malik – Jun 1, 2009 12:00 AM

The situation between Malik and Grizzer is calmer than it was a few weeks ago, but still not settled. Malik has been showing signs of accepting his place as the 3rd ranking male. These signs include submissive ear postures, averting his gaze when Grizzer does a direct eye stare, low tail and in his photo, you will see him stand urinate, rather than raised leg. This good, clearly a wolf pack can't have more than 1 – # 2 males. Shadow is very calm about the interactions between Grizzer and Malik, and has not shown any indication that this is something to stop. It's the human's in us that want everything to be happy. In the wolf world, sometimes reminders are necessary to make sure every pack member understands their rank. One thing that is more noticeable and a good outcome, with Malik more accepting of the # 3 role, he is calmer, more socially interactive and easier to handle than he has been since the pup introduction. It is likely that with the acceptance of his rank, he feels more comfortable than the uncertainty about where he fits in the pack. We do know that for his sake, we need to keep the stress level down, that includes feeding more often, making sure the carcass has some smaller components (legs cut off etc.) to distribute the eating around the pen, rather than stimulate the carcass feeding, possessive behavior.