Malik and Shadow have an interesting relationship. Shadow has always been the more dominant wolf ever since they were pups, but when Shadow let's his guard down, Malik is right there to test. Staff were commenting on this today right before Malik tried to steal a hat. I guess it's not just Shadow that has to be concerned about letting down their guard.
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Shadow's doing much better, other than a slight altercation with Malik that left Shadow with a bite to his front right wrist. We were in the pen when it happened and it was a split second grab, but it must have hit a tendon, because Shadow was really favoring it. After a day of rest and the help of some anti-inflammatory medication, he's back up and active today. We did get the signal issues corrected to allow a broadcast of the retired camera to Ustream. Someone had asked the question about moving the camera back for a wider view, but unfortunately, it is mounted on the east wall and it's as far back as possible. They do spend a majority of time either on the den or in the den, so the view should capture them on a regular basis.
Denali seems to favor Boltz in interactions, possibly because he and Luna are always in conflict over food and Boltz always gives in to Denali. We have had a much calmer interaction since we reduced the amount of daily feedings for the pups, Denali is now allowed to stay out when we feed. This is in part due to Luna's ability to control possessions by use of body language and Denali's behavioral tendency to avoid facing Luna.
Aidan continues to display some very social behavior, rolling over for Luna and Boltz and generally showing a very relaxed behavior. We've come a long way with Aidan from the yearling years of being the omega to the current status as a confident and very relaxed pack leader. The Discoid Lupus condition is nearly gone, and as an auto immune disorder, certainly the change in his stress level may be a factor.
While we still see a timid pup when we try to hand feed Boltz, we are encouraged to see him showing some status. These displays are usually initiated by the adults when the adults are in a social mood to submit with the pups. Of course, when it gets serious, a growl or muzzle bite from an adult will make Boltz quickly submit. It's a similar situation to Boltz's relationship with Oscar as a pup. When Boltz was too excitable, Oscar merely had to do a hard muzzle bite and Boltz dropped to the ground. The difference is, Denali can deliver a much harder muzzle bite than Oscar.
Grizzer has had some great sessions with staff. The benefit of living alone means you get all the food resources and all the staff attention. He's had a tendency to roll over on his back and take advantage of the wolf care who are there to serve. It makes it challenging to get footage, but Grizzer seems to enjoy it. For December, everyone is in a calm and relaxed mood.
If we ever had a doubt about managing Grizzer independently from the Retired Pack, we would only need to watch Grizzer's response when there's any chase behavior in retirement. If Grizzer see's Malik with a high tail, he postures at the back gate with an excitable presence that would not be good for Malik if they were together. Grizzer is still obsessed about dominating Malik and since he's the reason why Malik was retired in 2009, it's too risky for Malik to have Grizzer join them. We know people feel sorry for Grizzer being alone, but when it comes to food resources and bed space, Grizzer gets what he wants when he wants it and there is no competition for staff's attention. In contrast, the Exhibit Pack and the Retired Pack always has some posturing to be the first to greet staff.
Lakota has been very active lately. A typical Lakota activity is to race around the enclosure, jump on a deer hide and slide a bit in the snow. Yes, this nearly 14 year old wolf does have a bit of excitement left. She had such a sliding episode during Monday’s wolf check, but slid into a balsam tree. She looked rather indignant at the hide, and walked away.
Maya has been a bit intense lately, not with staff, but with her fellow pack mates. Even as a spayed female, she still has hormonal surges during this time of the year, the natural breeding season for wolves. She is most confident in all her interactions and has no problem controlling the carcass, bones or deer hides, as shown in her video this week.
Shadow and Maya again appear to be displaying pair bonding behavior such as parallel gating as a dominant pair and a great deal of social behavior. Shadow can still control Grizzer with a threat display. As you can see by this week’s photo, Grizzer is averting Shadow’s gaze. Vulnerability of Shadow is still critical. In this week’s video, you see Shadow responding to an ice chunk in his paw, fortunately staff was in the enclosure and were able to look at it, but the pack did notice.
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