Grizzer continues to be social with the pups, engaging them in contact and rolling over when they grab him. This causes some dominant behavior from Malik, but so far Grizzer continues to be tolerant of it and lets the pups climb on him. This will likely change when winter approaches, but so far, it's been good for the pups to have this social outlet and to learn about pack dominance without too much aggression. The video clips posted with the wolf logs are very short, if you would like to see several minutes of the pack activitiy, we are now posting weekly videos on Youtube. To locate these videos, search for the International Wolf Center.
After the new den was installed in the Exhibit Pack, Maya was the first to climb on it and mark it, followed by Shadow. Maya continues to whine at Lakota when she's near the fence, and these two spend some time, nose to nose, without any aggression. Maya's interest in the pups is about the same, mostly interacting over food, and the pups don't often win. The pups are still fed on a daily basis when they are removed from the Exhibit, and Maya will come into the pack holding area after a feeding to look for leftovers. The video clips posted with the wolf logs are very short, if you would like to see several minutes of the pack activitiy, we are now posting weekly videos on Youtube. To locate these videos, search for the International Wolf Center.
While Grizzer is still social with the pups, the pups are showing a bit more aggressive behavior towards him, probably due to the lack of discipline. Grizzer gets overwhelmed sometimes and has started displaying a huff or half bark towards the pups, and runs away from them. It seems like he doesn't want to dominate them, but just wants them to stop chewing on him. Unfortunately, that means he needs to show a little more dominance. This will likely come as the fall weather and the pups size increases. But as wolf care staff have learned, it's better to start showing boundaries young, or the pups will take advantage of you.
Shadow has been initiating some lone howls toward the back of the pen, usually this indicates wild wolf presence in the area. The pack obviously knows the difference between a rally howl where they all join in and a defensive howl, where only Shadow howls. The pups continue to show great respect to Shadow and he is teaching them their role in the pack. The pack has been letting the pups have their time on the weekly carcasses, which usually results in Shadow getting less food. Mid-week, we attempt to give him a 4 or 5 lb chunk of meat, but he usually ends up having to race away from the pups and eat on the run. When he does settle down, he defends food well from them, and while Aidan may try to paw him in the face, the pups both willingly roll over for him.
Grizzer continues to let out a half bark at the pups, flustered when they get too active. He is also teaching Denali some bad habits, like banging on the water bowl before a feeding. On Wednesday, Shadow had a bit of irritation with some activity in the wolf yard, and started bark-howling. This created redirection toward Grizzer, with some hard muzzle bites and intense aggression. Grizzer then redirected toward Malik and did a chase around the pond. The pups scattered, and watched before Denali began in the chase. When Shadow dominates Grizzer, he is very submissive, and Malik takes advantage of the situation and goes in on a bite for Grizzer, but when Grizzer is away from Shadow, there is no question that Grizzer is higher ranking than Malik.
Maya continues to be a bit reserved with the pups, but I did see a moment of play behavior with Aidan, when she was rolling over and letting him climb on her. She does interact with Grizzer as a littermate, and most of her “play behavior is with Grizzer. She continues to hinder Grizzer when he’s in a chase around the pond after Malik, by grabbing hold of his back leg and having Grizzer drag her along.
Today Nyssa is 70 days old. Nyssa is getting more dominant over her packmate Maya. She defends her food during programs, but have no problem sharing from the same bowl during feeding time. She is more active late in the day and loves to run around the pupy pen inviting her packmates to play.
Lakota continues to enjoy good health. She is lively and energetic. It certainly is nice to see Lakota romping in the pen.
Malik did an RLU in front of Shadow while Shadow showed a high tail, but no aggressive interaction between them.
During feeding, Malik showed aggressive dominance toward Shadow, Malik had hackles raised and chased Shadow away from his beaver several times. Shadow showed lowered ears, but did not back away from Mal
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