Malik spent part of today's wolf check caching a leftover beaver carcass. During the summer, appetites are lower often resulting in food left over after the feeding program. Wolf care staff moved the beaver to the upper wooded area of the enclosure to reduce the fly potential, and Malik cached it.
No real change in Malik's knee. Staff over the weekend observed him running around the pond with the other wolves, but still favoring it after a bout of activity. Another Vet care meeting is scheduled to discuss his situation.
Over the last two weeks, Dr. Chip Hanson has been on site twice to observe Malik's back right leg. It appears that he may have a knee injury that is causing him to favor his back leg and even hold it up when running. Getting a diagnosis on a wolf is challenging, requires immobilization, and removing Malik from the pack for a trip to the clinic. If it is a problem that requires a surgical repair, the issues concerning isolation, recovery time and acceptance back into the pack have to discussed. It's not as easy to tell a wolf to stay off his leg and rest for 6 weeks. Another vet check was scheduled for this morning and video footage from this weekend showed that Malik seems to be getting better. Malik was on a 14 day treatment of anti-inflammatory medication and may have shown a limited response to the treatment. He will be continued to be monitored as the Vet care team drafts up management scenarios for all possible courses of treatment. Wolf Care staff observed him on Friday in a full-blown chase of the puppies, showing no weaknesses. His mood seems to be good, he's eating well and defintely active, so staff are hoping for the best.
The retired enclosure has really benefited from the recent heat and rain. Vegetation is very lush and provides a lot of area for the wolves to get some relief from the heat and bugs. Malik and Shadow enjoyed a deer torso and have had a great appetite this summer.
As the male rank order becomes less intense, Malik has more reason to relax. In this week’s video, you will see him comfortably resting in a straw bed. He still watches from afar when Grizzer and Maya interact, but he doesn’t show as much anxiety at the sounds of these ritualized dominance displays.
Malik seems to be avoiding the situations that make him vulnerable to Shadow. Today during a wolf check, he decided to stay on top of the hill and defend a beaver carcass, while Shadow supervised a pup dominance pile.
I have also been asked the question, if you retire Grizzer, can he join Shadow and Malik in the Retired Pack. The answer is, no, not while Malik is a member of Retirement. If you recall, Grizzer aggressively deposed Malik as a pack member, and putting them together may result in injuries to Malik, not a risk we are willing to take. Malik does well intimidating Shadow and taking all of his chicken caches, and we don't want to change these dynamics. Malik finished his last course of antibiotics for the abscess, if it comes back, he will have an immobilization and a vet visit.
We unsuccessfully attempted rabies vaccinations on Malik and Shadow today. These two individuals are a challenge with some of the basic care that we need to provide. Vaccines and fly ointment are the challenges. We will try again after they have had a full meal and are a bit sleepy on a warm spring day.
This week's Youtube footage shows Malik doing some posturing towards Shadow. It's not very intense, but it is that time of the year that even older wolves hormonally cycle and try for status. It's always interesting to work with the older wolves, just when you think they are too old to pull a stunt, they surprise you. On Friday, the Curator was installing a new camera for the Center' Wolf Link project. Her hat fell out of her pocket when she was on a ladder and Malik was quick to retrieve it, and enjoyed the chase that ensued to get the hat back. He was pouncing and play bowing and tossing the hat in the air, it certainly created some good enclosure enrichment for a period of time. But, it is 10 degrees and the Curator needed her hat back, so a bit of bone dust as a distraction and the hat was retrieved, initially by Shadow, but then the Curator got her hat.
Malik is showing some increased interest in the pups smells, or maybe it's the pup formula on our coats, but the issues last week have subsided. As I write this, both Shadow and Malik are sharing den space in the rain and have some good social bouts of activity.
The International Wolf Center advances the survival of wolf populations by teaching about wolves, their relationship to wildlands and the human role in their future.