Grizzer's video this week displays a behavior we term "Shadowing". This is an intimidation factor to make another wolf more submissive. You will see Grizzer walking up the hill behind Malik, with Malik showing a submissive ear posture. Although, Grizzer is not that focused and is distracted by a scent in one of the beds. Grizzer's picture this weeks shows a confident "T2" tail, which means it is held straight back, but it did drop to a T3 (below the back) when he approached Shadow for a pack rally.
It has been an interesting winter for wolf observations, seeing Shadow start the winter with some intimidation and loss of confidence to the recent observations, not only showing him dominant, but comfortable in his dominance that he interacts socially, playbowing to Grizzer. With the warm weather this weekend, it’s hard not to think about spring. We have been planning for pups since November of 2006, with management plans, vet plans, site selection process and staffing changes. Now, it’s hard to believe pups are only months away. We are very excited and we know that Shadow and Maya will be great wolf parents. We appreciate everyone’s willingness to work with us, even though we’ve instituted some new stricter policies on the Nanny program. Every decision we make, we make with the wolves as the first priority. They don’t have a voice (although they do have a good howl as Malik demonstrates in this week’s video)… The Wolf Care Staff have to be their voice. 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.
Happy President’s Day, Due to the Holiday, all of the logs will be the same posting today: The Nanny selection process has been completed and award letters were mailed on the 15th of February. We are still in the selection process for the Behavioral Observation program, and have extended the deadline until April 15th. We intend to have the Behavioral Observation award letters for those current applicants sent by February 22nd. Please be patient, as this is a very important task. We want to make sure we have a good fit for each crew to have the most positive experience for the pups. One other comment relates to a new face you may be seeing on the Exhibit Pack webcam. After 6 months of training, work with the Retired Pack and an opportunity to gain Shadow’s trust, Don Gossett and Sharee Johnson have been successfully integrated in the Exhibit Pack as a Level I wolf care staff. Shadow was a bit hesitant at first, but has been very responsive to the newest staff members. Being a Level I handler means that they must always be accompanied by a Level III for safety, with a Level 2 for backup. So, when new staff are in the enclosure, you are likely to see 3 or 4 staff. We want to make sure that all staff that will be handling pups are perceived as part of the program by Shadow and Maya. If a staff person is not trusted by Shadow, and they are observed handling the pups, it can create an aggressive situation. This is why we are so stringent on the Nanny program, it is critical to the social dynamics of the wolf yard that all people interacting with the pups respect the adult wolves, especially Shadow. Remember, this pup introduction’s purpose is to maintain a socially cohesive pack.
Life for Malik is mixed with calm moments when the pack is resting and uneasiness when the male rank order gets a bit intense. Staff attempt to keep everything calm in the Exhibit and while the tendency is to favor the lower ranking wolves, greeting Malik first can often cause redirected behavior towards him. The protocol is, greet Shadow first, then Grizzer and when they are calm, approach Malik. It is helpful if the wolf care staff can spread out in the exhibit to reduce the concentration around the greeting rock. Of course, it wasn't too long ago that Malik was the cause of strife for Lakota, so this is all part of the social dynamics of the wolf pack. When the pups arrive, life for Malik will improve significantly, as the calming influence of Prolactin hormone will make things easier. We are still in the process of bringing in Level I handlers to the Exhibit Pack, so Shadow is familiar with all staff that may be around the pups. Things are going well for Don Gossett, but Shadow has been a bit testing of our other Level I handlers. We will probably postpone the other Level I handlers for a month, until these increased hormones subside. I would also like to make a note to the Nannies selected for this year’s pups. We are still juggling teams, and once the teams are set, we will send out a briefing packet to each team member (probably by email), so teams can have some opportunity to converse prior to arrival and possibly offer to carpool to Ely.
Shadow did some bark howling for a special group from the Minnesota Zoo on Saturday. This was one of the only Behind the Scenes groups allowed this winter, and certainly reinforces our decision to restrict these during the winter months. The Minnesota Zoo program is a very special relationship for us, as another professional organization, we encourage exchange of ideas and programs. My thanks to those participants that participated in this program and their understanding as to why people needed to be moved back inside the building as Shadow began bark howling. The bark howling behavior is a way of warning strangers (wolves in the wild, humans in captivity).. to stay out of his territory. It is a great behavior for a dominant wolf to protect his pack.
The following text was written by Workin' for Wolves participants: Wendy Watson and Michele Amacker. One way wolves show dominance is through subtle communication as shown with this photo of Shadow with a stand over of Grizzer. A film crew was on site this morning filming the ambassador pack. Having strangers at the fence is a stressful experience for Shadow. Grizzer is attentive to Shadow’s responses to stimuli, ready to take advantage of any opportunity to assert dominance. While the film crew was still on site, Shadow reminded Grizzer of his position in the hierarchy by standing over him. This is a good sign with regard to Shadow maintaining his dominant status, particularly with the upcoming arrival of wolf pups.
The seasonal hormones are calming with the wolves spending more time in social interaction than dominance interaction. In Grizzer's video this week, you will see him submit to Malik, then continue to roll in the snow. The winter weather continues here with snow over the weekend, and cooler temperatures keeping the snow from melting. But, by the indication of wolf social behavior, the influence of the spring is right around the corner.
At first we were just thinking that Malik’s behavior was nervousness caused by his rank as 3rd ranking adult male, and as the pack calmed, he would calm. Lately, it appears that his behavior is probably more of a personality trait. He wants to be on the fringe with every interaction, and is vocal about everything, and seems to push the tolerance of the other wolves. He makes the choice to get involved; no other wolf seems to target him. We did get an email from someone concerning the arctics, the email asked “were they sick, they seemed to be laying down a lot, and the arctics are fine. It’s just that 60 degrees is warm considering that they haven’t shed their winter coat. Wolves don’t typically shed until late May or June; so warm April and May days will cause the wolves to switch to a crepuscular patter n (dawn and dusk).
Fortunately, for staff and wolves, Maya is calmer. Her photo this week shows her in some pair bonding behavior with Shadow, she’s back to strong social behavior rather than knocking Shadow out of the way so she can get to Aidan. Shadow’s more content and if you see the postings of his facial expressions in the last few months, you will see the change as well. There’s a saying in wolf care, if the dominant female isn’t happy, nobody’s happy… (Of course, happy is not a wolf behavior that we can measure)
You may have noticed that we are experiencing some technical difficulty with the webcams. We hope to have them repaired this week. We appreciate your patience and support for the Ambassador wolves at the Center. The Nanny Application deadline has passed. Now we will begin to coordinate teams and make selections. We plan to have the award letters mailed by February 15th. The wolves are doing well, and have fared the recent cold snap without issues.
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