Maya had a complete medical exam today including a spay surgery. She was brought to the Ely Vet Clinic and was back on site within a few hours. She spent her first night in holding, but as I write this at 12:15 am on Saturday, she seems anxious to return to the pack, especially Shadow. Her stitiches will need a few days to heal without the influence of active pack life. Her weight on the Vet clinic electronic scale was 79.5 lbs. Maya's medical team included Peg Callahan from the Wildife Science Center, Jen Westlund, program specialist for the IWC, Kim Wheeler and Emily Rantala.
Maya doesn't have much new to report. She's still favored by Shadow, actively pursuing Grizzer when he's running around the pen, and overall a submissive wolf to the wolf care staff. She really fits in well with all the members of the Exhibit Pack.
Written by Pups at One Year program participant: Deena Arntzen Maya was in fine hunting form due to the enclosure enrichment activities of this weekend. She wasted no time in pursuing the minnows that were added to the pond. With narrow-eyed focus, she followed the movement of the minnows, nearly jumping into the water to make a catch. A later swim found her spinning in a circle just like the minnows she was so happily chasing.
Maya is truly the swimmer in the bunch. She doesn't care that the snowmelt water is barly above the freezing point. She willingly jumps in the pond and attempts to capture the debris floating in the pen. If you've ever had a dog and experienced the joys of being near that dog when they come out of water, you can appreciate the wolf care staff's job. As Maya comes out of the pond, she comes over to the wolf care staff and does a full body shake or puts a wet, muddy paw on the staff. Spring is a time of new growth, but it's also a time for mud and surprises coming out of the snow. Maya is good at finding those surprises, old bones, hides, sticks from a tree severed in January, whatever the debris, she finds it and brings it to our attention.
Maya is very efficient in predatory behavior. She stalks small rodents, birds etc, better than any other pack member. She's been observed using the same behavior to stalk and bite the floating hair in the pond. It's been a challenge to clean the pond with the puppies help, but it sure has been entertaining.
During deer season, the wolves have received an abundance of deer scraps and meat. This also means that the ravens are enjoying the leftovers from the feedings. Maya has been observed this week watching, stalking and chasing ravens from the deer carcasses. Her predatory instincts can be seen in this photo as she watches the ravens in the enclosure.
Maya's interactions with the males is very interesting. When Grizzer and Shadow chase Malik, Maya stalks them and pounces on Grizzer. This usually leads to her and Grizzer riding up and jaw sparring, with Grizzer attempting to get back to the Malik chase. Maya definitely needs something to dominate and Grizzer is convenient.
There seems to be a pattern in the response to Grizzer, Maya defends food from him, Malik defends himself. Regardless, Grizzer maintains a good attitude and has been very compatible with staff interactions. In Maya’s video this week, she displays a behavior that seems to be common when a dog is in the wolf yard. When she was a pup, the Wolf Curator’s dog was used to get the pups exposed to larger canids dominance displays before the pups met the adult wolves. When Maya sees any dog, she displays loud, and excitable whining behavior, this will likely be her response when the new pups arrive.
Maya continues to show very strong associative behavior towards Shadow, and focuses excess energy on her littermate Grizzer. It’s a great time of the year to see these behaviors emerge and really get a glimpse at the social nature of these individuals. It will be very interesting to see how Maya responds to a new female to the Exhibit next year. She certainly has many skills to teach the newest pack members. In this week’s video, Maya is intently chewing on a deer carcass.
The text for all the wolves will be the same. The wolves are enjoying the deer scraps donated by local deer hunters, with scraps arriving daily and wolves feeding opportunities on the increase. This is the time of the year when resources are plentiful at the International Wolf Center. Vermilion Community College student, Nick Budzien, made a trip to the Wildlife Science Center in Forest Lake Minnesota, where they graciously donated 24 road kill deer to help feed our wolves over the winter. Road kill are much more plentiful in the urban areas in southern Minnesota, than the more remote forested regions of Ely. We do get local road kill, but not in the volume that will sustain the wolves through the winter. The weather is moderately cool, ranging between 20 and 30 degrees Fahrenheit, ideal for both wolves and wolf care staff.
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.