Shadow is feeling so much better and his behaviors include chin rests, overmarks and some very intensive greetings with staff. This week's Youtube features some very good howling clips, led by Shadow, but responses from all wolves.
When I enter the enclosure, Shadow has a very active way of greeting that can be a bit overwhelming sometimes, but it does give me a good opportunity to feel his body mass. We have had concerns in the past about Shadow's weight, including when he had the bout of intestinal discomfort earlier this winter. I am very happy with Shadow's physical condition. When the snow melts, we will get a body weight, but he feels firm, with good muscle mass, a very fit individual for a 13 year old wolf.
You may have noticed Shadow is spending a lot of time on top of the den even when it's sunny. We do worry about him overheating, but with their white coats, they don't get as warm as Luna does when she lies in the sun. As long as the humidity is low, the wolves seem to tolerate the sun and it may even feel good on older bones.
Shadow's feeling good, probably due to cooler weather. The growth that we had tested last month has returned, but it is staying much smaller than before. We continue to monitor this, but it appears to cause him minimal discomfort. Shadow's always in a good mood when the weather turns cooler.
Shadow is clearly feeling better. Not only is wolf care staff getting a full face greeting (a bit much when it's below freezing), but he's put the chase back into the invite chase behavior. These wolves are like no other retired wolves in our history. They run faster and spring higher than most of the young wolves on the Exhibit and compared to the days of MacKenzie, Lucas and Lakota, they expend far more energy in daily interactions.
Shadow has always deserved our respect as the pack leader and a complex and sometimes challenging wolf. On Friday, he gained a bit more respect and made the staff wonder about behavioral motivation. After Malik did the 2nd hair band removal from the Curator, Shadow approached Malik, did a stand over threat display, Malik dropped the band, Shadow picked it up and allowed the Curator to retrieve it. Was this just something that Shadow wanted or did he just see Malik having an increase in status because he was excited to have it and that warranted some dominance. Or, did he get it back for the Curator… who knows, but it is fun to observe and ponder, unless you're the one getting your hair pulled.
Shadow feels great and we see the response in not only how he interacts with staff, but the play bow invite chase behavior now has the chase. In previous Youtube clips you saw the spring to the ground but no chase behavior because it appeared that neither one wanted to be chased. Now, with Shadow's confidence up, he does a playbow, but this time takes off to do a loop to the back of the enclosure. When you're confident, it doesn't matter who chases you.
The text for today will all be the same for each wolf. Why? Well, for the first time in my nearly 27 years of wolf care, we are sump pumping the water in the wolf yard. The snowmelt and day of rain has left a 10 inch deep layer of water. This usually happens in April, when temperatures are near 40 and the ground is still frozen, but in April, we know it will drain in a week. It is January and the weekend forecast is for temperatures in the single digits Fahrenheit with a wind chill and more snow coming. If we let this pond freeze in the yard, we will have a serious safety issue for wolf care working on slick ice. The wolf enclosures all have good topography and other than wet from the rain, they have no issues with standing water. They’re just standing on the edge of the fence watching us pump and sweep as the roof keeps dripping. Hence, I don’t have a lot of time to write wolf logs. All wolves are doing well and the warmer temperatures have been kind to Luna.
Shadow seems to appreciate the straw beds more than any other wolf. When adding straw, I often have to spread it while he's on the den, and as soon as we finish, he's contently lying in a thick pile. We are aware of the retired camera issues and we had a repair person here on Friday. We finally have a reliable computer system, but the signal was flickering due to a weak signal. The coax cable runs 90 feet along a fence line to get to the lab wall, then 100 feet underground to get to the building, then runs 20 feet before it's split into the auditorium TV's, then another 125 feet where it's split in the DL room for video broadcasts and Youtube. In the technology world, that's a long run and a lot of splits. It seems to be acting up in subzero temperatures, which is the first run along the fence. Please bear with us while we try to get this functioning. We appreciate the emails and calls, and we will communicate via facebook when we have the problem solved.
Shadow clearly reveals some dominant behaviors that aid in identification. Shadow is usually on to of the den in the highest vantage point. If there's a wolf on the move, it's likely Malik and if there's a wolf on guard, it's likely Shadow.
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