shadow – Aug 8, 2007 12:00 AM

The behaviors in the image for Shadow are classic rank order postures. One wolf shows more dominance by standing over another wolf, sometimes showing threat displays of their teeth, while the subordinate wolf has submissive ears, and paws up toward the dominant wolf with a foreleg stab. This is a sign of submission, pawing at the air. There is a fine line between pawing at a wolf in submission, and placing a paw on top of the dominant wolf. If the lower ranking wolf places a paw on the wolf, that’s a push for more dominance. In many of the cases where Grizzer starts out submissive, he may end up pushing his status. One of the more memorable photos we have of Grizzer and Shadow is Grizzer with a paw placed right on Shadow’s muzzle. Shadow’s video this week shows a bit of that testing behavior, with some pawing, but he doesn’t follow through with placement.