Aidan – Protecting the food

Though Aidan is the dominant male of the exhibit pack, it does not give him the right to take food from other members of the pack, or to eat first. Food possession is separate from the pack hierarchy, if you possess it, you can guard it from any other member of the pack, even from a more dominant animal. This means that Aidan doesn’t always get on the carcass first. Luna has been known to possess the food in the enclosure for upwards of several days, and so Aidan has come up with some interesting methods in protecting his food from Luna. As we’ve seen in many of our feeding programs now, Aidan is getting into the habit of pulling the deer into the den the following morning, so that he can more easily defend it perhaps. This seems to be quite effective, as he tends to come out with a full belly after.