Maya has an unusual shed pattern, losing most of her hair on her back, but retaining tufts of hair on her hind flanks, making a skirt like appearance. This is just an oddity of her shedding pattern, not a gender specific issue, but it does help visitor identify Maya as the only female in the pack.
Maya continues to show high pitched whining any time the pups are nearby, and she displays the same behavior towards Lakota. We are very fortunate to have such a nuturing female in the Exhibit Pack and she will be a great influence on the introduction. Maya and Grizzer are in full shed, we are pulling bags of hair off of each wolf. Shadow and Malik began to shed on their legs, but have since slowed. Lakota has no signs of shedding her thick winter coat.
As you may have read in the press release, Maya was euthanized on Tuesday March 1st, 2011. The decision to euthanize was based on a defined scenario in the Euthanasia policy: an injury that requires major surgical intervention with a questionable outcome and potential recovery issues. But equally important is the influence of" Quality of Life" discussions which is our ethical responsibility to these captive wolves. A podcast is being developed to discuss the management scenarios surrounding this incident. This log serves the purpose to recognize the incredible spirit and appreciation we have for her. Maya was a special individual that taught us the behavioral capabilities of a dominant female. She didn't start out that way. As a pup, she was very timid and subordinate, but in between her first and second year of age, Shadow chose her to be his pair bonded pack mate. Maya's confidence excelled and she maintained that confidence and status until the day of her death. Captive wolf management is about the individual and their personalities that mesh to form a social pack. We will always value the time we spent with Maya, the memories are many and the lessons learned are great.
Maya continues to be source of exercise for Grizzer. They chase each other up, over and through the den. This type of young energy is why we raise a minimum of two littermates together. The older animals don’t often display these energy bursts that seem to occur multiple times a day. Maya’s video shows her enjoying the remains of the weekly deer carcass.
Maya has been a bit intense lately, not with staff, but with her fellow pack mates. Even as a spayed female, she still has hormonal surges during this time of the year, the natural breeding season for wolves. She is most confident in all her interactions and has no problem controlling the carcass, bones or deer hides, as shown in her video this week.
Maya has calmed a bit in recent weeks and remains the peace maker of this pack. She is frequently observed greeting Shadow when Grizzer starts giving Shadow a bit of testing behavior. In this week’s video, Maya waits on top of the den for the staff to deliver the straw beds after the recent snowfall. Even the young wolves appreciate the warm comfort of a dry straw bed.
After a long winter, the water line finally thawed while we were at the Wildlife Science Center picking up the pups. We were surprised to return to Ely at 1:30 in the morning to find the pond full. We haven’t had a chance to install the pump or rake straw, but at least the pack has water if the daytime temperatures get too hot prior to their complete shedding. Maya is very stimulated by the pups to whine in a social response, as well as Shadow. We are certain that these two will make great surrogate parents.
Maya continues to be a dominant force without a second female to display this dominance. She takes this role seriously and is often found guarding the carcass or wrestling with Grizzer. In her video this week, she comes down the hill from feeding on the deer carcass to meet the play behavior of Grizzer.
Wolf care staff are anxiously waiting for spring days of 40-50 degrees and sunny? Why, not because we like warm weather, but it will signal the change in hormonal cycle from the higher dominance of estrogen to the calmer prolactin, and Maya needs a dose of prolactin. Aidan seems to be taking it in stride, not doubt, he has learned how to jaw spar, and unfortunately, Maya is quick to engage. Her face has several scars from this activity, but nothing seems to change, Maya dictates where Aidan is located in the enclosure, and if he's not where he should be, Maya stalks, lunges and chases him to her vision of the world order. It is interesting, when Maya doesn't pay attention to Aidan, he does seek her out and sniff her, these two must have worked something out, and while humans feel sorry for him, Aidan displays behaviors that indicate, he's part of this pack.
Maya continues to show strong female dominance, and the scars on her face show that she may be small, but she's tenacious. It is important to not label Maya as an aggressive animal, but she is a dominant female, and her rights as the dominant female dictate the interaction of the rest of the pack. We have noticed she is someone guarding of Shadow when there's a pack rally, and were able to record this for Youtube this week when Shadow started a pack howl.
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.