Aidan – a Satisfied Grin

While the photo doesn’t portray it directly, Aidan is displaying a satisfied “Grin” behavior when the wolf care staff massage a critical point.  As an 8-year old wolf, this type of specialized care feels good on older bones, and is especially helpful for a dominant pack member that tends to be in more physical and behavioral confrontations than a lower ranking pack member.  There have been many studies on the relationship with fecal and urinary cortisol levels and social behavior of captive and wild wolves.  In the past, we have applied for grants to support an effort to evaluate cortisol levels as another tool to help improve our captive management operations.  While we were not successful in the first grant application, we will continue to look at options.