shadow – Apr 23, 2007 12:00 AM

While Shadow did maintain his position as the dominant wolf over the winter, he did loose a bit of status. He is actively working to gain that respect back. Shadow does this not by force or by the constant growling like Malik, he does this by body posture, tail posture, and direct eye contact. The most interesting to watch, is Shadow’s pattern of cohesive social interaction. When all the wolves are sleeping, Shadow is usually the first to rise and sniff a nose or does a play bow in front of another wolf to encourage them to get up and interact. He has a way of inviting activity and spends a lot of time rubbing up against the other wolves followed by a drop to the ground and a submissive paw to encourage them to roll around on the ground with him. It’s these subtle characteristics of confidence and desire to socially interact with his pack that make him a strong leader. We hope he can continue to hold his status over the next winter; he will be a great role model for the 2008 pups.