malik – Jan 28, 2008 12:00 AM

Malik is doing well, although he is the barometer of this pack. All wolf care staff need to do is look at Malik, and they can judge a sense of tension in the pack. If Malik holds his tail in a T-3 position, down, but not touching his haunches, and he willingly comes up to the fence to greet, staff can expect the pack to be calm. But, if Malik is weary, and stays to the back of the rocks when staff arrives, that generally means, Grizzer’s caused a bit of anxiety. Earlier this winter there were many days of anxiety, but lately, Malik is right in the mix when Shadow, Grizzer and Maya have a social bout of dominance. In this week’s picture, Malik is showing a T-3.5 tail, meaning that it’s down, but touching his back haunches. This is a sign of a little less confidence or anxiety. If staff concentrates on making Grizzer calm, Malik reaps the benefits. As a reminder, Nanny and Behavioral Observation applications are still being accepted until February 1st. We are willing to accept the application as an email attachment.