Shadow and Malik showed very little reaction to the construction work and the resulting move of Aidan and Denali into the Pack Holding area while Grizzer was held in the new habitat. Shadow did look at the shared fence line between the Retired Enclosure and Grizzer's habitat, but didn't show much excitement. There is a rather lengthy footage on Youtube showing Shadow caching a beaver. The warmer weather has kept them from feeding like a typical October day.
We're not sure why, but Shadow seems to have had a few off days in the past few weeks, and there doesn't appear to be any other symptoms than the lack of enthusiasm for greeting and limited interest in food. It doesn't take much for Malik to see this as a weakness and start to posture towards Shadow. Shadow, already seeming subdued, just backs off from Malik, dropping his ears, which encourages Malik to follow him, adding to the intimidation. Today, Shadow seems better, but we are prepared to do some specialized feeding if necessary to increase his attitude.
We're not sure why, but Shadow seems to have had a few off days in the past few weeks, and there doesn't appear to be any other symptoms than the lack of enthusiasm for greeting and limited interest in food. It doesn't take much for Malik to see this as a weakness and start to posture towards Shadow. Shadow, already seeming subdued, just backs off from Malik, dropping his ears, which encourages Malik to follow him, adding to the intimidation. Today, Shadow seems better, but we are prepared to do some specialized feeding if necessary to increase his attitude. We did feed some scraps today with a hide, so you may see the wolves on camera today defending the scraps from ravens. They cached everything in the den which is well protected from birds.
Shadow appears to be feeling better, not that we ever determined what was wrong, but he's back to the old chin rests, following and posturing that we have witnessed since he was a pup. The challenging situation with Shadow is that if he's not at his best, Malik is quick to gain some behavioral status, which causes more anxiety from Shadow. There isn't much to remedy the situation, this is the behavior of an opportunistic, social pack member.
Lately, after staff move the leg from the den cache, Shadow's been proactive in taking it and carrying it around the enclosure. This has certainly given Shadow more confidence and more activity. I have observed him sleeping in the smaller hut that we have as a secondary space for the Retired Pack, but his preference is to be back in the big den.
The Curator was at a wildlife meeting on Wednesday, then had a full day of classes on Thursday, so Shadow didn't have his usual social time. Staff reported Shadow to be a bit challenging towards (excessive growling) and constantly looking at the lab. No doubt, when the Curator takes a few days off, Shadow's routine is affected. Older wolves don't like a change in routine.
Shadow definitely shows his age and the cold weather this week made his joints a bit stiff. To help the wolves on these cold nights, we use ample amounts of straw to provide insulation. Obviously wolves in the wild wouldn't have straw, but they don't generally sleep in compacted snow which has lost its' insulating value. As we always say, it's our policy to provide the best management practices and if providing straw makes an old wolf more comfortable, that's the least we can do. Otherwise, Shadow continues to display a good attitude. On the Youtube posting this week, we see a clip from the surveillance camera where he gets up, stretches, then does an active scent roll on a deer leg. I don't know about you, but it takes a few cups of coffee for me to be that active in the morning.
Shadow has really improved in his willingness to feed on carcasses around Malik. This is an odd relationship, where Shadow is dominant in every other encounter except food. Normally, if Malik is around, it only takes a lip curl from Malik and Shadow backs off. This behavior resulted in a change in feeding protocol for the retired pack over the last year. But, with Shadow successfully possessing beaver carcasses and deer legs, we may be ready to start with some larger feedings. For Saturday's feeding, we have a deer torso thawed and we will see how Shadow and Malik interact.
Sorry for the delay in the logs, the water and sewer to the lab project starts today and the wolf care staff have been actively working on installing the stabalizing rocks for the pond rip rap project this weekend. The text this week will be the same for all wolves, the Exhibit pack remains calm with wolf care staff doing the brunt of the physical labor in their enclosure. MacKenzie and Lakota are doing great, it's hard to believe they're 14 years old when you see them pounce around the pen. We found 2 dead ravens in the enclosure yesterday, certainly their predatory and territorial defense skills are alive and well. Grizzer's testing seems to have diminished, but we anticipate some anxiety when the construction project and heavy equipment gets underway. The next set of logs will be written by the "Workin' for Wolves" participants and should be on time.
Vermilion Community College students assisted with the straw removal, pond cleaning and trenching of the den site, in an effort to help drain an excessive amount of spring snow melt. The students did an excellent job in rainy, cool conditions, while the wolves stayed in retirement eating 3 beaver, and frequently checking on the progress. Shadow spent the most time scent rolling in some decomposing organic debris that came from the upper pond. His video clip shows the excitement of the roll, and the color of an arctic hide when they find something smelly. His photo this week shows the yearlings still seeking his attention and dominance.
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.