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PROGRAMS
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Wolves Online
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Ambassador Wolves
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November - 2009 |
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Maya, a Great Plains subspecies of the gray wolf, was born on May 5, 2004 and is a littermate to Grizzer. She matured to an adult female weight of 80 lbs. She is best described as the predator of the pack, if something is in quick motion, Maya is sure to track it and pounce. This includes small rodents, squirrels, birds and occassionally her brother Grizzer.
For each wolf, you will see a weekly photo, notes on behavior or physical health and a video clip. Please note, due to the large file size of the video clips, they will only be archived for 30 days.
Watch extended wolf video on the International Wolf Center's YouTube Channel.
Enjoy a close-up of wolf behavior on our four Wolf Watch Cams.
Photo by Center Staff
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11/16/2009
Lori Schmidt - Maya has been observed in many social moments with Shadow, rubbing shoulders and doing some intense muzzle licking. This behavior will increase as the season advances. Shadow is receptive, but sometimes dominant towards Maya. Maya continues to keep Aidan in a subordinate, restrictive mode, but there are times when the two are observed in social greetings.
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| Maya rubbing shoulders with Shadow |
| Photo: Center Staff |
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11/9/2009
Lori Schmidt - We would like to clarify that Maya isn't doing anything wrong when she dominates Aidan, she's just doing what a dominant wolf does. It's important that people learn about wolves, and appreciate wolves from a wolves perspective and not a human perspective. In the wild, females control the dominance rank order of the other females, and this dominance serves as population control keeping lower ranking females from breeding. When an instinct has such a strong connection to survival, it's difficult to calm in a captive situation. Staff may feel sympathetic to Aidan's tension from Maya, but it's important to understand Maya's behavior.
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| Maya giving direct eye contact to Denali |
| Photo: Center Staff |
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11/2/2009
Lori Schmidt - Something has triggered Maya to be a bit more intense than usual this week. We're not sure what caused it, but we are seeing the effects on Aidan. I do notice that her behavior is still far more posturing than physical contact, usually it's eye stares and stalking, lunging behavior, but Aidan has been actively doing threat displays leading to more aggressive jaw sparring and contact. This is certainly something that we will monitor in the upcoming weeks, although it's her role as the dominant female to establish rank, and Aidan seems to be dealing with it by showing caution and positioning himself in safe areas of the enclosure.
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| Maya much more alert this week |
| Photo: Center Staff |
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