grizzer – Feb 1, 2007 12:00 AM

Grizzer has been a bit active with dominance towards Shadow and Malik lately. His video shows a dominance pinning of Maya with a head shake, then a slight harassment of Shadow. This is an indication of a more serious interaction as the head shake is associated with predatory behavior. Also, note Shadow’s tail posture is in a T-4 tucked position. Shadow’s confidence is decreasing, although Grizzer still doesn’t follow through with dominance like some adult wolves do. The hormone levels should reach their highest peak into February, then level off and decrease through March. There are several opportunities to learn about ritualized dominance display and the influence of body postures as a communication method.