shadow – Mar 5, 2007 12:00 AM

Even though the dominance behavior has calmed a bit from earlier winters, Shadow still keeps an eye on Grizzer and signs of testing. As you can see from Shadow’s video, he is still top wolf in this Exhibit. After wolf care staff removed icicles form the roof line, Shadow proceeded to mark them using the RLU or Raised Leg Urination, although in this exhibit, that doesn’t mean much. In the wild, normally only the dominant male displays an RLU behavior with the subordinate wolves displaying more standing or squat urinations. Due to the lack of breeding at this facility, all 3 males will display RLU to either mark or display status. The difference in Shadow is that as the current dominant wolf, he keeps his tail high and will often scratch excessively to distribute his scent.