In this week’s video, you will see Maya stalk, lunge and grab Grizzer in a dominance display. You may have even viewed this on the webcam, as the 10 second refresh format, would have captured some of it. Maya has a significant personality change with the winter surge of estrogen, and Grizzer responds well to his packmate’s issues.
The wolf logs will all be the same today, we would like to thank all of the wolf care supporters this past year. From the significant donations to the Water in the Lab fund to the vitamins and nutritional supplements, straw, squeaky toys, pigs ears, blueberries, tools, jump drives, web cams and many more items that are donated to the lab each year, we are so grateful there are so many people who help support the Retired and Exhibit Pack. There are too many names to mention, but you know who you are. We can always count on you when the wolves are in need. We are happy to report that all is well on this New Years Day, 2008. The Exhibit Pack received 2 frozen fish from a recent fishing trip, one caught by Assistant Wolf Curator, Donna Prichard and one caught by Lori Schmidt, Wolf Curator. Grizzer and Maya enjoyed rolling on them. The retired wolves are doing well, excited about the thawing of two deer legs for a mid-week feeding. The Nanny applications are posted on the website, they can be found on the Programs tab, look in Wolf Seminars or Learning Vacations – Northern Minnesota. We did institute a prerequisite program for the Nanny program this year, we did this based on some experiences that we had in 2004. Wolf pups are not dog pups, and we want to make sure nannies have to skills knowledge and abilities to assist in the socialization process. This is an historic time for the International Wolf Center, 2008 will mark the first time the Center has had three age structures in a pack and we want to make sure the best interest of the pups and the pack in mind as we move forward. If you have questions about the Nanny program, please email the curator directly at curator@wolf.org
When the waterline was repaired in the enclosure, a large flat rock that was adjacent to the pond needed to be moved and repositioned. While the rock is not as flat as it was in its’ original placement, Maya seems to be the only wolf that finds it a comfortable place to rest. The placement of rocks are not merely and aesthetic addition to the exhibit. The ability to climb on a rock increases a wolf’s height, giving them status. It is also a good place for rodents to hide, creating many more things to investigate for a predatory mind that is always in high gear.
Wolf Care Staff Member Jess Edberg documented the following observation on Saturday April 23rd: 9:25am A male hooded merganser landed in the pond! Maya ran in after it and it dove – confusing her. She got out as the other 4 booked down the hill and they all ran in circles trying to find the duck. The duck came up and flew into the air (~10feet) but the wolves closed in so quick that it dove straight down again. The wolves got out of the pond and circled around more looking up in the air for it. The duck took one last jump and flew up circling the pond and flew out of the enclosure. The wolves kept looking around and after five minutes are still wandering around sniffing by the pond and looking up.
Maya's behavior since the loss of Nyssa has been extremely submissive to staff and the other wolves. She has been observed spending time near the holding gates, but mostly found up in the woods near the arctic wolves. There has been limited social behavior between the pack, but Grizzer and Maya were observed interacting late Sunday afternoon. There has been much howling on site, but I also noticed wild wolf scent marking outside of the secondary fence this morning. The location of the Wolf Center in the heart of wolf country makes the visit of wild wolves to the enclosure highly probable. The territorial defense behavior of the captives to these visiting canids (can be towards dogs as well), has been well documented.
Maya has been experiencing a surge in hormones this past week, and her behavior is clearly influencing Shadow’s confidence. As the dominant pair, Maya’s been very associative with Shadow, rubbing up against him, following him, resting her head on him and tail wagging anytime she is near him. Part of this behavior is evident on her video this week. Shadow is very receptive to this attention and has given him a confidence boost, showing more high tail postures than in previous weeks. When Maya gets excited, she’s likely to race around the enclosure, often pouncing on Grizzer as a outlet for her energy. This has decreased Grizzer’s confidence a bit, creating the calming affect for the arctics. Maya’s hormonal surge will likely continue through the early part of the winter.
Maya’s face looks a bit rough, the scrape or bite she received did a lot of tissue damage, but it’s drying out and in the process of healing. These short dominance bouts have been ongoing, and there doesn’t seem to be any indication as to the trigger. Denali is less tolerant of Maya’s behavior than he has been this winter, at some point; a 2-year old male will say enough is enough. Maya doesn’t think along the same lines.
Maya's bite/scrape on her nose is healing, thanks to the care of Shadow and Denali, who both spend time cleaning it. While the scrape recently reopened after a chase with Aidan, it is healing well. Maya is definitely going through a transitional time, showing much more whining and starting to show less confidence in situations, such as the holding pen. Wolf management can change from day to day, but staff aren't the only ones noticing Maya's change, Aidan's presence throughout the enclosure means that he notices it as well.
As you can hear from this week's video, Maya's vocalizations might have been mistaken for Shadow's! Although Maya is the only female in this pack, it is obvious that she will not hesitate to growl vigorously at Denali or perform an inhibited muzzle bite. Maya still displays her excellent predatory abilities when stalking and lunging at Aidan, but also during enclosure enrichments which are done twice a week. Of all the wolves, she is extremely adept at problem-solving and figuring out how to catch minnows in the pond by placing a paw over them and dragging them to the shallower waters. She is also the wolf who seems to use her recall the most of previous places where food has been placed during enclosure enrichments, often frequenting those same areas looking for food.
Maya has been very intense lately, as you read in Aidan’s log, most of the behavior revolves around Aidan. She is very in-tune with Aidan’s vulnerability, and when Aidan shows anxious behavior, it is perceived weakness and she stalks, pins and dominates him. It’s a cascading issue, as the more she stalks him, the more he becomes nervous. Again, its wolf care staff’s job to keep things calm, and we take that job really seriously. We weighed the wolves this week and Maya is down to 93.91 lbs from an April weight of 94.3.
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.