I'm not sure if I wrote about this last week (I could look, but it's late), but Shadow was in the den when a tree fell and hit the edge of his den. He was instantly started, but stayed to investigate the tree. In the past, when Malik had a tree fall near him, he was anxious for a very long time. It is amazing how different these two wolves respond to external conditions. Other than the tree, Shadow is very alert to activities around the enclosure, there seems to be a significant amount of wildlife activity on the outside of the fences, possibly wolves, fox, deer, coyotes, who knows.
Thanks for checking for the wolf logs and cameras, even when we aren’t always live. We seem to have an intermittent router problem, and we’re currently working with more tech support people than wolf care staff. With that said, the due to other obligations, the logs are all the same this week. I did produce a Youtube video this week and used some of the surveillance camera footage. The surveillance cameras are motion activated with noise activated sound. They are sometimes choppy, but it is good to have a view of the activity after dark. Shadow and Malik have the most activity, since the camera focuses on their main densite. Grizzer tends to sleep near the wolf yard, and is always resting and waiting for Oscar to make his morning rounds. Aidan and Denali had an interesting week, Aidan has been carrying the crook of his tail with a bit of status. There were several days when Aidan was keeping Denali in a wooded area of the pen, but today, they seem to be back to their usual interactions. We will be doing some concrete work on the Slate Den next week, and will be testing the new enclosure configuration, keeping Aidan and Denali in the Pack Holding area for a few hours, while Grizzer stays in his new habitat. I would expect to see Grizzer with a lot of activity during that project.
Shadow seems to be returning to all the carcass feeding behaviors he previously held in the Exhibit Pack. It's been 2 years since we retired him and we don't know why he became so timid around food, but we are pleased with this new development. Each wolf ages a different way, some become more temperamental, some just mellow with age. It appears that Shadow is becoming mellow.
The logs will be all the same for this week. We did some concrete work in the Exhibit Pack on Wednesday which took precedence over all filming. The back of the den site in the Exhibit Pack had some old logs as a cover to prevent snow or rain from getting into the den. These logs were starting to rot and with Luna still being vulnerable and extremely active near the den, we decided to concrete a 3 foot by 6 foot overhang at the back of the den site. You may have noticed the densite webcam showing the fencing used to keep the wolves out. They were extremely good about the fencing and other than Denali on circling the fence on the first night, they didn’t dig or push on the fence. This allowed the concrete to dry thoroughly before the form and fence were removed on Friday. Grizzer, Shadow and Malik have had a quiet week and we will have more to report next week.
Shadow has been a bit more active lately. We brought in a staff person who hasn't been in the pen since Shadow was retired. This created a lot of excitement and Shadow spent some time chasing, whirling and running on one of the morning wolf checks. This is quite different than the middle of the day heat, when he looks like he can't stand another minute of warm temperatures. We definitely need to watch him closely during these warmer days and have been using the sprinkler system on a regular basis.
We always know when Shadow is feeling good, he has 3 main behaviors that he displays, Ears Pricked Forward (alert), chin rest and invite chase. All three of these are featured in the Youtube video this week. Staff always get a strong social greeting from Shadow and can pick up on his physical and mental state instantly.
Shadow continues to show some shyness towards me as I have to treat for fly issues. We placed some wood chips on the den, then sprayed some extra cedar oil on the chips. We are very thankful for the donation of chips from Andi Nelson and Teresa Williams. Shadow and Malik both appear much more comfortable with a den full of wood chips.
Shadow is not as agile as Malik, but he can still leap to the top of the den from the ground. This week, I pressure washed and cleaned their pond, this is something that has become a favorite activity for Shadow. He lays at the end of the pond getting the mist from the pressure washer and stands in the hose when it's refilling. This pattern could be related to the fact that Shadow has a more difficult time with the heat. We will all be more relaxed when the weather returns to a normal pattern. Fall is a bit over 6 weeks away on the calendar, but in Northern Minnesota, fall-like nights are just around the corner.
Shadow has been spending a lot of time in the back of the enclosure in the bare soil. He tends to overheat more than Malik, and if you recall last July, we had a significant issue on a hot humid day. The Retired Pack and Exhibit Pack will have sprinkler hose installed, and Shadow loves to walk under the mist.
Shadow really utilizes the dense vegetation in the enclosure to keep cool and to reduce fly bites. He is more readily accepting of fly ointment, as long as we take it out of the jar, put it on our fingers, hide our fingers in our coat, then… put the ointment on the ears as soon you enter the pen…
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