Aidan – A Tale of Five Tails
It has been a challenging month, but after some concerning days, Aidan seems to be making some progress. In this photo, there is a significant amount tail details to interpret. The pack is doing a chase round the enclosure. focusing on Grayson who has his tail tucked and is an a slightly crouched position. Unfortunately, that is a somewhat common occurrence for the more timid of the two yearlings and is usually instigated by Denali. Boltz is closest to Grayson with a t-2 tail, which follows a straight line from his back in more of a predatory mode. Denali is next on top of the hill with a slightly lower tail posture and more of a wagging sweep indicating less intensity and a bit more social. Just below Denali is Axel, who has an elevated T-1 tail above the back and a closer look at the photo shows his direct eye contact with Aidan. Axel’s focus is Aidan even though he is running with the pack, hence the T-1 tail. The most interesting observation here is Aidan. It has been over a month since he started to lose confidence and became a target of the pack. Aidan reverted to his yearling days when Maya would physically drive him to the den site. He had the same timid, tucked tailed cowering behaviors when he was the omega of the pack. But, this was our pack leader, would we be able to get him back to leadership or would he be able to co-exist at a lower rank? We still don’t know how this will all play out, but from this moment in time, Aidan has a high tail with a slight rise at the base indicative of a wolf with attitude and yes, confidence. If he’s not the focus and he is in the safety zone, he is showing more moments of confidence than of intimidation. This is progress. We are also confident that as spring emerges and hormones transition to the seasonal influence of prolactin, things will get easier for Aidan. But, as a wolf approaching 10 years of age, retirement is inevitable. So, why not pull him now? This tail posture also shows a wolf who still wants to be part of the pack.
