denali – Mar 22, 2013 12:00 AM

Denali likes frequent feedings and if we don't monitor the food, he'll take his share and everyone else's share whenever we feed. When working with the wolves, we use handling techniques that mirror their behavioral patterns. We may stand over food to show that we possess it and signal to the wolves that they need to back off and stay out of our guarded space. Another technique we use includes showing a flat hand to indicate that we have no additional food resources. When we are doing intense feedings, it's always important to use body language to control the situation. Food aggression can escalate to more intense interactions. Due to this unique situation, I have rearranged the feeding schedule to ensure that, as the curator, I am directly hand feeding. This can be too risky for other staff and at times can be intense.