Grizzer revealed an interesting set of behaviors during the Wolf Watch. He clearly has mastered the skill of intimidation without even touching Denali. His main technique is waiting in ambush, hiding behind bushes or rocks, waiting for Denali to wander in range. These sessions lasted several minutes, with him moving about the enclosure, repeating the behavior frequently, causing Denali to have a very restless, active evening. Grizzer has a very intense direct eye stare, and he uses it frequently on Denali. It does appear that Grizzer's focus on Aidan has diminished, and he is far more tolerant of Aidan, allowing Aidan to bed down near him on several occasions. If we had to interpret a dominant male at this time, we would have to conclude that Grizzer is in this role, although we never would have predicted it. Grizzer is much different than Shadow and rather than physically control this pack through hard muzzle bites, he is controlling this pack through body language and intimidating body postures. It is truly amazing to watch, and we plan on running at least one more Wolf Watch on the first Thursday of October to reinforce our current observations. One thing for sure, Grizzer acts differently without wolf care staff in the enclosure and these behavioral watches are key to truly understanding the pack dynamics.
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Maya was probably the most active wolf during the Wolf Watch program. Maya was actively patrolling the enclosure, did a few lunges to keep Aidan and Denali under control, and even did a few lone howls towards some threat in the distance. The most notable behavior during the wolf watch was her guarding behavior of Grizzer. When Grizzer was laying near the greeting rock, she blocked him from both Aidan and Denali. Maya has also developed an interesting behavior towards wolf care staff. When staff pick up scat with the bucket, Maya is the direct supervisor, following closely as they complete their tasks. This behavior started about a month ago, and has become a predictable pattern during wolf care. We haven't developed a rationale, but the fact that she stays with the scat collectors, means that Aidan gets Maya-free time with the other wolf care staff.
Fall has arrived to the north country with temperatures near freezing at night, and a frost warning for the upcoming weekend. The wolves pelage continues to show the growth of the winter undercoat with Aidan showing the least amount of coat development. This may be characteristic of his genetics or could be a response to stress of an omega. As caretakers for these wolves, we make a concerted effort to provide straw bedding when the ground freezes and temperatures dip to sub-zero weather. At this time, we're in the transition time, where straw bedding may be too warm during the day, but within a few weeks, that may change. Aidan's photo shows the wolves natural response to cooler temperatures. He does a curl rest, which means his body is curled in a tight posture, sometimes, wolves will tuck their tail under his belly, covering the parts of his body with the least amount of hair.
Malik appears to have a tooth abscess, which is being treated with antibiotics. With a 10-year old wolf, their immune systems are a bit weaker, and while we avoid overusing antibiotics, we are very cautious with gum infections. He has no problem eating, and is still active, but we don't take chances with the retired wolves. Malik isn't the best patient, staff have to use much patience, and some interesting handling procedures to even get a close inspection or cleaning of the wound.
Denali has been triggered into a testing machine. This probably has one main cause and it relates to the routine of the wolf pack. This week, the curator has returned back to Vermilion Community College as a full-time employee. What this means for the Center is one, delayed logs and Youtubes, and two, a change in schedule for the wolves. It's the change in schedule that has probably influenced Denali. The reasoning is not because Denali is at a loss for wolf care staff, but more likely due to Grizzer's response to the change. If Grizzer shows anxiety, Denali picks this up as a weakness, and that is the likely scenario observed this week. The good news is, Denali is two, going on three. He should grow out of some of this obnoxious youthful exuberance. The bad news is, winter is coming and the hormone increase of the winter season usually results in more intensity. So, for the wolf care staff, we are in for an interesting season.
Thanks to Marcia Mummau and Joanna Georing for your contributions to Shadow's dinner fund. He has been offered food every day, but he is a bit selective of what and when he wants to eat. Chicken and beef are usually a hit. We still have them on the larger feeding of deer or beaver during the week, and it appears that Shadow has regained some confidence to get his fair share from Malik, which is why he's been caching. We'll continue to feed Shadow whenever he wants to eat, as winter is right around the corner.
During the Wolf Watch program on September 2nd, observations were made on the pack dynamics by program participants, Raquel Pfaff, Eamonn Briem, Awen Briem and Lori Schmidt. Overall, Aidan didn't have a lot of dominance towards him due to Grizzer's focus on Denali. The weather consisted of a hard driving rain and Aidan was the least tolerant, often running towards the den, then running back to the pack, but the other wolves showed no concerns with the passing thunderstorms. Aidan displays social behavior towards Maya, including frequent foreleg stabs, ride-up's and grooming Maya's face for several minutes. Aidan has also seemed to develop a new behavior, backing into other wolves, possibly as a protection for anyone coming behind him. He does this to Denali on several occasions, but was also observed doing this to Grizzer. A few weeks ago, Aidan seemed to be intimidated by Grizzer, several times during the wolf watch, Aidan chose to sleep near Grizzer and backed into him (staying in contact for several minutes), many times during the observation. It appears that Aidan has accepted Grizzer as higher ranking, and shows respect for him, resulting in less focus from Grizzer, and more social interaction.
Today Nyssa is 54 days old. Today a film crew from Germany was on site. Nyssa was undisturbed by the film crew and appeared to be at ease. She was very intent on chewing on a deer leg.
Three months ago, if someone would have told me that Grizzer would be leading this pack, I never would have believed it. Grizzer showed very little leadership qualities at least to the standard that Shadow set, but here we area, and what Grizzer lacks in direct interaction, he far exceeds the standard in body language. Grizzer makes Denali nervous merely by hiding behind a rock, perking his ears forward and appearing that an ambush is imminent. With Grizzer's size, his burst of speed are fairly limited, and even though Denali can outrun him, it is unlikely that Grizzer will catch him.
Shadow still seems to be tractable to certain people, and intimidating towards others. Some staff enjoy a greeting like no other, while others approach the fence to give the morning vitamins, and Shadow tries to engage in direct eye contact, growling while getting his morning meds. This is probably going to be the behavior of Shadow until he's too old to growl, he always had a way of proving his point that he was a dominant wolf, even from the time he was a pup.
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