Malik joined in on a howling bout this week (see the end of the Youtube video), which is not always his normal behavior. Usually Shadow leads the howls, and Malik may watch, but this week, he was part of the pack howling in unison with Shadow.
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Maya continues to be behaviorally stimulated by something. Her intensity of dominance as waned a bit, but she is presenting herself to Aidan, and very vocal. She still sleeps with Grizzer, but she has the right to socially align with any wolf in the enclosure, and she may use that right.
We have some beautiful photography of Shadow this week. A light snowfall (well it started light, now we have 8 inches on the ground), and a layer of snow in the trees make a great backdrop for this subspecies. Of all the subspecies, the arctic wolves certainly look at home in these conditions. Shadow did a lot of "Stand Tall" postures today, which is a show of confidence when a wolf stands on a high vantage point and extends their body as high as their legs will allow. It is impressive to observe, and the body posture is clear, but what is more impressive is the look of confidence in his face. Shadow portrays this well and pictures can't express what we are honored to observe as wolf care staff.
Grizzer is getting a nice growth of hair on his suture site, and he's maintaining good status, but we need to be reminded that he is turning 7 years of age. Some days, he shows his age. Joint supplements are a priority for the middle aged wolves as well as the older wolves. Keeping Grizzer agile is necessary when leading a pair of two year old wolves. We are all anxiously awaiting spring which is a calmer time and generally characterized by more resting behavior for wolves. Grizzer has had an active winter and could use some rest.
I was recently asked about Shadow's staining on the side of his mouth. This is a caused by a substance called Porphyrin (derived from the greek word for purple). Porphyrins are a group of naturally occurring organic compounds that are found in saliva, urine or on areas where moisture is present (between the pads). The presence of Porphyrin stains is related to an ongoing process of the breakdown of red blood cells in the body. This stain is visible on all the wolves here, but is more pronounced on the white arctic pelage. It is definitely more pronounced on Shadow than Malik, and may be related to an increased amount of salivation with Shadow's particular feeding habits. He does tend to wait until the wolf care staff get the chicken in the right size (his choice, not the staff), and this may stimulate more salivation.
This is a continuation of Aidan's log, which detailed the altercation between Maya and Aidan. Denali showed minimal interest in testing Grizzer, but there must have been some altercation between the two because Grizzer's head wound was re-opened and there was some blood on Grizzer. Denali remained very calm, rubbing up against me while I inspected Maya and Aidan's body looking for wounds. Later, Denali would lie on the slate den and periodically would go to the top of the enclosure with Grizzer and Maya, but there was no dominance.
This a continuation of the postings that start with Aidan, then Denali, then Grizzer. Why did this happen when we had observed such strong social behavior this week? I don't know what was the trigger, it could have been something on the outside of the enclosure, it could have been the wind or it could have been Aidan that showed too much confidence, but it happened, it was over in less than 8 minutes. We are back to the dynamics of Grizzer and Maya pairbonding and guarding the top of the enclosure and Aidan and Denali staying near the den sites. The unfortunate thing is that Grizzer's head was finally growing a good undercoat of hair, and that will take some time to heal. It is not open to the extent that it was this winter, but with spring and summer just a few short months away, we need this to heal to avoid issues with the fly season.
Malik may try to gain some status on Shadow, but Shadow has been a leader since he was a pup and we don't see that changing much. Shadow has no equal when it comes to posturing, direct eye contact and that threat display growl that will make an opponent drop their ear posture (including humans). When the Exhibit Pack has issues, it is Shadow that is first to howl and often try to posture and growl as if he still ran the Exhibit Pack.
We're witnessing continued confidence in Aidan, and decreased confidence in Grizzer. Maya seems to be indifferent to Aidan's behavioral change, which may be encouraging Aidan's behavior. When the weather warmed, the pack was extremely calm and sleeping in close proximity to one another, but as the wind chill returned today, Aidan appears to be using a following technique on Grizzer.
The Wolf Logs for the week will contain the same text for each wolf. The curator was at a conference during the week, and time is limited for Friday duties. The pack did well in the Curator's absence, it is important that wolf care is not dependent upon one individual, but a multitude of individuals that can meet the wolves' basic needs. There are 16 people associated with the wolf care program and all have their own strengths and skills that help manage the packs. Aidan continues to be confident and Grizzer is still showing some anxiety when Aidan puts his tail in a T-2 posture and follows him. There will be a Vermilion Community College Ethology class beginning some observations, and we hope to have some good data to share by the end of April.
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