shadow – Mar 22, 2013 12:00 AM

Shadow has some quirks. He's very assertive with staff and is the reason there are a limited number of staff that can enter his enclosure. He is the master of chin rests, direct eye contact, posturing and all of the other traits that are associated with a dominant animal. He still psychologically leads the Exhibit Pack and is the source of most howling communication on site. The Exhibit Pack (Aidan as the leader) rarely starts a howl, but will respond if Shadow leads. This may be due to the fact that Shadow was never deposed as a pack leader, he was retired for health reasons. All the wolves seem to look to him as the leader even though they don't physically interact. But, when food is placed in his enclosure, he avoids conflict, but maybe that's also a trait of a good leader. Aidan seems to be the same way, deferring to the other wolves rather than taking if from them.