There are several times when we need to isolate the pack from the Exhibit and utilize the front of Grizzer’s Pack Holding Area to house the pack. Of course, Grizzer is locked in the East side before that happens, but when he returns, he has plenty to sniff.
Luna displays a T-2 or straight tail as she assists Denali in a dominance display over Boltz. Luna is very agile considering her back right femur/joint issues. Someday she may need repairs, but for now, she is extremely agile and is often the instigator of activity whether it be Ravens or Wolves, she can ambush either.
Denali tries to get some rest, but stays alert to the actions of the younger pack members. Denali is lower ranking than Aidan, so he is the first test for Boltz to climb rank as he matures. Every wolf has a personality and Denali is the most mild mannered of all the wolves on Exhibit. His size may be misleading as he is the biggest wolf we have ever maintained in the ~25 years of Ambassador Wolves. but as we see from Luna’s behavior, size does not dictate hierarchy.
Over the past few months, we have been working with Boltz to increase his confidence. To do this, we were drawing Boltz and Denali into the medical pen and Assistant Curator, Donna Prichard has been spending time with them allowing Boltz to maximize greetings with limited competition. This photo seems to indicate that this method has definitely worked, but maybe a bit too much. It’s always our practice to avoid intervening in the rank dominance and allow the wolves to determine the order, but Boltz’s lack of confidence is related to human socialization issues and we do try to help when the human dynamic is the cause. We will continue to monitor the activities and adapt our handling procedures to each individual wolves needs.
The signs of a good pack leader include knowing when to step in or when to watch from afar. Pack leaders who intervene in every interaction tend to get some redirected aggression when the tensions really increase. Aidan seems to maintain a calm demeanor despite the actions of the others.
What can I say about Luna. If you watch the Youtube, you will see her continuing to show her status over everyone (yes, even Aidan) as she matures into adulthood. The contrast of the dark pelage against the fall leaves is beautiful and while fall only last for a short time on the calendar, our memories of this time of the year are long. The wolves are in their full pelage, with the long permanent guard hairs thickened by the dense undercoat that will keep these wolves warm during the long Northern Minnesota winter.
One disadvantage Grizzer has is the fact that he doesn’t have a pack to to rally with when he’s a bit intimidated. We have had a wild wolf around the parking lot and tracks have been viewed around the enclosure. There are times, when the surveillance camera shows the reaction of the pack with a high step as they race to the back of the enclosure. The Exhibit Pack takes on the challenge as a group displaying the fight response and while they still may be intimidated with tucked tails, they are dealing with it as a group. Grizzer may be more reserved and take a more passive side to the wild wolves or human strangers that are in the yard and he may display the flight response. If wolf care staff are with him, he’s more confident, and may even display his tail in the air, ready to take on anything. When wolf care are not in the enclosure, he generally comes up to the yard and rests close to the building. As the daylight shortens as we approach the solstice, we need to be mindful that things go spook in the night even for captive wolves.
Denali is lower ranking and that is a fact. We knew it from the time that he was a pup and we saw it when he was a two year old and showed no signs of leadership, when there was a vacancy created by Shadow’s retirement. He willingly let’s Luna establish dominance and rolls as soon as Aidan applies some pressure. He takes it in stride, but the question is, is he willing to be at the bottom of the rank order in a position often called the “Omega”. This will be the dynamics we are watching as the pack matures in 2015. Boltz is currently the Omega because he was a male pup that grew up with some strong male pack mates. But, Boltz is growing up and Denali is such a mild-mannered personality. We have learned a great deal from our previous omegas; Lakota and Malik, even Aidan played this role in the 2008 – 2010 Exhibit. We know that the Omega is important. Without the bottom of the rank, the top aren’t reinforced. The Omega often stimulates the social behavior that keeps the pack interacting. Malik, Lakota and Denali all seem to share the same wolf grin, paw at the ground, and invite chase behaviors that lead to a lot of activity and a lot of tail wags.
We always know when a wolf is feeling better, they tend to display some of the same antics of a pup or juvenile. One of the more common pup behavior’s is ambush. This is where a pup crouches to the ground and pounces on an unsuspecting pup mate. Clearly, this is a hunting behavior usually reserved for prey, but with pups learning to apply their instinctual behavior, they ambush each other. Last week, I spoke of Luna’s continual “juvenile” behaviors as an indication that she would rather ambush and wrestle with her pup mate Boltz than be a more mature adult. I guess a wolf is never to0 old to display juvenile behaviors; This week, Aidan was photographed preparing to pounce on Luna with his tail wagging in a social greeting. We know Aidan’s feeling better if he takes the time to set up an Ambush.
Boltz is taking advantage of the leaf fall and spending more time in the upper woods exploring old caches, and interacting with Denali in a strategically cooperative manner. This means, that rather than randomly search for food or to stalk and catch a bird, they have been observed in stalking together and driving a bird to a waiting wolf. Certainly, some theorize that the depth of wolf communication and social behavior in the pack has evolved to make them more efficient as a pack predator. Boltz shows that ability to read body language and respond quickly.
