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Aidan has been spending a fair amount of time posturing over Denali. This behavior has been observed multiple times in the last week. It’s hard to say if it has any correlation to the changes here, but all the howling from Shadow and Grizzer may be influencing him.
We are very aware of the impact Malik’s loss may have on Shadow. Nancy Gibson, the Center’s co-founder and board member who bottle fed Shadow and Malik, has been here since Monday spending time with Shadow to help him through any separation anxiety. We know his howling has increased and he has been very quick to howl when staff leave the enclosure (quicker than usual). We are seeing an improvement every day and his play is back in his step. Several people have asked if Grizzer can join Shadow. We have to take this day by day. We know we won’t do anything while we have all of this snow and ice. The reunion will likely include some excited running and chasing and we can’t afford a 14 or 10 year old to slip and injury a disc. We also know that colder weather and winter conditions make for heightened behavior which is why we will definitely wait. We also have to make sure that Shadow is in a good physical and psychological frame of mind to deal with a younger and stronger pack member. This type of reintroduction is done carefully and in stages with all wolf care staff’s perspectives discussed. We also know that Shadow has some stronger relationships with certain wolf care staff than others, so we will favor Shadow’s relationships to make him as confident as possible in the upcoming weeks and if and when we decided to reunite the former packmates.
After this log, Malik will transition to the Gone but Not Forgotten Pack. What can I say about the wolf that has taught the wolf care staff so much about being an opportunistic pack member. Malik never rose to the top of a pack, but benefited greatly by having a brother as a dominant pack member. Who can forget his courage to display some dominance when Shadow was standing over Grizzer, but as soon as Shadow moved away, down would come the ears and the tail and he would gracefully jump to the other side of the pond. He had a threat display that was like no other; words couldn’t describe the sound he made, nor will wolf care staff forget the dynamics of the pack when Shadow and Maya ruled the Exhibit. Malik’s more delicate face and graceful movements made him special and his ability to guard and protect food, even from his dominant packmates, taught us that wolves have social rules. We have lost a great pack member who contributed a wealth of knowledge, endured a lot of transitions and made a lot of smiles, especially as he watched staff members and looked for the perfect opportunity to steal a hat. As Malik made his final journey to the University of Minnesota Diagnostics lab for a necropsy, he traveled with my hat (the one he stole so many times during wolf care) and had special instructions to be cremated with the hat. We will miss Malik dearly and are grateful to all the people who have sent words of support.
Luna did exceptionally well in a winter that continues to record -20 below zero in late March. The cover hay beds have provided insulation and warmth from the long cold winter and we certainly believe that has helped her mobility. Mobility is too weak of a word, she has climbed piles, launched into ambushes, pushed packmates down the hill, dragged beaver and deer 1/2 her size and the best word to describe Luna is tenacity.. and today, it is “Two Year Old”… March 25th is Luna’s Birthday and we cherish every day we have with Luna considering that there were days when we didn’t think she would see her 2nd month of life. Luna is the epitome of dominant female and she remains reluctant to take any rank order direction from Aidan. Sometimes I see her try to pair bond with Denali and wonder if she is seeking a paired pack leader that she can push down a hill.
As we observed Malik and studied the surveillance cameras, we did identify a strong connection between Malik and Grizzer with several howling bouts between them in the last week. This was very unusual in many ways. Malik rarely started howls in retirement, he usually responded to Shadow’s howling. But, starting on Monday night the 17th, we saw a daily/evening pattern of Grizzer facing retirement and howling in response to Malik. These howls were not the dominant, high tail, posturing howls that Grizzer usually displayed when facing Malik, but were the subuded, low throated tones of an animal after a change or a loss of packmate. Maybe Grizzer new things before humans did.
