Axel – Running with the Big Guys

Axel and Grayson will be 5 months of age on October 2nd and we are definitely seeing personalities emerge.  In contrast to Grayson, Axel is less interested in spending time with staff for the daily “special feeding sessions” and more interested in spending time with the Exhibit Pack, feeding on a beaver or a deer carcass.  He still is feeding well on the nightly feedings, but getting him to come into the medical pen to spend 30 minutes separated from the pack is a challenge.  Although despite the added challenge, he seems to be getting the resources he needs.  We track the pups on a weekly basis with a weight on Fridays.  Since September 1st, Axel has gained 17.4 pounds, with the highest gain of 5 pounds in the last week. 

Name	Date	Pounds	Weight gain since last measurement
Axel	9/1/2016	48	4
Axel	9/9/2016	50.4	2.4
Axel	9/16/2016	54.2	3.8
Axel	9/23/2016	56.4	2.2
Axel	9/30/2016	61.4	5

Axel is on task with Shadow, our previous dominant male and one of our arctic subspecies concerning age related weight.  Shadow was approximately 62 pounds at the same age.  Axel still shows more dominance than Grayson, but as Grayson confidence increases, so does the number of times Axel gets rolled over in a submissive posture.