Malik and Shadow have had their fair share of canid discussions about who's really running this exhibit pack. A canid discussion is a bit different than a human discussion. There's not alot of small talk. It consists of some eye contact, a bit of body posturing, and if that doesn't do it, then a growl in your face should make you change your mind. If the growl doesn't do it, then I need to jump on you and show you who's in charge. The amazing thing about this winter, is with all the growling and dominance, there hasn't been one bite wound. Earlier in the winter, we thought Shadow had the top wolf status locked, but Malik has decided that Shadow can't get off too easy. In the last month, Malik has been showing some very defiant behavior. They're still brothers though; after a dominance bout that would make observers wonder if they even like each other, they can be found sleeping on the same straw bed. Brothers, go figure…
I hope you all had a great holiday season. The wolves weathered the holiday well considering the December 26th – 9 am wolf check was -34 degrees below zero. On New Year's day, nearly 10 inches of snow fell creating a great diversion for the wolves (the pups love fresh snow) and many hours of work for the curator. Enjoy the winter photos…
Malik is an interesting wolf, he usually plays the 2nd male role to Shadow, but when Shadow's vulnerable or in a playful mood, Malik will step up and try to gain some status. Last week, Shadow was very timid and bark howled at a Behind the Scenes group. His tucked tail led Malik to do some grab biting and ride-up behavior. Shadow held his own, but it was a clear opportunity for Malik to take advantage of Shadow. It's true what they say, Wolves are Opportunists…
Pups were weighed on Sunday August 13th and Shadow weighed 38 pounds with Malik weighing in a 37 pounds. Another weight will be recorded on Saturday, August 19th, which will also be the first pack feeding of a complete deer carcass. The Ely staff are all looking forward to that day and will provide detailed notes of the interactions.
The most noteable issue with Malik is his change in behavior toward the pups. When the pups were first introduced, he was a bit hesitant towards dominanting the pups, and often avoided them or ran from them if they became too intense. In contrast, Shadow pinned them to the ground on a regular basis. As the pups grew, Malik was getting a significant amount of attention from Grizzer. Now that the Grizz is as tall as the arctics, Malik seems more inclined to deal with them rather than run from them. This means we're seeing more dominance behavior from Malik. This week's photos show Malik defending a possession from the pups. Maya submissively moves away while Grizzer and Nyssa stay on the possession.
Evening feeding program, Malik and Shadow claimed the carcass at first, very quiet feeding. Curator, Lori Schmidt howled and whole pack responded.
People often comment on the hides of the wolves, especially the arctic wolves. Malik and Shadow do have a thicker coat, with longer, more flowing guard hairs than the other subspecies. We take an additional step in nutrition by adding a daily multi-vitamin to the wolves diet. This supplement seems to help, as this week's picture of Malik shows a wolf with a very smooth, glossy coat.
June 8, 2000 The wolf pups made the most significant weight gain to date. On June 8, the blue collared pup weighed 6.14 pounds and the red collared pup tipped the scales at 6.11 pounds. They gained 11 ounces in three days! They will be slowly introduced to puppy chow the next couple days in addition to the 27 ounces of daily formula for each pup. With the onset of warmer weather, the pups have begun to dig up the soft dirt outside to reach cooler soil to escape the heat. Their puppy coat is thick everywhere except on their belly so they lie on their stomachs completely stretched out. Wolves will dig large holes in the warmer months not only for relief from the heat but also the bugs. The pups also discovered water which was used for playing and not drinking.
Both wolf puppies started on some solid food on Friday. They are eating a combination of ground venison and puppy chow three times a day in addition to their formula five times a day. They literally "wolfed" down their first solid food and were begging for more. The blue collared wolf is starting to show less interest in the bottle and more in the solid food. They are five weeks old on June 12 and steadily gaining weight. The red collared wolf weighs 8.6 pounds and the blue one is 8.75 pounds. Their legs are beginning to grow as are their feet and nose. Each day they are getting faster as they romp outside. Their long-distance eyesight has improved significantly as they are able to detect shapes and movement 40-50 feet away. Their close vision is still not accurate as they rely on their sense of smell. They are wanting to be outside more each day so they will be out of the cage for longer periods of time exercising and exploring.
Malik's knee seems to be getting better. We called a vet care meeting last Monday to discuss the plan if his condition worsens. Working with wolves is much more complex than just the veterinary issues of repairing a knee. The social dynamics of a wolf pack dictate the course of treatment. Some facilities have seen wolves expelled from the pack for treatment as short as 4 hours. A careful plan must be made for immobilization and recovery that doesn't make Malik vulnerable. The hope is that he can continue to get better on his own. The entire exhibit pack is scheduled for an immobilization in May of next year, when the pups will be neutered and spayed. We plan to get a scope of the knee then, but if it declines earlier than that, we will implement plan B. What is plan B? Well, it will involve the immobilization of both Shadow and Malik, so they can wake up together and stay together during Malik's recovery. If the brothers stay together and have no separation issues, we don't think the pups will be as likely to single Malik out. The pups typically don't reach sexual maturity until about 18 months, so the hope is that they will respond submissively to Shadow and Malik through this time.
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