Maya's photo again shows her in the stalk mode. It has been an interesting winter, but we will all be glad when spring finally arrives and she calms down a bit. The influences of hormones and stress on behavior has been a learning experience for wolf care staff, and we continue to video and study this situation to assist us in future management decisions.
Maya has been more relaxed, and has even been observed in social play behavior with Aidan, but she still draws the line with too much pup enthusiasm. Of course, we need to call them yearlings now, as they are one year old today. Maya gained about a pound from last July's weights, and is coming into the summer in prime condition.
The wolf logs will all be the same today, due to weather priorities… Yes, the weather plays a big part in what we do in wolf care and defines the hazards of the job. Today, we have freezing rain, which creates a hazard for wolf care staff and wolves alike. Staff are very vulnerable in slippery conditions, if a wolf jumps on us, and we fall, this can easily turn in to test. For the wolves, the icy conditions can mean a joint injury. Our job today is to keep the pack calm, and check everyone’s physical condition thoroughly. The wolves are using the dens and there is straw placed under the eaves to get out of the rain. In the videos this week, you will see the pond frozen from snowmelt conditions. Aidan does a stiff leg jump to crack the ice, and Denali comes up with an ice chunk to investigate. Shadow continues to show his leadership as he dominates Grizzer, but Grizzer is showing very submissive postures and is seeking Shadow’s dominance. Grizzer still socially interacts with the pups; Malik still follows Grizzer around looking for any opportunity to get a grab bite on Grizzer. Maya is still stalking and making Aidan nervous, but not as problematic as a month ago. All in all, the pack is well; the only other risk that we are dealing with today is the weight of the ice on tree branches that is starting to make branches break.
Maya was actively involved in the dominance activity that resulted in Aidan getting his leg caught between two rocks. As a dominant female, her intensity is much greater than any of the other males. We understand it as a survival instinct. Females in the wild can control population and litter reproduction through dominance, and even though Maya is spayed, she has a clear role in pack leadership. It is hard to watch, and we strive to find the external stresses that may increase Maya's dominance, but life on a public display is going to have some excitable moments, and wolves will redirect. Our best management strategy is to design an exhibit that has some safety zones for lower ranking wolves, provide plenty of distractions if tensions get high, and maintain the best nutrition possible to all the wolves, but especially the lower ranking pack members.
Certainly Maya's dominance towards Aidan is difficult to watch, especially when Aidan tries so hard to be with her and Aidan willingly greets and submits to her. Maya is not an aggressive animal, but she is a dominant animal that is driven by hormonal influences that have a strong survival instinct in the wild. Female dominance in the wild is a form of population control, keeping the lower ranking females from copulating and producing litters of pups that may stress a pack resources. We know from experience that females are more intense than males, and we can't hold that against the individual wolf. I know that our job as wolf care staff is to maintain the highest quality care possible for all wolves, and in Maya's case, that includes keeping her stress levels low to keep her from redirecting to Aidan.
Maya has a new quirk… well, if you ask Aidan, she has many. The new issue we have relates to the window washing bucket. Maya has a desire to scent roll in the bucket, and if we block the bucket, she will try to scent roll on the windows when we are washing them. It's gotten to the point that we need to pour soapy water on the ground to keep her distracted while we get the windows clean. We use Dawn dish soap to wash the windows, and even though we've been using this soap on the windows since before she was born, it now has her stimulated. She even did a RLU in the bucket a few months ago. Needless to say, that ended the window washing session for that day.
Maya's intensity towards Aidan has diminished in the last several weeks, but when Aidan uses the upper enclosure dug den, she eye stalks him and can keep him from coming to the front of the enclosure. So far, Aidan has figured out how to deal with it, but it's just another one of Maya's charms as the dominant female.
The log postings are all the same this week, we have a Working for Wolves program this weekend and will post some behavioral observations from participants on Sunday. The Exhibit Pack is doing well, despite the increased aggression that is typical of the first cold and snow of the year. Both packs received straw on their dens which is always a source of initial excitement, but also encourages bedding behavior. Malik's abscessed tooth has healed, as his photo shows no indication of the scar. Shadow continues to take small portions of food on a daily basis with a peak of interest when the weather turned cold.
Maya has always been one of those wolves that remains a mystery to staff. When she was a pup, she was extremely timid and mild mannered. This continued for most of her first year of life, until Shadow chose her to be his paired dominant female, then the staff saw a different Maya. This must be how Aidan is responding, on some days, she stalks him and squashes him to the ground, on other days, she courts him, rubbing her chin against his cheek and walking shoulder to shoulder. Lately, the behaviors have been changing within minutes, instead of hours. One thing we are certain, wolves have their own personality traits, and one policy of management doesn't fit all. Wolf care is an opportunity to learn many things about wolf behavior.
Maya has been a contradiction in behavior this week. She has been stalking and lunging at Aidan, but she's also been grooming him and parallel walking with him, a sign of bonding. I think it's as confusing for Aidan as it is for Maya, hormones can do that to a wolf. Overall, Maya remains a strong leader of this pack, and while she is momentarily focused on Aidan, she is still showing the same bonding behaviors towards Shadow.
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