grizzer – Sep 3, 2010 12:00 AM

Grizzer revealed an interesting set of behaviors during the Wolf Watch. He clearly has mastered the skill of intimidation without even touching Denali. His main technique is waiting in ambush, hiding behind bushes or rocks, waiting for Denali to wander in range. These sessions lasted several minutes, with him moving about the enclosure, repeating the behavior frequently, causing Denali to have a very restless, active evening. Grizzer has a very intense direct eye stare, and he uses it frequently on Denali. It does appear that Grizzer's focus on Aidan has diminished, and he is far more tolerant of Aidan, allowing Aidan to bed down near him on several occasions. If we had to interpret a dominant male at this time, we would have to conclude that Grizzer is in this role, although we never would have predicted it. Grizzer is much different than Shadow and rather than physically control this pack through hard muzzle bites, he is controlling this pack through body language and intimidating body postures. It is truly amazing to watch, and we plan on running at least one more Wolf Watch on the first Thursday of October to reinforce our current observations. One thing for sure, Grizzer acts differently without wolf care staff in the enclosure and these behavioral watches are key to truly understanding the pack dynamics.