grizzer – Dec 22, 2008 12:00 AM

You may notice Grizzer has a new scar on his face, compliments of Malik. There was a scuffle last Monday afternoon, with Malik being very excitable and lunge snapping at Grizzer. Malik continues to be nervous about Grizzer's calmer behavior this winter. When Grizzer took over Malik's rank order 2 winters ago, Grizzer was very clear in maintaining his status. This left no question for Malik as to where he fit into the pack. Since the pups have arrived and Grizzer is so calm, Malik pushes Grizzer to see if he can gain rank, but is anxious about it, since there was past conflict. After the bite, Grizzer did a following technique, which is an assertion of dominance, but wasn't very aggressive with Malik. Wolf care staff are trying many things to keep the wolves occupied, and to keep the stress level down. We did two enclosure enrichments last week, one was scent based that resulted in scent rolling behavior, the other was food based that stimulated the wolves to search and find treats. A YouTube video showing both enclosure enrichment activities will be posted.