Nancy Gibson writes: The pups had their bi-weekly weigh-in on June 22 and Shadow (red collared wolf) continues to gain on his brother with 12.2 pounds. Malik (blue collared pup) only gained an ounce at 11.7 pounds. The pups are much more active now so their weight gain will not be as rapid as it has been. Both of the pups gave up nursing from the bottle yesterday, but they will continue to be fed the formula in a bowl for a couple of more weeks in addition to their solid food. The wolf pups did quite well at their first public appearances and howled in response to the children's howling contest. They are beginning to feel comfortable sleeping outside for short periods of time in preparation for their journey to the International Wolf Center where they will be housed outside permanently. Their feet are getting quite large in addition to their long legs.
All wolves asleep by 12:45 with the pups laying about 12 feet apart in the grass of the lower enclosure. The adults slept in the straw beds next to the observation window. There was no further activity until 5:30 am when the pups woke up and approached the adults and then went exploring. At 5:40 am, Malik re-appears with the squirrel that is likely to be Mackenzie's earlier catch. Shadow and Malik tug on the squirrel until they tear it in 2 halves. This brought the interest of the adults and Lakota attempted to take the squirrel away from Shadow. Shadow aggressively growled and snapped at Lakota and managed to keep the squirrel. Malik cached his 1/2 then attempted to take Shadow's 1/2 of the squirrel. Shadow aggressively growled and barred teeth at Malik when guarding, Malik growled back and later let go. Shadow continued to possess the squirrel until all wolves headed for the woods at 6:15 am.
Larisa did the feeding tonight; Shadow had to be bribed with meatballs to go into the pack holding area. He showed some anxiety while in holding, no anxiety by Malik today. The holding pen issue seems to be tied to the people outside of the enclosure rather than the pen itself.
I know we've said this before, but the introduction of the pups seems to have affected Shadow the most. He is often observed stimulating play behavior with the pups and is taking on a leadership role more seriously than last year. Even in the old adopt a wolf kits, Malik was termed the dominant of the two arctics. This year, Shadow has clearly taken on this role. In this week's photo, you see a dominance display with Malik and Shadow. Shadow clearly doesn't want Malik on his back.
We thought the arctics would have settled the top ranking order in the pack, but they continue to posture and dominante each other without much sign of a resolution. Malik seems to keep pushing the issue and Shadow seems to keep proving his point.
Program Specialist, Jen Westlund writes: " Today at about 2 PM the arctic's got a raven. I didn't see the actual situation of how they got it, but Shadow was on top of the raven guarding it from Malik. They rolled on it, ripped off some feathers and took it up the hill. A group of ravens followed the wolves and displayed a very intense distress call."
Shadow has had a few episodes of bark howling at groups Behind the Scenes. He takes his role as pack leader very seriously and let's people know who's in charge. He and Malik are still posturing for a dominant male role, but it seems that Shadow is more often on top than Malik. Shadow is very efficient at pinning Malik to the ground. This dominance behavior typically last through early March, before the hormonal cycle of testosterone tends to level off. As spring approaches, the weather warms, and the wolves again become more mellow. This time of the year makes for great observations and interesting dynamics.
Dave Mech and Nancy Gibson visited the wolves, all went well. The pack is always excited to have them visit.
Malik and Shadow turned 2 years old today, Lakota was pacing and digging with construction yesterday, Vermilion students spent the day with her and she was extremely relaxed. The secret is to have staff available to distract her when the noise and construction get to be too much.
Shadow's been demonstrating some great behaviors this winter. As the wolf care staff, with the great assistance of Ann Rasberry, have completed the IWC ethogram, Shadow's been demonstrating most of the behaviors. This week's photo show's an intense stare from Shadow to Malik.
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.