Maya and Grizzer are littermates, and as littermates, still revert to the pup like behavior of wrestling and pinning each other in social interactions. Even Shadow joins in, but this littermate time is unique from other pack interactions. With the exception of a snarl on Maya’s face, there very little redirected aggression or tucked tail when pinned by a littermate. It’s quite different if another pack member does the pinning. This is the reason why, when adding pups to the Exhibit, we will never add only a single pup, the dynamics between littermates has so much social interaction to observe. As a reminder, Nanny and Behavioral Observation applications are still being accepted until February 1st. We are willing to accept the application as an email attachment.
You may have noticed that we are experiencing some technical difficulty with the webcams. We hope to have them repaired this week. We appreciate your patience and support for the Ambassador wolves at the Center. The Nanny Application deadline has passed. Now we will begin to coordinate teams and make selections. We plan to have the award letters mailed by February 15th. The wolves are doing well, and have fared the recent cold snap without issues.
Maya has been very social with Shadow and Grizzer, even though the images you see in Grizzer’s log might indicate differently. This is a good time of year for the pack to interact, agreed, sometimes it’s tense, but there’s always action in the pack. It will be interesting to see how Maya interacts with the newest pack members, the pups we will be raising in 2008. She takes her role as dominant female very intensely, and she will likely take on a maternal role as well. We have data to support Shadow’s behavior as a paternal figure in a social pack. The Nanny Application deadline has passed, and Assistant Wolf Curator, Donna Prichard and I are meeting to organize teams. We will have the award letters mailed by February, 15th. The Behavioral Observation team has a few positions remaining, so, you will continue to see this program advertised
As we've stated in other logs, this is the breeding season for wolves. In our exhibit, we spay and neuter the pack to avoid breeding and to reduce aggression. Maya doesn't have another female to dominante, so her behaviors are more on the social side. One characteristic of wolves is to have strong associative behaviors between the dominant pair, in the Exhibit Pack, this is Maya and Shadow. In this week's image, you will see some of that pair bonding behavior as Maya greets Shadow with a full face lick. Maya also controls most of the food in the enclosure, as shown in her video.
Without another female, Maya is somewhat left out of the dominant rank order displays. But, as previous videos have shown, she still wrestles with her litter mate, and shows bonding behavior to Shadow. It will be interesting to see how her behavior changes once the new pups arrive. She has intense social behavior, and we see her as being a strong influence with the pup introduction. I would also like to make a note to the Nannies selected for this year’s pups. We are still juggling teams, and once the teams are set, we will send out a briefing packet to each team member (probably by email), so teams can have some opportunity to converse prior to arrival and possibly offer to carpool to Ely.
When we say that we feed the wolves once a week on their natural pattern of feast and famine consuming, that doesn’t mean they only eat on Saturday night’s “What’s for Dinner program. Other behavioral issues that come from large carcass consumption is caching and visiting caches the many days following a feeding. While some of the larger carcasses such as beaver, are not easy to bury, the wolves due stash them and come back to them. The pack is often observed feeding mid-week, and wolves like Maya, are very keen on caches within the enclosure. Maya marks caches and is very defensive of them, and is more likely to carry them around the enclosure than any other wolf. As a reminder, the Nanny and Behavioral Team applications are on the website under the Programs tab… the deadline is February 1st.
As the whitetail deer season came to a close a few weeks ago, so did the extra scraps and ribcages that the wolves so enjoy. These items are fed upon by wolves and ravens alike, and webcam watchers may have viewed the flocks of ravens at the greeting rock in the past weeks. These ravens are usually faster than the wolves, but last week, 2 ravens were found dead in the enclosure. Maya continues to be a dominant member of this pack, and her excitement sends the entire pack in a rallying mode. One thing that the wolf care staff tries to be aware of is the relationship between individual wolves. This includes who’s resting in close proximity to one another and who initiates play behavior or spends the most time on the den site (the highest point in the enclosure, often a status area). Maya and Shadow take the lead on who gets the top spot.
Maya continues to show some very social behavior and has strong associative behavior towards Shadow. Her behavior has helped maintain Shadow's confidence and has eased the tension in the pack, during a situation that could have redefined the entire structure. It is early in the winter, and we certainly are aware of the potential for pack dynamic increases during the mid-winter season.
Maya continues to have some strong hormonal influences that add to her dominance and make her a bit excited. Shadow is right by her side when she starts some dominance on Grizzer, he doesn’t usually intervene, but is more likely to watch and give a growl of support. Grizzer seems to take it all in stride and doesn’t appear to be agitated with her behavior. Maya has also been spending a lot of time on the carcass. In this week’s video, she takes possession of a deer hide and carries it up the hill. Maya continues to show alliances with Shadow and has been a contributing factor to Shadow’s recovery. The wolves will receive a Christmas treat of either Cornish game hens or turkeys, no doubt, Maya will take possession of whatever is brought into the enclosure.
Maya's dominance over Aidan hasn't calmed much this summer, but we have identified the triggers that make her excited. One is howling, a pack rally leads her to demonstrate her status. Other scenarios that are problematic for Aidan is the excitement of the daily med deliver in a meatball, the excitement of all the wolves jumping at the fence makes Maya redirect. We noticed another scenario that we must be mindful of; If Maya doesn't go into the pack holding area and Aidan does, she waits to dominate him when he comes out. We have this same problem with Malik and Grizzer. Our goal is to get all the pack into holding, so no one wolf is separated out, but Maya continues to be timid about the sliding gates overhead. One bad experience with a gate can cause a lifetime of negative conditioning. One other notable Maya situation is her unusual shed pattern. For whatever reason, she holds on to her undercoat around her neck, making it look like she has ruffles. She also has some residual guard hairs on the tip of her tail that doesn't shed. It makes her look a bit odd, but it makes it easier for observers to identify her.
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