grizzer – Nov 23, 2009 12:00 AM

Karen Pajari spent 3 days observing the pack after Malik’s retirement and provided the following observations. Grizzer walked and ran along the retirement enclosure fence with Maya, Shadow, and Denali and spent several periods biting at the lock of the holding pen and trying to move the rocks away from that fence line. This is how Grizzer displays anxiety, and certainly indicates that the issues between he and Malik were not over. This helps support the decision to retire Malik. It was observed that Grizzer and Denali were virtually always together. Denali would foreleg stab him, jaw-sparred with him, ride up on his back, and nip his rump. He did occasionally growl at Denali and chase him but also rolled onto his back briefly. This is probably indicative of Denali testing, and it will be important to see how Grizzer responds. Grizzer is part of the chorus howl initiated by Shadow, and remains timid to Shadow’s dominance. This month’s Podcast will review the USDA incident report concerning the aggressive incident that prompted Malik’s retirement and the subsequent management challenges.