shadow – Dec 24, 2010 12:00 AM

The current situation with the Exhibit Pack can be summed up in one statement: Shadow was a great dominant male and kept the younger wolves in line. When Shadow left the pack, so did any sign of leadership. The decision to remove Shadow was based on his health, with weight loss down to 71 lbs, and a increasing level of aggression. Anytime one of the wolves approached, Shadow was aggressively pinning them to the ground, clearly in charge, but also causing some frustration from the other wolves. This behavior gave us the indication that his age and age related pains were too much for him. We don't regret the decision to remove Shadow, he's back to 88 lbs, he's greeting wolf care staff with more exuberance than a pup and while he has some feeding quirks, he's doing extremely well. But, the removal of Shadow forced Grizzer to be the pack leader, when he didn't have the behavior, or the respect from the younger wolves. If we had let Grizzer or Denali depose Shadow in a dominance rank order change, we may not have the issues we are facing today, but Shadow may have been seriously injured and that was not a risk we were willing to take. Shadow was dominant and he wouldn't have given up his rank without a fight, and his age and weight loss would have made him a weak target. Grizzer will need to show some leadership, gain some respect, and grow into the role of dominant. His behavior since Denali has been in holding is improving. He's at the gate with a high posture, showing his status, similar to Shadow's role as a dominant.