Boltz is probably one of the more expressive wolves in terms of facial expressions. The most powerful expression that will elicit a response from the packmates is the direct eye stare. In this post’s photo, he stops a confrontation with Axel causing him to avert his gaze. These kind of non-physical interactions are great ways for social packmates to understand the limits and tolerances of behaviors, especially from exuberant two year old wolves.
In contrast to Grayson’s more timid behavior, Axel is more likely to be on the other end of the spectrum, boldly going wherever he wants. In this log’s photos, he displays a ride-up behavior on Denali. Although, if you carefully look at Axel’s ears, they are pricked forward in interest, but turned sideways with a bit of intimidation. In our Ethogram, we code this as “EPTS”. This one behavior helps sum up Axel’s personality. He has a strong desire to actively engage in testing behavior with all pack mates, but gets a bit intimidated when he gets himself in the middle of things. The other pack members seem to have a lot of tolerance for his behavior, especially Denali. If there is a wolf that is allowed to share the carcass with Denali, it’s usually Axel.
Grayson has a complexity to his behavior that can be a challenge to manage. If there is a threat of a strange human or unknown activity around the enclosure, Grayson is the first (and sometimes only) pack member to bark howl in an alarm format. He is not testing for behavior like his littermate, Axel, but is waiting and watching for opportunities. The biggest conflict that he has is with Denali and is usually associated with food, but his more timid response means he is not as likely to defend food. Staff work on getting extra meals throughout the week to make sure Grayson gets the resources that he needs.
Grizzer is entering the winter with a good winter coat, a healthy amount of body fat and a packmate that helps divert Luna’s attention and at times, overwhelming interactions. When Aidan joined retirement, we had concerns on how it would impact Grizzer. At 14 1/2 years of age, we didn’t want to add to his stress levels. As we have reported before, Aidan and Grizzer resumed the bond they had as former Exhibit Pack members from 2008 – 2011. Aidan and Grizzer feed together, sleep in the same transition area beds and on more than one occasion, Aidan has intervened when Luna starts to assert dominance over Grizzer. Lately, we have noticed Grizzer doing some excited tail-wagging chases with Aidan as he and Luna run between the three retired enclosures.
Since Aidan’s retirement, Luna has definitely been returning to her own form of social bonding, otherwise known as “Obnoxious Submission”. We need to credit our colleagues at Wolf Park in Battleground, Indiana, for introducing this term through their Ethogram publication. We credit Luna for animating this behavior. In this photo, you will see her display a foreleg stab to Aidan’s face, often followed by several lunges towards him before rolling over to submit. Aidan takes it in stride, since this is the pair-bonding method Luna chose to display when they shared leadership in the Exhibit Pack from 2012 – 2016. Having these two wolves reunited in retirement has increased both of their activity levels, making them more mobile as winter arrives.
Aidan spent the first few months in retirement resting in the many dens and shaded spots throughout the retirement areas. He earned this rest time after leading the Exhibit Pack for 7 of his 10 years of life. But, as fall progresses into winter, his days of rest may be short-lived. Fall is the season for wolves activity levels to increase. Even though Aidan lives in retirement, his packmates still enjoy a good chase around the enclosures. Luna has been the most likely to stimulate chases, displaying a “play bow” behavior where she springs down on her front legs and lunges away inviting the other wolves to chase. If Aidan and Grizzer don’t follow through, she stabs at them with her foreleg and even grabs the scruff of their neck encouraging more interaction. It’s still social interaction, but with a bit of a colder weather intensity. Aidan wags his tail and joins in the chase, while Grizzer may watch from a safe distance.
As we posted in Luna’s last log, she is fed in her own area and receives bodywork daily from staff. To make this happen smoothly, we need a lot of staff trained in procedures and staff have to be consistent so Luna knows what to expect. Wolves tend to be “neo-phobic”, displaying a fear of new things and this can even equate to new or different procedures. One of the most important components of the training is helping people develop the skills to identify body posture, facial expressions and circumstances that indicates a wolf’s attitude, energy and behavioral interactions. Wolves can be influenced by many internal pack issues as well as external environmental issues such as weather and activities around the enclosure. Luna has started to increase behaviors as winter approaches and she is a great teacher for the staff to learn to interpret and anticipate behaviors. Her most common activity is trying to get Aidan to chase her. She gets a certain look on her face, her ears go sideways, she drops to the ground with her front leg and springs into action. A trained wolf care staff member needs to recognize the first signs of this behavior to make sure they are not in the way of the end result, which is usually three retired wolves doing a loop throughout the three enclosures.
Since Aidan’s retirement, Grizzer has been getting a lot of activity. He joins Aidan when he responds to Luna’s frequent invite chase maneuvers, which usually result in a chase through all three retirement enclosures and a climb on and leap off the three concrete densites. There is a strong correlation between Aidan’s location and Grizzer’s location within the retirement areas. These two males share space for the morning meds and feedings, they sleep near each other and if one goes to the back habitat, the other is sure to follow. Grizzer continues to show his confidence around Aidan. On November 6th, the wolf care staff noted that Aidan did a squat urination after Grizzer did an RLU (Raised Leg Urination). This lack of overmark is an indication that Aidan is accepting of Grizzer’s mark and by default Grizzer’s status. Aidan will do RLU’s especially if there’s food involved, but the association of marking behavior between wolves is interesting to watch. There is something rewarding to watch a wolf near the end of his longevity have the status and enjoyment of his youth,
Written by Brenda Loeb and Sheri Kreager participants in the Wolf Photography weekend in early October.
Here is Grayson taking a break at the pond, he can usually be found in the presence of his brother Axel, doing laps through and around the enclosure. It is fun to watch him interact with the rest of the pack. He remains submissive to Denali and Boltz, it will be interesting to see if he steps up as the pack leader in the future.
This log was written by Bill Brandon, participants in the October Wolf Photography Weekend. Photography donated by Craig Johnson.
We found Boltz to be somewhat of a sneaky fellow. Occasionally, he instigated play with his pack mates; other times he appeared to “hang back” and just observe the behaviors of others. Then, when he felt the time was right, he would pounce and join the interaction of the others in the pack.
