Staff are noticing a calming of Maya. Initially, we noticed more whining and social greeting of staff. This is characteristic of Maya with a higher level of prolactin hormone, she whines a lot. Secondly, we have noticed that her dominance with Aidan doesn't have as much follow-through. She chases him, but may stop short or may stand still and allow Aidan to sniff. Of course, there is a lot of winter/spring left, so we are still monitoring this situation carefully. But overall, the fact that Aidan is less restricted in his freedom to move around the enclosure is a sign that Maya is on the downhill slide of winter hormones.
The logs will all be the same today. We’re doing some improvements to Malik’s enclosure, so Malik gets all of my time today. This past week has been busy getting the Exhibit enclosure ready for a Chamber of Commerce mixer on Wednesday night. Windows were washed, straw was removed, the summer wood chips were added and the pond waterline thawed with enough time to fill the pond. Of course, the upper pond line is still frozen in the concrete, so the waterfall isn’t flowing, but the main pond has been a source of stimulus for the pack. When it finally thawed, the weather was 70 degrees and sunny, and all wolves romped in the water, followed by a Grizzer/Denali chase though the woods. Aidan is still getting some dominance from Maya, usually followed by one of the excitable chases though the woods, but as the photos show this week, Aidan is engaging Maya in social behavior. He does a double foreleg stab while she is on the top of the den. We have noticed some instability with Shadow after he was chasing Grizzer and Denali, he seemed to have a dizzy spell, was off balance, before planting his paws in a wide stance and gaining his stability. As with any aging wolf, we will watch Shadow closely. The YouTube video this week shows the Chamber of Commerce mixer, giving the view of a visitor to the Center. Malik had a good week, enjoying the well shaded tree cover in his enclosure.
If you look at Aidan's photo this week, you will see a different side of Maya, submitting to Aidan. But, if you visit the Center, you may see Maya chase and jaw spar with Aidan. This change in behaviors make if challenging for Aidan to know when to relax, and when to be on guard of Maya. Of course, Maya isn't only keeping Aidan in line, she works hard at showing Denali some boundaries as well. The difference is, Aidan respects her and responds with the flat ears and low tail of a lower ranking wolf. Denali jumps on her. Which wolf do you think Maya would rather maintain a social relationship?
Maya seems to be responding to some of the testing of Shadow by asserting more dominance. In a short bout of tension earlier in the week, she and Grizzer had an intense jaw sparring interaction with both riding up on their back legs. How Maya will respond when Shadow eventually retires will be interesting, but there does seem to be more social behavior with Aidan than the other two males. Maya weighed in at 89 lbs, down from 98 lbs in September, 2009. But, this is expected, besides Aidan, she does get the most physical exertion of all the wolves on site.
Written by Working for Wolves participants Emily Moen and Andi Nelson: As the dominant female of the pack, Maya still spends a fair amount of time harassing and chasing Aidan and is also now keeping Denali in line as the two of them mature into adults. Maya was seen stalking Denali and is becoming more accepting of Aidan's social interactions. Aidan was observed foreleg stabbing and muzzle biting Maya which is a significant change from this winters' interactions.
It’s a busy week for the curator, so all the logs will have the same text: In the Exhibit Pack, there’s been a lot of raven activity around the left over food, and as Maya’s video shows, some ravens are caught by the wolves. Maya killed this raven that was too close to the carcass. Dominance in the Exhibit pack remains fairly calm. In Shadow’s video, you see him taking a leadership position on top of the den, moving with a high tail position toward the pack. He vocalizes to Grizzer and gets the response he was looking for. Malik continues to show signs of being a third ranking male, in his video, you see him watch Grizzer take a deer carcass up the hill. On Sunday’s feeding, staff fed 1 full deer and a second deer torso to ensure that everyone had plenty to eat. In the Retired Pack, Mackenzie has her good days and bad days. The video for MacKenzie shows one of her bad days, She prefers to rest in her straw bed and not interact with staff, but she shows submissive ear postures to the staff off camera. We are very watchful of these days and give her the respect and space that she needs. The day after that video, she had a great day with staff member, Matt Fetterer. She rolled over on her back and got a full massage from Matt, stretching all 4 legs to full extension for the full effect of the massage. Lakota’s change in antibiotics did the trick. The abscess has drained and she’s back to her playful self. On the same day as Mac was getting the massage from Matt, the curator was doing playbows with Lakota, as she raced around the pen and even jumped over the curator’s head. Of course, she was sitting on the ground, so it wasn’t that high of a leap, but for a wolf nearing 14, it was very limber.
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again. Of all the wolves at the Center, Maya is the best at stalking and pouncing. Some week’s, it’s a raven that gets the attention, in this week’s video, it’s Grizzer. As you watch, he walking across the enclosure, you will see her head drop and her stare intensify as she does a quick stalk, then pounces off the den onto Grizzer. She proceeds to dominate Grizzer who shows complete submission and relaxation (his tail is not tucked and he exposes his belly). This is how littermates release a little energy. There’s no change in status, just an opportunity to practice some skills.
Due to time constraints, there will be one log posted for all. Spring has arrived, causing significant snow melt filling the pond in the main Exhibit Pack enclosure. The colder weather quickly followed and created an ice covered pond that the wolves have been enjoying. Initially, they tested the ice for stability, now they run across without consideration. More snow fell on Sunday night, requiring new straw beds and more shoveling. Dominance was calming down, but this new snowfall stimulated the pack again. The dominance seems to be focused toward Malik, but Shadow is alert and assertive if Grizzer shows and testing behavior. In this week’s photos, Jacky Fallon from the Minnesota Zoo provides two great photos showing the dominance hierarchy and Shadow’s strong role when leading the pack in howls.
If there’s any new item in the enclosure or an old cache coming out of the snow, Maya is the likely wolf to locate it. In this week’s video, she identifies the scent, moves some rocks and leaves with the item. This is a common occurrence in the Exhibit Pack. Beginning with the summer of 2007, the wolf care staff will offer regular Enclosure Enrichment programs every Wednesday at Noon from June 15th – August 15th. This may include hiding unusual treats in the rocks of the enclosure, using scents to offer the stimulus of marking, placing minnows in the pond (which also help to clean algae), providing beaver tail popsicles or any other creative idea that stimulates the wolves to use their sense of smell, sight or sound. Anyone with ideas of enclosure enrichment’s, please feel free to email them in. The only parameter is that it must be natural, and ethical for the wolf exhibit.
One event that happened this week is the launching of the Center’s new Web cam that features a view from the top of the den. The den top is a favorite resting spot for wolves during the winter months. The cooler temperatures inside the den make it a favorite during the summer months, and we often have wolves lying in the doorway of the den when the temperatures increase. We would like to acknowledge one of our members, Johanna Goering, for donating this new camera and the resources necessary for bringing it to our website. Our plan is switch the retired pack camera to the Center’s website and, after fundraising efforts, get a camera that can follow the activities of the new pups in 2008 and thereafter reside in the Exhibit Pack. As we move through this transition, you can still find the existing webcams hosted by www.elyminnesota.com. Maya’s video is typical of her tendency to hone her predatory skills. She stalks, chases and grabs Grizzer on a regular basis. He is very tolerant of this social/predatory practice session from his littermate and often does a play bow (lying low on his front legs and springing up in front of Maya to encourage a chase). It doesn’t take much to get Maya to chase.
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