On the afternoon of May 12th, 2009, Malik was aggressively dominated by Grizzer, likely a response to months of Malik testing Grizzer's status. The action was quick, and very quiet, in contrast to the noisy ritualized dominance displays that are a part of every day wolf communication. Wolf care staff were able to get them separated, and in consultation with the Center Veterinarian, decided that all efforts should be made to keep Malik in the Exhibit Pack, as long as we could be ready for a life-threatening emergency. Retiring Malik alone would not have been the best management situation for him, and we needed to be sure that he psychologically wanted to be out of the pack. We didn't want to retire him if in fact this incident resulted in a settling of the rank order, and Malik would be allowed to remain part of the group. These decisions have to be made quickly, If there's even a short separation for recovery, the pack could have perceived him as a disperser and not let him back in. It appeared from the reintroduction, that the rank order issue had been settled. Malik was not as aggressively defensive or testing Grizzer, and Grizzer showed no focus on Malik. It was actually very calm among all wolves. To assist with the calm behaviors, we fed an extra deer on Thursday after the incident. We cut a leg from the deer, so Malik wouldn't have to compete with the pack, and as you can see from the video, he comfortably ate (this two days after the incident). The reality is, Malik and Shadow will both be retired in the upcoming year or two, but we want to make sure that they are really ready to be out of the pack. It is apparent from Malik's interactions in the last few days, that he still wants to be part of the pack, now that he is accepting his rank within the pack.
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Written by Workin' for Wolves participants Kathi Paulson and Steve Grenke: Even though Denali is a yearling wolf his stature portrays size and progressing maturity as seen in this weeks photo, but his actions show Denali's yearling nature and behavior traits as seen in this weeks photo for Maya. Denali seeks out opportunities to pester his packmates.
Written by Workin' for Wolves participants Theresa Williams and Darin Groeneveld: This weekend was the Workin' for Wolves program. Grizzer took the activity in the wolf yard very well and seemed relaxed. He still lets the pups climb all over him while Malik still looks for a way to take advantage of his laid back attitude. In this weeks video you see him soliciting assurance from Shadow and in the photo you see Malik walking by looking for an opening to take advantage.
Written by Workin' for Wolves participants Joanne Wessels, Emily Moen and Karen Pajari: Malik continues to test Grizzer, watching for openings to take advantage of him while Grizzer is tolerating the yearlings climbing on and squashing him. Malik showed his confidence during this weeks feeding when he snarled at Grizzer as Malik defended his place on the carcass.
Denali is looking more lean and long since he started shedding. He has also displayed more carefree running behavior, showing his speed. He is still right in the mix of everything, and enjoys the new management of a mid-week feeding. He's been very active in the pond, searching for minnows placed in the pond to help with the algae problem. We are installing a barley straw container on Monday morning. This is a PVC tube chained to a concrete block to allow water to flow through the barley straw, which in turn traps bacteria and reduced algae growth. Our hope is that Denali doesn't decide to dive for it. We will be watching carefully all day on Monday.
Grizzer has received a few nose bites, likely from Malik, but they could be aggravated by the yearlings, who seem to constantly greet Grizzer by muzzle biting. As we have written in last month's logs, Malik has been testing Grizzer's status and patience ever since the pups were introduced and Grizzer became super docile in all behaviors. Grizzer has won the tests between Malik, but there's still some tension, as you can see by the eye contact in Grizzer's photo this week. Wolf care staff met last week to talk about a management plan if these two don't settle their rank order issues. Based on our observations and interactions with the two, Grizzer isn't pushing any issues, only responding to Malik when Malik starts intensively growling and snapping. But, those behaviors are much calmer than they were this winter. Our hope is that summer will calm this even further, but Malik's comfort level is our greatest concern.
The situation between Malik and Grizzer is calmer than it was a few weeks ago, but still not settled. Malik has been showing signs of accepting his place as the 3rd ranking male. These signs include submissive ear postures, averting his gaze when Grizzer does a direct eye stare, low tail and in his photo, you will see him stand urinate, rather than raised leg. This good, clearly a wolf pack can't have more than 1 – # 2 males. Shadow is very calm about the interactions between Grizzer and Malik, and has not shown any indication that this is something to stop. It's the human's in us that want everything to be happy. In the wolf world, sometimes reminders are necessary to make sure every pack member understands their rank. One thing that is more noticeable and a good outcome, with Malik more accepting of the # 3 role, he is calmer, more socially interactive and easier to handle than he has been since the pup introduction. It is likely that with the acceptance of his rank, he feels more comfortable than the uncertainty about where he fits in the pack. We do know that for his sake, we need to keep the stress level down, that includes feeding more often, making sure the carcass has some smaller components (legs cut off etc.) to distribute the eating around the pen, rather than stimulate the carcass feeding, possessive behavior.
Malik has had some interesting surveillance video lately. He is much more direct with Shadow, especially in the early morning footage. The interesting part is that Shadow doesn't seem to be threatened, in fact, Shadow has been facing off and inviting Malik to chase him on a regular basis.
On the afternoon of May 12th, 2009, Grizzer finally made a pro-active attempt to discourage Malik's testing. As we've been writing in the logs since the pup introduction in August, 2008, Grizzer has been unusually calm and passive toward the pups, and this passive behavior included his defense of his second ranking position. The many hours of video taken this winter, showed Malik either fore-leg stabbing Grizzer, growling at him, charging him or just taking advantage of him when the opportunity arose. Grizzer was quite calm about this, only displaying some chases, grabs and following behavior, while Malik had high pitched growls and whines during most interactions. Something changed on the afternoon of the 12th, and Grizzer responded with a heightened aggressive attack of Malik. Wolf Care staff were able to get them separated (Grizzer, Maya and the yearlings went into holding), and assessed the injuries to Malik and Grizzer. A lengthy separation of Malik was a concern, as the pack could view him as a disperser, and not allow him back in. Retiring a wolf alone (as there was no threat to Shadow), would not be a quality life for Malik. So, it was decided to bring the group together, with wolf care staff on site all night on the 12th, and throughout the days following. The reintroduction, and subsequent days have been very calm. Malik has reduced his testing of Grizzer, and has only displayed a fraction of the aggressive threat displays toward Grizzer. Grizzer has not shown any focus on Malik, and still remains calm toward the yearlings. It appears, that the order has been re-established, with Grizzer as second ranking male and Malik accepting his position as third ranking male.
Written by Workin' For Wolves program participants Michele Amacker and Robyn Januszewski: Aidan continues to be somewhat reserved during group howls, possibly due to Maya's continued mixed signals. His video shows his hesitation in joining the group howl so as not to assert a status he is still unsure of. As part of the enclosure enhancement this week, minnows were added to the pond. Aidan's photo shows him pouncing on minnows in the pond. Aidan's prowess as a stalker and hunter was proven with the successful capture of numerous minnows.
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