malik – Sep 4, 2002 12:00 AM

Arctics a little jumpy with staff today, especially Malik. Lucas observed in aggressive dominance over Shadow, with Shadow responding with snarls, snapping and growling back to Lucas. During this time, Malik then jumped on Lucas's back aggressively grabbing Lucas. Curator Lori Schmidt distracted Malik and the aggression stopped. Staff has been encouraged to watch interactions closely for the next several days to determine if this tension between the males increases. Lucas is certainly showing signs of age and is quite stiff when getting up. This may trigger the Arctics to test his alpha status."