Just when we thought Maya's intensity was calming, a few cool rainy days return her to a heightened state of dominance. During this spring transition period, weather influences are tremendous. A sunny 50 degree day results in all wolves resting comfortably and compatible. The 40 degree rainy day is a different story. There is still a noticeable decline in the intensity of the dominance, Maya doesn't follow through as much, and she has had less bite wounds from jaw sparring. Overall, the pack is returning to the summer season behavior.
Sorry, the logs will be the same for all wolves today. Spring is a busy time with a winter full of straw, bones and raven droppings creating a busy workload for wolf care staff. The pack is doing well, general observations show Aidan getting bolder and definitely spending social time with the pack, mostly Shadow. A recent cold spell has created a situation where Maya became more intense and Shadow showed more status to Grizzer, but these are short-lived situations. Spring is here and the days will continue to get warm, even though we had below zero wind chills yesterday. Denali made a sprinkler hose out of one of our good garden hoses. While the curator was spraying the rocks trying to clean the white streaks left all over the rocks from the ravens, the pack was occupied with the beaver, and all was going well. Grizzer came over and pulled on the hose, but quickly stopped. Denali watched this and decided he should try the hose, but being a younger undisciplined youth, he didn't stop as quickly as Grizzer and proceeded to tug and tug until he bit through the hose. Staff moved Grizzer and Denali into holding and continued working. There is far more to do in the enclosure, but after this week's experience, Grizzer and Denali will a challenge.
Happy President’s Day, Due to the Holiday, all of the logs will be the same posting today: The Nanny selection process has been completed and award letters were mailed on the 15th of February. We are still in the selection process for the Behavioral Observation program, and have extended the deadline until April 15th. We intend to have the Behavioral Observation award letters for those current applicants sent by February 22nd. Please be patient, as this is a very important task. We want to make sure we have a good fit for each crew to have the most positive experience for the pups. One other comment relates to a new face you may be seeing on the Exhibit Pack webcam. After 6 months of training, work with the Retired Pack and an opportunity to gain Shadow’s trust, Don Gossett and Sharee Johnson have been successfully integrated in the Exhibit Pack as a Level I wolf care staff. Shadow was a bit hesitant at first, but has been very responsive to the newest staff members. Being a Level I handler means that they must always be accompanied by a Level III for safety, with a Level 2 for backup. So, when new staff are in the enclosure, you are likely to see 3 or 4 staff. We want to make sure that all staff that will be handling pups are perceived as part of the program by Shadow and Maya. If a staff person is not trusted by Shadow, and they are observed handling the pups, it can create an aggressive situation. This is why we are so stringent on the Nanny program, it is critical to the social dynamics of the wolf yard that all people interacting with the pups respect the adult wolves, especially Shadow. Remember, this pup introduction’s purpose is to maintain a socially cohesive pack.
Maya has been very submissive lately, the dominance towards Shadow seems to be affecting her. She is still very social with Grizzer and begins several bouts of chase with him, but if Shadow is getting some dominance from Grizzer, she runs to him and shows a very submissive posture, licking the sides of his face and whining. Last weekend, Shadow, Grizzer and Maya displayed a strong social behavior in front of the viewing windows, rolling around on the ground, jumping up and playbowing to each other and greeting each other on the muzzle. In this week's video, Maya is uncomfortable with the strong wind that accompanied the snows. So is the person filming, as you can see by the shaky video.
Maya has no problem getting her fair share at the carcass. As you can see by this week’s video, she continues to feed as Grizzer drags the carcass around. As the only female, she has the dominant female status and there’s no question, she gets to do what she wants. Most of the scuffle over the carcass is between the male rank order.
As the only female in the pack, Maya reserves the right to be dominant in most situations. Her most famous behavior is scent marking. Dominant females use what’s termed a modified RLU. This behavior is critical in the wild where a dominant male and dominant female may both mark a spot indicating that the territory is occupied by a breeding pack. Maya marks food, or areas where the other wolves have recently marked.
Maya continues to show strong dominant female behavior. Of course, she’s the only female, so the challenge is minimal, but she is showing pair bonding behavior with Shadow and a clear dominant right to feed on the deer carcasses and defend them. In this week’s video, she’s carrying her possession to the top of the den to feed and guard it.
Often times, the wolves don’t consume a full deer carcass, especially if the weather is warm. Wolf care staff will leave the deer in for several days, allowing the wolves to scavenge on the carcass until a few days before the next feeding. This also gives ravens a meal or two. In this week’s video, you will see Maya really getting serious about the carcass.
The weather here has turned cold, with morning temperatures for the last several days ranging from -25 to -30 below zero. Wolf care staff have increased the amount of straw in the enclosure to give the wolves more insulation. Wolves in the wild bed in the snow for insulation, but in captivity, the snow is compacted, leaving it ice cold. Maya is showing signs of her age, getting very stiff when she gets up from resting. She turns six years of age in May, and joins the Cosequin club, nutritional supplements for older joints. She does get plenty of exercise, and of course, so does Aidan.
Maya seems to be peaking in dominance activity, and with it comes some bite wounds due to confrontational issues. She has a new small scrape below her eye, but it hasn't stopped her from showing her status. The good news is, this should pass as February approaches. Even though Maya is more dominant, Aidan actually seems more confident and more willing to move about the enclosure, probably because Denali is taking an active involvement in any dominance, diverting Maya's attention. Maya continues to pair bond with Shadow, but some days, Shadow would prefer to not be the focus of her attention any more than Aidan wants to be the focus of her attention.
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