, we will watch Shadow closely. The YouTube video this week shows the Chamber of Commerce mixer, giving the view of a visitor to the Center. Malik had a good week, enjoying the well shaded tree cover in his enclosure.
Staff have been commenting on how spry Malik is becoming. When the Exhibit Pack chases around the enclosure, Malik shows some extremely high jumps towards the fence, mostly motivated by excitement, but we are certainly thankful that the retired enclosure received the four foot extension to height last year. Malik’s pelage is extremely sleek, and we should start the brushing process to removed shedding hair within the next month. The webcam is less stressful to Malik, but with the warmer weather, he has taken to finding a cool spot under the pine trees in the back side of the enclosure.
I did receive comments about missing Malik's video last week, so I made a point of placing his video first on YouTube this week. Malik has a very comfortable enclosure when it comes to heat. The large over topping pines and well drained gravel soil provide plenty of places to avoid the heat, and spend the day resting in the shade.
Malik's areas that had some hairloss are starting to grow back. This is probably more of a stress response than a medical issue, and could have been triggered by the start of the fence work, or maybe the close proximity to Grizzer. Although, considering the first observation of the hair loss was in mid-May and Grizzer has been there since March, I am more inclined to believe it was fence work (which started during the first week of May). We will keep a close eye on his behavioral responses to any activity and try to minimize activity around the enclosure. The removal of his tooth eliminated any infection issues and he is feeding extremely well.
Malik's hair loss has stopped and all spots are growing new hair. This situation was likely due to the fence contracting, a necessary part of enclosure work. Now that it's just staff working on the enclosure, he much better. The arctics are still far behind the other wolves in terms of shedding, and their undercoat tends to come out in long sheets or strings of hair. We had several days of rain and cold last week, and their extra hair proved to be a benefit. All the other wolves were doing curl rests to stay warm, Malik and Shadow continued to sprawl on the top of the den with no apparent impact from the temperatures.
It’s a busy week for the curator, so all the logs will have the same text: In the Exhibit Pack, there’s been a lot of raven activity around the left over food, and as Maya’s video shows, some ravens are caught by the wolves. Maya killed this raven that was too close to the carcass. Dominance in the Exhibit pack remains fairly calm. In Shadow’s video, you see him taking a leadership position on top of the den, moving with a high tail position toward the pack. He vocalizes to Grizzer and gets the response he was looking for. Malik continues to show signs of being a third ranking male, in his video, you see him watch Grizzer take a deer carcass up the hill. On Sunday’s feeding, staff fed 1 full deer and a second deer torso to ensure that everyone had plenty to eat. In the Retired Pack, Mackenzie has her good days and bad days. The video for MacKenzie shows one of her bad days, She prefers to rest in her straw bed and not interact with staff, but she shows submissive ear postures to the staff off camera. We are very watchful of these days and give her the respect and space that she needs. The day after that video, she had a great day with staff member, Matt Fetterer. She rolled over on her back and got a full massage from Matt, stretching all 4 legs to full extension for the full effect of the massage. Lakota’s change in antibiotics did the trick. The abscess has drained and she’s back to her playful self. On the same day as Mac was getting the massage from Matt, the curator was doing playbows with Lakota, as she raced around the pen and even jumped over the curator’s head. Of course, she was sitting on the ground, so it wasn’t that high of a leap, but for a wolf nearing 14, it was very limber.
Malik’s level of anxiety has increased as the temperatures have warmed and the snow started to fall. While he may still be part of the chase scene, Grizzer seems to have surpassed the need to show much dominance over Malik. Grizzer’s focus is usually on Shadow, but fortunately, the intensity has decreased in the last week. In Malik’s video this week, he watches Grizzer do a full back rest, looking calm, but the Arctic’s are always wary of Grizzer’s next action.
Don’t let Malik’s photo or video fool you, he’s not as passive as he looks. He takes advantages of situations, specifically when Shadow is having issues. In Malik’s video, you can see the variety of ear postures a wolf may present to express themselves. As Malik sits on the den, he portrays many different postures. You also see Malik take a few bites at Shadow as Grizzer pushes him into the corner of the building. Note Shadow’s tail is tucked and demonstrates threatening snarls.
Due to time constraints, there will be one log posted for all. Spring has arrived, causing significant snow melt filling the pond in the main Exhibit Pack enclosure. The colder weather quickly followed and created an ice covered pond that the wolves have been enjoying. Initially, they tested the ice for stability, now they run across without consideration. More snow fell on Sunday night, requiring new straw beds and more shoveling. Dominance was calming down, but this new snowfall stimulated the pack again. The dominance seems to be focused toward Malik, but Shadow is alert and assertive if Grizzer shows and testing behavior. In this week’s photos, Jacky Fallon from the Minnesota Zoo provides two great photos showing the dominance hierarchy and Shadow’s strong role when leading the pack in howls.
I’m sure many of you will watch Grizzer’s video and be a bit worried about Malik. It’s never easy to recognize that a pack of wolves always has a top and a bottom. Fortunately, Grizzer is still young and while he may be testing the arctic’s, he’s not that intense on his follow through. The video clip for Malik this week shows that while Malik is free to do as he pleases in the enclosure, including eat on carcasses, he is mindful of the actions of the other wolves. In the background video, you will hear Grizzer and Shadow having a dominance dispute, that’s enough for Malik to be concerned and leave his piece of carcass. Don’t worry, wolf care staff assess all wolves scat for determination of meat processed in their diet and if anyone is lacking, they are separated out and fed a special diet. So far, all wolves get their share. The biggest concern is not the interactions between wolves, but Shadow’s always been intimidated by strangers and tends to avoid feeding when the public is at the window watching. But, one smell of Shadow’s breath on Saturday mornings, and you will know that he had a full meal.
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