Shadow and Maya pinned Grizzer to the ground and after a period of time, let Grizzer up and he proceeded to run after Malik. When this type of behavior occurs, Grizzer tends to redirect to Malik. This observation is very telling to the rank order. . As you can see by Malik’s photo, he isn’t taking it lightly. Grizzer appears to be the second ranking male and Malik seems to be the lowest member of the pack. Fortunately for Malik, there’s not a focus of the whole pack on him, but just redirections from Grizzer. But this doesn’t mean he won’t try to take advantage of any of the pack mates when he gets a chance. Malik’s video shows that he can still wander the enclosure without constant dominance.
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Grizzer has been a bit active with dominance towards Shadow and Malik lately. His video shows a dominance pinning of Maya with a head shake, then a slight harassment of Shadow. This is an indication of a more serious interaction as the head shake is associated with predatory behavior. Also, note Shadow’s tail posture is in a T-4 tucked position. Shadow’s confidence is decreasing, although Grizzer still doesn’t follow through with dominance like some adult wolves do. The hormone levels should reach their highest peak into February, then level off and decrease through March. There are several opportunities to learn about ritualized dominance display and the influence of body postures as a communication method.
Shadow’s dealing with a maturing Grizzer, but he is on edge. He’s attempting to use all aspects of his dominance to keep Grizzer from taking too much status. These behaviors include vocalizations, facial expressions, tail posture, hackles, ride-up behaviors, techniques of following a wolf to intimidate them, whirling around to face off, and when ever possible direct eye stare. So far, Shadow has not physically pinned Grizzer or even scruff grabbed him. As spring approaches, the hormone levels will decrease and calm considerable. If these Shadow’s techniques continue to work through the spring, he will likely maintain his status as the dominant male.
Shadow continues to show confidence in his interactions. What’s interesting is when Grizzer is testing, Grizzer is clearly more powerful. But power is not all there is to leadership, confidence and social relationships are critical. Grizzer doesn’t seem to know what to do with the leadership role, so the pack still looks to Shadow when there is something different, including Grizzer. When a wild wolf howls nearby, or strangers show up behind the enclosure, Grizzer runs with submissive head, ears and tail and stands by Shadow, as he confidently howls toward the intrusion. His confident is most evident when Shadow holds his tail high as the leader. This may change as Grizzer matures, but at this time, Grizzer is an adult wolf body with a bit of puppy insecurity and playfulness. The key for Shadow is to make him feel confident.
MacKenzie is responding to the medication, she is still weak in the hind quarters, but is moving around the enclosure and willingly coming to the fence for meatballs. She ate 2 lbs of warmed meat mix last night and another 1.5 lbs this morning. She and Lakota both slept together in the full bale of straw in the corner of the enclosure. This seems to indicate that is was not a spinal stroke, but some type of acute spinal injury, such as a pinched nerve or disc problem. The webcams are back on for now, but if her condition declines, we will again give this pack some privacy and turn off the webcam.
Malik seems to have learned how to avoid Grizzer's testing. He is watchful of the body language of Grizzer and positions himself in a place to confront him or at the very least avoid him. Grizzer's testing is not constant, he tends to spend most of his time interacting with Maya and Shadow, but when Malik senses Grizzer has a stronger motivation to show dominance, he is alert to the activity. In this week's photo and video, Malik uses a threat display to guard the deer carcass from Grizzer, but ends up sharing with Maya.
Lakota has had no further abscessed tooth problems, and is very active. In this week’s video, you will see her feeding on a deer torso. The deer was given on a Friday, and by Monday, there was no sign of the deer, only a few bones left. The retired pack has a great appetite and is fairing the cold weather much better than they handled the heat of summer. A good thick coat and plenty of straw beds is the key.
We seem to have come up with the ideal dose of medication to keep MacKenzie comfortable and mobile. As this week’s video shows, she’s maneuvering throughout the enclosure well and has a very good appetite. She also seems less anxious than earlier this winter when we were adjusting her pain medication. It’s good to see her comfortable and relaxed.
Everything is going well here. It appears that MacKenzie has overcome the spinal issues she had earlier and is being weaned off the prednisone. Lakota is still springing around the enclosure as if she were a two year old, instead of a wolf nearing 14 years of age. The male rank order remains calm, with Grizzer and Maya continuing to interact as pupmates, and Shadow maintaining watch over the pack. Malik seems very relaxed and in his video this week is observed with high tail interacting with Grizzer and Maya when they are wrestling, but backs off when Shadow gives him direct eye contact. Thanks for your continued support of the wolf care program. Staff will be monitoring all wolves closely over the coming holiday season and maybe we’ll see you on the webcam.
The wolf care staff has been very busy this week with the ethology class, hence the delay in updating the wolf logs. Malik continues to remain relaxed with the program participants in the wolf yard. When blocks of ice with various items frozen into it were given to the wolves, Malik had possession of the one with meat scraps in it. When he left it, Maya came and took it over. Shadow was very protective while Maya had the block of ice and kept himself in between Maya & Malik. When Malik attempted to get the ice, Shadow chased him away.
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