shadow – Nov 16, 2009 12:00 AM

Shadow has been showing some increased dominance and growling behavior, even towards staff. This is common for this time of the year, but not so common for a wolf this age. Shadow and Malik were 9 1/2 years old on November 11th, and Shadow shows no sign of weakness. When Lucas, the former dominant male, was this age, he was often backing down and avoiding confrontations with the arctics. Of course, the difference is, Shadow and Malik didn't have the intense ritualized dominance that Aidan and sometimes Denali face from Maya. The yearlings were shown their place in the pack throughout their maturity, and that will inevitably help Shadow hold his position longer.