Shadow continues to be very excited greeting staff, and overall has a calm and social response to the pack. This tells us that while staff have a hard time watching the tension between Maya and Aidan, Shadow's not showing any tension with the pack, meaning that it's not that serious. Shadow does show a response when the tension in the pack is a problem. So, as usual, we need to take the cue from the dominant pack leader and remain calm and take this opportunity to learn about wolf behavior. Shadow did a lone howl in response to what sounded like a wild pack, but the rest of the group didn't join in. The pack knows the difference between a rally howl, and a defensive howl.
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Shadow continues to be in an extremely social mood, with both staff and wolves. Aidan seeks him out for reassurance, and was observed with both paws on Shadow's face. Shadow shows him boundaries, but is very tolerant of all of the pack members. He shows no signs of decline that were evident with the 1993 litter at this age. Shadow and Malik turn 9 1/2 years old on Wednesday, and you would never know by looking at him.
The November weather has been much warmer than usual, creating a scenario of extra food cached throughout the enclosure. In the first time since the pups were introduced, we canceled the Saturday evening feeding program. At the time of these log postings, there are still 3 or 4 beaver caches in the enclosure. Denali has been very good at caching and defending his caches. He has even started some marking behavior, a sign of maturity. He did a partial raise leg urination and attempted to scrape the ground afterward. He also did a significant amount of scent rolling and then marked on a beaver spot. All of his behaviors were captured on video for the weekly Youtube.
Malik had some very interesting ride-up behavior on Grizzer during one of Shadow's dominance sessions. Grizzer is very quick to submit to Shadow, and often this results in Denali and Malik coming in for some dominance. The difference between the two, is that Denali gets away with it, Malik gets some redirected aggression when Grizzer is free. Malik takes it in stride, and seems to know when enough is enough, dropping his tail to the tucked position and making himself as inconspicuous as possible.
Denali is feeling very confident with his testing and posturing for rank. He doesn't like to be disciplined by any pack member or staff. We have been watching other signs of his advancement in rank, one in particular is marking behavior. Typically in the wild, only the dominant pair raise leg urinate (RLU) in an effort to signal that their territory is occupied, and as a pair bonding behavior. In captivity, the likelihood of RLU behavior of a subordinate is greater, as in the case of Grizzer. We have been watching Denali for any indication that he might start RLU behavior, but so far, he does a standing urination, although he does scrape the ground afterward as a way of dissipating his scent.
Malik is doing well, and interacting with the pack, often with high tail. The recent YouTube video demonstrates his involvement in the pack, and while there are moments of tension, he seems to accept his lower ranking status. I did receive an email from someone concerned about Malik getting enough food. On Wednesday morning's, we feed a mid-week meal of usually beaver or a deer torso, and Malik has no problem getting resources. On Saturday night, it's a bit more challenging, since the feeding is at night, and the wolves tend to be a bit more intense at that time of night, and the feeding is usually a full deer carcass, meaning there is more competition over one carcass than 6 beavers. The deer are large enough for the more aggressive wolves to feed first (Denali, Maya, Grizzer), with enough remaining for the rest. We monitor scats daily for color, to indicate which wolf is processing meat. Malik has had no problem getting enough resources.
When looking at Maya's photo this week, one can understand why she has developed such a dominant behavioral trait with the yearlings. Denali towers over Maya in height, so it is critical that she gains their respect as the dominant female. Maya has no problem with controlling the yearlings through vocalization, as you can see on the YouTube video, Aidan willingly submits or runs. Denali is more likely to confront, but quickly drops his ears when Maya's growling increases.
The YouTube video this week shows 10 minutes of pack activity during wolf care. Staff observe the pack dynamics on a daily basis to determine if there's tension in the pack, or if the pack is interacting well. The video shows what we are seeing today, there is an increased focus on Maya's interactions, and Aidan was very tentative during wolf care. Both yearlings have shown more interest in Malik, possibly trying to figure out the bottom of the rank order.
Denali has been very interactive with the fresh snow, and increasing maturity. He has been observed in wrestling behavior, not only with Aidan, but with Grizzer and Maya as well. He still shows submissive posture towards Shadow, but has been more inclined to do a face-off with Maya. This involves facing her, with his tail high in the air, trying to make himself as tall as possible. Of course, it doesn't intimidate Maya, what she lacks in size, she makes up for in attitude.
Maya continues to be the dominant pack female, but she has been calmer than in previous months. She does have the stalking behavior down, but what's been interesting, is that after a chase, Aidan runs right behind her, back to the action.
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