Axel – Larger, but more Slender Facial Features

As the arctics near 2 years of age, we see the skeletal growth come to an end and the features they now possess will be their characteristics throughout their life.  Similar to Malik, our last set of arctic wolves born on May 8, 2000, Axel has a narrower muzzle and appears more slended in facial features despite being nearly 14 pounds heavier than his sibling.  His eye formation appears more almond-shaped in appearance.  Can you ID Axel in the photo?  If you guessed the left side of the photo, you guessed right.  When you look at the pelage, Grayson continues to display a darker saddle across his shoulders.  Behaviorally, the staff have been noticing Axel is quick to bound up to individuals, do a quick ride-up and mount, then bound away to display the same behavior to another packmate.  He doesn’t seem to follow any patterns or even a train of thought some days.  in a recent staff behavioral log, staff noted “At 3:30 today, Axel walked over to Grayson, who was finding a spot to curl up and rest by the observation windows when Axel came over, did a hip slam, chin rest and play bow towards Grayson, which elicited no response from Grayson, causing Axel to move on to Denali.”