Shadow is very interested in the puppies. When he first met the pups through the fence, he regurgitated for them and both he and Malik bring bones, feathers and other treats to the pup pen. When the pups are a bit noisy in their dominance display, Shadow is the first to the edge of the puppy pen to whine at the puppies. On Tuesday morning, he started a howling bout with Maya and Nyssa immediately running to the fence. Since the pups arrived, Staff have noticed Shadow's status increasing. Often showing high tail posture and raised leg urination. It will be interesting to see the pack dynamics when the pups are introduced.
Shadow is really showing strong signs of acceptance towards these pups and dominance toward Malik. He was observed rolling over in the front of the exhibit with all 3 puppies climbing on him. Malik is more likely to attempt to steal food or try to playbow with the pups, but not take an active role in disciplining them. This audio clip demonstrates Shadow when he becomes very frustrated with the pups lack of cooperation to his directions.
Shadow appears to be most social with the pups. Every morning the wolf care staff arrive and he greets the crowd wiht a morning howl. Regularly joined by Nyssa and Maya who are sounding more like an adult howlo every day.
Shadow continues to be the most involved with the pups. Today at 5 pm, he spent an hour rounding them up and bringing them to the front of the Exhibit. Last night was the first night all 5 wolves slept together. While Malik spends most of his time playing with the pups, Shadow is showing signs of protecting or guarding the pups. He is the first to discipline if they get too overwhelming in a greeting, but he is also very cognitive of their place in the enclosure and has been observed checking on each pup, nose to nose, before laying down.
Prior to Shadow's release, Lucas and Malik were brought into the pack holding area to interact first, hoping to calm Shadow before his release. Staff also placed some distractions in the pen (raccoon urine, rabbit urine, cat food etc.) to focus the wolves on the unusual scents rather than each other (THANKS TO THE WILDLIFE SCIENCE CENTER FOR THAT TIP…) The distractions worked great, they spent time scent rolling and investigating throughout the enclosure. Mackenzie is very jumpy around Shadow and appears to be fearful of him, but she has regained full status over Lakota and Lucas and Malik have stopped tag teaming her. Mac does follow Shadow around closely, but avoids direct eye contact if he turns to face her. She appears to be avoiding a confrontation. The night of the 12th, we planned to isolate the yearlings to avoid any overnight fights, but we are concerned about heightening frustrations if they aren't allowed to work things out themselves.
Shadow seems to be more successful in dominance sessions and Malik seems to be on the receiving end more often. Data from the new logs shows a 4 to 1 chance that Shadow will be on top in a dominance display. This will continue to be monitored throughout the winter. Although Lakota still gets mobbed by Mackenzie and Lucas, it appears that Malik is also on the receiving end of more chase scenes this week than last week. These interactions may even require Lakota or Malik to take refuge in the den to attempt to jaw spar with the pack. The chase scenes usually last less than 5 minutes before the pack is off chasing a squirrel or finding a deer hide to play with, but the addition of the pups was bound to change the dynamics of the Center's pack of three. It's always important to remember that wolf behavior is motivated by instincts that were selected for life in the wild. One of the most important behaviors to wolf pack dynamics is the social dominance hierarchy. These behaviors are alive and well in captivity and should be recognized by those who monitor their behavior. Jen Westlund and Kim Klosterman weighed the pups while they were in the holding area for the pups feeding on October 6th. The pups weighed 62 lbs. and were a handful to weigh. Weight data may continue, but it may be dependent upon the tenacity of the wolf care staff.
Started Shadow on 75 mg of Chlomipramine, will do a short test to observe interactions between the fence with Mackenzie to determine if this is a viable option. Lucas is again showing pigmentation loss on his nose. We are monitoring this and note similarities to last fall. A tissue biopsy of Lucas's nose taken during the April 2001 medical exams revealed a tentative diagnosis of Vitaligo. There was anecdotal evidence that daily vitamin supplements helped Lucas's condition, so we continue daily vitamins to all wolves. Mackenzie is holding her ear more upright and continues to get ear washes by wolf curator, Lori Schmidt. Shadow initiates play behavior towards wolf care staff when they visit him in the pack holding area. He show's aggressive growling toward Mackenzie through the fence, but his tail remains tucked the whole time.
Shadow killed a red squirrel, so all wolves were very interested in his possession, limited staff interaction, wolves remained in upper enclosure.
A big wind and rain storm occured right before the Member's Behind the Scenes program. The wolves were very relaxed with the group considering they all had to stand due to the wet bleachers. Curator, Lori Schmidt, had to clear 2 downed trees off the fence due to the storm. The evening's feeding program went well, but Shadow and Malik still aggressivly claim the carcass, but there is plenty of meat for all the wolves."
Film crew at the center, Shadow stole the window cleaning bucket from Lori Schmidt (LS), while she was cleaning windows for the film crew. LS retrieved bucket, but it was significantly chewed prior to retrieval.
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.