Good interactions with all wolves. LS measured pup length for Education Department with only minimal biting of the tape. Mackenzie was very possessive of staff and spent a fair amount of time driving Shadow away, she barred her teeth and growled whenever Shadow approached and was observed following Shadow throughout the enclosure.
Sandflies and mosquitoes were fierce. All wolves ran into den to get away. Often with tail tucked. Lakota submitting readily to Shadow. Shadow and Malik were isolated in holding pen for brushing. Wolves were panting at 7 am due to heat, humidity and increased activity to escape bugs. Malik and Shadow spending allot of time underground in a sandy hillside in the upper enclosure.
Den dismantled today due to yearling wolves being extremely destructive during the night (den had become a safety hazard). The den was built in 1991 as a temporary structure for the seasonal wolf center exhibit. It lasted a long time for a temporary structure. Lori Schmidt, Jen Westlund, Andrea Lorek Strauss and Nancy Jo Tubbs spent several hours removing the wooded portion of the structure and a heavy equipment operator will be hired to do the rest." Curator's note: Before removing the den, there was a search of the enclosure to ensure that there were adequate alternatives for the wolves to retreat for behavioral or physical needs, especially Lakota. The staff found several dug dens at the top of the exhibit that are suitable for all wolves to use. In addition, I had a concern that Lakota wouldn't be allowed to access the upper enclosure since she was clearly restricted to the lower pen this winter by all the other pack members. However, since early June, Lakota has had more freedom of movement in the pen, allowing her to use the upper dug dens. This was reassuring, since the new den construction will not occur until September.
Vitamins to all, Fly ointment easily applied to all adults, but the yearlings continue to be problematic. Malik stole fly ointment container from Lori Schmidt (LS). LS put yearlings in holding pen and fed kibble to get ointment container back from Malik. LS applied the ointment to Shadow and Malik while they were in the holding pen, but staff need to work on getting the yearlings to receive brushing and handling. It's not that the yearlings are skittish, they just seem to want to grab everything, brushes, fly ointment, anything in your pockets etc… LS remembers the same thing with Mackenzie, Lucas and Lakota when they were yearlings… It must be a teenage wolf thing.
CVC to all. When Malik and Shadow were held off, Lakota was very reluctant to come down. Surveyors were outside the pen, laying out the dimensions for the new garage to be built this spring. Since these wolves are generally viewed from inside the building, presence by strangers outside the enclosure fence can be intimidating. Lakota refused food and nervously watched the surveyors. Curator, Lori Schmidt, placed a deer rib cage and front leg at the top of the hill for Lakota. Staff will feed Lakota her vitamins later, when things are quieter outside of the enclosure.
Malik seems to have learned how to avoid Grizzer's testing. He is watchful of the body language of Grizzer and positions himself in a place to confront him or at the very least avoid him. Grizzer's testing is not constant, he tends to spend most of his time interacting with Maya and Shadow, but when Malik senses Grizzer has a stronger motivation to show dominance, he is alert to the activity. In this week's photo and video, Malik uses a threat display to guard the deer carcass from Grizzer, but ends up sharing with Maya.
The daily routine of vitamins to all wolves now includes Cosequin to Mackenzie as a nutritional supplement to hopefully provide relief to her sore hips during the winter season. Lakota spent the day in the den eating a beaver; the yearlings were given a frozen fish to act as a distraction to keep them from overly asserting their rank order status over Lakota. Malik was observed raise leg urinating, a behavior generally reserved for alpha males in the wild, but may be exhibited by subordinate males in captivity, where scent marking their territory is not as critical as it would be in the wild."
Christmas day, Curator Lori Schmidt conducted a wolf check and administered Vitamins and Cosequin to all. Lakota was lying in the front of the exhibit, aware of the yearling¹s presence, but very relaxed. The automatic waterer froze sometime during the night, but was repaired within 2 hours. Malik was observed Raise Leg Urinating (RLU¹s) on meat scraps and appears to have gained status over Shadow. Shadow has not shown any indication of RLU and seems to be dominated more frequently by Malik. Malik also has been taking the lead in asserting rank over Lakota.
Malik is doing as the warm weather approaches. He's been spending time in the upper enclosure under the shade of the dense canopy. He's also taken a few dips in the pond, and in this week's photo, showed Grizzer a dominant posture even while he was swimming.
Everybody but Malik got attention; he was held off to retrieve chewed plastic and styrofoam from the exhibit. It appears that Malik stuck his head and paws in the pond inlet and removed a protective cover over the leaf trap. There were no electrical or pump components assessible, only the plastic cover over the leaf trap, so the wolves were in no danger other than the digestive trouble of plastic. All pieces were removed and the inlet was secure. Apparently, pond equipment didn't have wolves as engineers.
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.