shadow – Aug 22, 2005 12:00 AM

Shadow continues to display all the traits of a dominant male. He guards his pack, he keeps watch on the younger pack members, and he's ready to display his dominance if anyone attempts to test him. In this week's photo, Shadow shows high tail in response to Malik's behavior. While both their tails are in high status, Shadow seems to keep his calm. Hackles are the involuntary raising of the hair on the neck, back, rump and even tail in response to a threat, fear or intimidation. While we watch both arctics demonstrate high tail, Malik seems to respond with a hackle position more often than Shadow. This may indicate that he's more threatened, fearful or intimidated by the encounters with Shadow. It takes a lot to get Shadow's hackles up.