Maya seems relaxed despite Shadow's difficulty with strangers at the back of the enclosure. All the wolves are showing signs of intolerance to the heat. Maya seems to be the smallest surface area and doesn't seem to pant as much as the others. She does seem to spend more time in the upper enclosure than the other wolves, but during a wolf check, she always comes down and finds a cool concrete pad to rest on.
The pond was filled earlier this week and filters were put back in place. It took Maya all of 10 minutes to get at the filter and try to pull it out of the protective grate. The wolf care staff need to design a filter system that is protected from wolves. We are starting with a stainless steel grate that has less than 1/2 inch space between panels. This allows water to flow, but no wolf paws to fit in the panels. This type of curiosity towards anything new and different in the enclosure hints of a strong predatory drive. Wolves will use the ability to distinguish subtle changes in their prey that may make them vulnerable.
Today is a special wolf log reporting the results of the arctics veterinary check. As you've read in previous logs, the arctics have had trouble with ear mites. As the summer season approaches, we wanted to make sure they were healthy and ready for a summer of viewing. Wolf care staff joined veterinarian Dr. Chip Hanson for an immobilization of the arctics to get a scope of their ears and do some intensive cleaning. Grizzer and Maya weren't immobilized, since they are very tolerant of ear cleaning (thanks to the Nannies…) We are happy to report no signs of mite, just some slight debris and a possible response to allergeries. Their ears were cleaned, the drugs were reversed and they successfully rejoined the pack. Care was given to ensure no loss to Shadow's status by placing him in the main enclosure first while Malik, Grizzer and Maya waited in holding. Grizzer spent most of the exam whining outside of the holding pen waiting for the arctics to return. Maya whined a bit, but was distracted by a variety of things to chase in the enclosure. All went well, and as a precaution to not single out the arctics, Maya and Grizzer had their ears cleaned and smelled of the same medication. I'm posting several pictures of the reunion back into the pack. After the pack was secure again, Maya found some entertainment in a floating piece of Grizzer's hair.
The new wolf care camera has been a tremendous benefit in getting quality photos of the wolves for the web logs as well as the magazine. Maya is the most photographed of all the wolves since she has a natural pose, and is often found on the rock, den or hillside looking majestic. But, there are days that Maya tends to look like she's up to something. Today was one of those days, as this week's photo demonstrates, wolves have an incredible array of facial displays.
Sorry for the lack of logs over the past week. The curator was at a State Wildlife Society meeting. It was a great meeting and one of the most important messages from this meeting is the need to preserve contiguous tracts of habitat for species. As the human population grows and land development occurs, we need to always plan for the greenspaces that keep wildlife populations viable. Even in a captive facility, we have a need to manage for vegetation and quality habitat. This weeks photos of Grizzer and Maya prove why this is a challenge, but the Workin' for Wolves programs and the Adults at Two Years programs that are offered this summer, will aid in the endeavor of planting more trees. So, in the interest of getting photos up on the log, all the text will be the same. For each log, all wolves are healthy and during the curators absence, they were in the capable hands of wolf care staff Jen Westlund, Matt Fetterer, Jess Edberg, Andrea Lorek Strauss and Laurie Fella.
Maya has been observed in some very active predatory behavior lately. She frequently stalks the chickadees and nuthatches that feed on the carcass as well as Grizzer when he's in the middle of a chase or just walking through the front of the exhibit. She has an intense eye stare that was very characterisitic of Kiana. The exhibit is definitely more lively with the juvenile wolves.
Maya enjoys the life of being the only female, and the preferred female of Shadow. On Saturday night's feeding, Shadow guarded Maya from Malik while she was feeding on the carcass. Although, Shadow didn't guard her from Grizzer. It's interesting to watch the dynamics between these social pack animals.
Maya has been quite interactive with staff lately. This may be a response to the males in her pack being preoccupied with each other. She's doing well, still taking every opportunity to stalk an unsuspecting raven or her brother Grizzer.
Maya gets right into the action of the male dominance role. She's usually observed stalking and pouncing on Grizzer when Grizzer's trying to chase Malik. She's extremely agile and usually gets what she chases. Maya and Shadow continue to have a special bond with each other, while Maya and Grizzer continue to wrestle just like when they were pups. Lori Rhodes visited the Center on November 11th and 12th and contributes this week's photos of the Exhibit Pack.
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.