grizzer – Mar 12, 2007 12:00 AM

This week’s photo of Grizzer is very telling as to the intent of his action. While a canid lifting a paw may indicate a submissive posture, when Grizzer places his paw on Shadow, it is a sign of dominance. One other notable point of this photo is that Grizzer’s ears are pricked forward a sign of intensity and Shadow’s ears are pricked but turned sideways, a sign of intimidation. If you look to Shadow’s photo, you will see Shadow respond with a full snarl in defense. The video for Grizzer shows him testing Malik. Malik responds with a tucked tail and full threat display of growling and lunging. With non-breeding captive wolves, it’s difficult to assign rank position, but it does appear the Malik is now the lowest ranking male.