malik – Jul 9, 2007 12:00 AM

Malik’s behavioral logs from the Wolf Watch program do reinforce his position in the pack as the lowest ranking male. Participants observed Malik with hackle response when competing with the rest of the pack for a beaver tail. He is also very wary of another wolf following from behind and shows timid flat ear postures and low tail when being followed. But, even though he is lower ranking, the fact that this is a non-breeding pack means that the rank hierarchy is not as strict. Malik gets opportunities to show status and he doesn’t always respond to dominance from the other two males as shown in this week’s photo, where he averts Shadow’s gaze after Shadow growls and shows a threat display. In his video clip, you see him dominate Maya over a dead minnow.