Lakota leaving the wolf yard with a pig ear from the pups
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One thing about wolf behavior is that there is no definitive answer as to why wolves behave the way they do. This is the scenario with Maya. We usually see wolf behavior calming during this time of the year, but Maya has had some intense dominance behavior lately. What we do notice, is that she appears to be more intense on days that Shadow is more reserved. She has been observed blocking Denali and Aidan from Shadow, and while we don't know for sure, but it appears that Shadow's lack of interaction makes Maya more defensive. She may be under more stress to keep the pack rank order with Shadow not participating. When Shadow's retired, she may be under less stress to intervene on Shadow's behalf. Time will tell, and behavioral observations will be critical.
Shadow has been great with wolf care staff lately, but on more than one check, the observations have included the term subdued. He greets well, but he is more likely to stand next to wolf care staff and watch the younger animals interact than participate. It is a difficult task interpreting the psychological decline of an animal, but we all know what tired looks like, and that is probably the best way to describe Shadow's behavior in the last week. Staff will be moving forward with the planning stages to transition Shadow into retirement.
It's the start of the 25th anniversary celebration weekend, and the Youtube Posting will be delayed until Monday to show some of the weekend events. Aidan did some interesting threat displays towards Grizzer. Grizzer approached to greet, and Aidan made him back off by a curl of the lip. Certainly, this shows Aidan gaining some confidence, but there is still the issue of Maya's redirected aggression. This week's photo shows Aidan right in the mix of social activity with the pack.
It's the start of the 25th anniversary celebration weekend, and the Youtube Posting will be delayed until Monday to show some of the weekend events. Malik has had a busy week. While staff cleaned his pond, he managed to grab the garden hose and make a run with about 30 feet of hose, breaking off 2 newly planted trees. Then, after the hose was secured, he managed to steal the curator's water bottle. These possession issues seem to be more common with single animals, Lakota did the same thing in retirement. It may just be that social nature of wolves inviting chase behavior. Regardless, Malik was very active, in high tail and showing confident ear postures.
Sorry for the delay in logs, the curator attended the North American Moose Conference and Workshop for the last few days. Aidan has had some interesting dynamics in the last week. He was observed doing a raised leg urination followed by a scrape of the ground to broadcast his scent. This is characteristic of a confident, typically more dominant wolf. In the wild, where marking and communication are more critical than in captivity, it is typically the dominant pair of wolves that display this behavior. In the Exhibit Pack, we do not see as rigid of a rule about RLU displays, but it still denotes an animal that is displaying more dominant behavior. RLU alone is not significant, but if you review the photos in the last few logs, as well as the photo this week, there is a trend in behavior for Aidan to try for more status. In this week's photo, Aidan is attempting to do a grab bite to Grizzer while Denali has Grizzer occupied.
Denali continues to exhibit some very social behavior with Grizzer. If there's a chase around the enclosure, it's usually initiated by Denali. I also notice that he is more likely to assert status on Grizzer when Shadow is involved. During this last week, we have observed Shadow with some heightened dominance over Grizzer and Denali. This is concerning because the dominance definitely seem to be less social hierarchy behavior and more in response to their testing. The issue that concerns me is that Denali seems to really increase his intensity over Grizzer and we are concerned about Grizzer redirecting back to Shadow. The dynamics of a wolf pack can always change, but the pack seems to be keyed into the changes in Shadow.
Maya has had several observations this week of her in a submissive roll over (on her back) with Denali and in social interactions with Aidan. Certainly Shadow's intensity has caused her to show some timid behavior. Her photo this week shows her with Denali, shows very her (and Denali's) ears flat back in response to Shadow and Grizzer.
The concerns with Shadow continue as he has been showing a lot of behaviors with intimidated ear postures, avoidance behavior with the pack and when the other wolves approach, very intensive dominance. This dominance may be overcompensating for the weakness he is experiencing physically. As Shadow is transitioned to the Retired pack, the staff will be focused on his weaknesses and see if he improves with some restful days.
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