This weeks photo shows an interesting adaptation of wolves which is that they have a direct register gait. This is useful in deep snow to conserve energy, as their feet align in a straight line rather than compressing snow separately with each foot.
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In this photo Denali seems to be displaying a behavior known as ears pricked forward in the Ethogram it is defined as the ears are erect and turned outwards this is usually a sign of tension in the wolf. In Denali’s case he could be hearing an animal far away to someone walking through the wolf yard.
As you can see in this week’s photo, Denali has experienced some mild mobbing from pack mates. “Mobbing” is a typical behavior defined in the International Wolf Center’s Ethogram as “two or more wolves crowding around another wolf in a noisy, harassing manner”. While Aidan is tolerant of various types of testing behavior, he asserts his dominance clearly when necessary.
Mild mannered Boltz, who gains sympathy because he seems to be on the bottom of the rank order, seems to have developed a bit of a hormonal surge that has him doing ride-up and mounting behaviors and in this photo, he is displaying a foreleg stab towards Luna. All of our wolves are spayed and neutered, and we have witnessed this before (in Denali and Grizzer). Thing will calm down as Boltz reaches 3 years of age, but at this point, Aidan seems to have everything under control.
Aidan sure does seem to take the events of the pack in stride. His pigmentation has completely returned on his nose and he is extremely relaxed. It does seem that he invites Boltz to interact and willingly allows Boltz and Luna to pin him, but when it’s too much, there’s no doubt a serious lip curl will get Boltz to back down. Luna needs a bit more vocalization, but Boltz and Aidan seem to have a strong bond. Aidan is very tolerant of Boltz and displays an inhibited bite as a form of greeting.
Denali has been feeling the effects of Boltz’s recent stimulated hormones. Boltz has spent the last week riding up and dominating all of his pack members. He’s definitely showing signs of a 2 year old. Fortunately, these spurts of testing are being tolerated by the pack, although Denali does like to get some relief from a high vantage point.
I am not sure how Luna will deal with the upcoming Working for Wolves weekend in May where we will be moving the large mounds of straw. We will use some of the straw for seeding grass and the rest of the straw may be used as mulch to cover areas of limited soil. Luna likes her comforts. In this week’s photo, Luna is displaying a chin rest, which is a sign of dominance.
Grizzer seems to find the muddiest holes and he comfortably spends the day in them. I suspect with his winter coat, he needs some cooling off. Fortunately, he has plenty of shade in his habitat.
We always know when a wolf is improving their physical and mental condition when they return to a healthy appetite and either carry or cache food. The fact that Shadow is showing all three signs gives us a positive response on his condition. Now, if I could only improve the condition of his camera. There seems to be a seal issue allowing moisture to enter the internal lens on these warm days. It is on my list of things to do and hope to get that improved soon. Thanks to a generous donation to the Wolf Care Fund, the wolves all had Turkey or Chicken for Easter dinner.
