Axel – Alert Posture

Axel is maintaining a consistent body weight at 92 pounds. His physical appearance is changing to more of a juvenile state as well as his behavior.  He is pushing limits on both wolves and humans, but both Aidan and the wolf care staff have been through the juvenile transition before, most recently in 2012 with Luna and Boltz and Axel has a long way to go to match Luna’s juvenile phase.  Patience and consistency are the key to this age bracket.  In this week’s photo taken by Center educator Saranda Oestreicher offers a great view of Axel’s facial characteristics that aid in identification.  His eyes are more almond shaped and he has a slender appearance to his muzzle.

Axel – Chin Rests

Axel is displaying a chin rest on Denali as a show of passive dominance.  As you can interpret from Denali’s response, (ears pricked and turned sideways and lips slightly curled), this posturing from a 9-month old pup is less than welcome.  We knew Axel had confidence on the first day of the pup introduction when he successfully fed on a turkey carcass with Denali.  This confidence continued throughout the winter as Axel matured.  There are many observations of Axel’s passive, yet effective signals of status.  Chin rests, stand overs, persistent competition over food resources and overall persistence with Denali’s space and possessions.  There are some similarities between these two. 

Axel – T-1 Tail

This weeks log written by Kim Wheeler, Executive Director, Red Wolf Coalition, Inc.  During my visit to the Center this week, I had the opportunity to watch Axel interact and initiate play with his pack mates.  At 9 months old, Axel weighs 92.8 lbs.  This is a gain of 3.6 lbs from last month. Axel has always been a confident pup and is even likely to take on Denali for food.  I witnessed Axel lay on and poke at a sleeping Denali until he got up to play with Axel.  Axel and Grayson continue to spend a lot of time playing with each other, which can lead to many chases around the exhibit enclosure.  

Axel – Obnoxiously Submissive

As a growing pup, soon to be a yearling, Axel has of course tested his boundaries here and there. One behavior we have noticed more of in recent weeks has been obnoxious submission. This behavior, while seemingly in a subordinate posture, tends to get in the face of a more dominant animal, often resulting in more domination. In this week’s photo you can see some of the result of this behavior. Axel often becomes excitable and initiates a chase, chases in which Denali is more than willing to give. 

Photo by Kelly Godfrey

Axel – Almond Shaped Eyes

As the pup’s mature, they start to develop physical attributes that make identification a bit easier.  We are really noticing unique facial characteristics on Axel.  His nose is more elongated and appears more triangular in shape with almond shaped eyes.  This was the way we used to describe Malik when trying to accurately identify him from his brother.  Coincidentally, Malik was also known for investigating and sometimes possessing items from staff, a behavior Axel has been portraying since he entered his “Juvenile” stage.  In contrast, Grayson is very mild mannered and shows a timid reserve when investigating staff items. 

Axel – Curiosity at Work

Axel definitely has a curious side whether it be taking possessions from his pack mates or investigating the wolf care staff winter apparel.  If you have difficulty telling the pups apart, look for a more golden set of guard hairs on Axel’s head and, chances are, the pup that is tugging or grabbing something from staff is probably Axel.  Axel’s tenacity is probably responsible for his heavier weight.  At this point, Axel is on par with Aidan’s weight at 7 months, a whopping 87 pounds.  

Axel – Paws for Traction

We didn’t get a chance to weigh the pups this week, our usual Friday weighing times were postponed due to the first winter storm to hit Northern Minnesota.  Initially the pups were a bit intimidated as this storm came with some pounding sleet and wind before it developed into the “Inch an Hour” accumulation that left us with 16 inches of snow.  But with a bit of excitement from the adult wolves, Axel and Grayson quickly joined the pack in some activity.  Notice the wide spread of Axel’s front foot that helps create traction on some slippery conditions.  It’s the size of a wolf’s paw and the ability to spread that paw like a snowshoe in deeper snows that makes them an efficient predator. 

Axel – a Canid Grin

It has always been a challenge to identify Axel and Grayson.  We use a subtle coloration of a saddle on Grayson’s back to tell them apart from a distance, but if you get a head on view, Axel is easy to distinguish based on his unique facial expressions, especially the canid grin.  The canid grin is described as a social and often stimulating behavioral expression that can lead to encourage wolves to greet, or in the case of 7-month old wolf pups, wrestle.  So, if you can’t see the pup’s pelage, how do you ID them? Axel’s nose does appear more elongated giving him a more triangular face (although both have very blocky muzzles compared to previous pups).  Another notable characteristic is Axel’s animated expression that is usually accompanied by some type of animated action.  When he greets, he has an excited twirl with an open mouth and a connection of teeth.  If a wolf runs by, he is quick to grab a tail or if it’s a wolf care staff, Axel will grab a set of keys or a string on a coat.  This isn’t new behavior, but an extension of the attitude we saw when we met this pup.  We are discouraging this behavior, as the saying goes.. if it’s not welcome behavior from an adult wolf, it’s not welcome from a pup.  Axel continues to be the larger of the two pups and is nearing 80 lbs of weight as he enters his 7th month of age. Here are his weights since our last post.

Date Weight Weight Gain
10/21/2016 69.6 lb 2.2 lb
10/31/2016 74.3 lb 4.7 lb
11/4/2016 76.2 lb 1.9 lb
11/11/2016 78.2 lb 2 lb

Axel – Larger in Size and Attitude

Axel has often been seen instigating play with Grayson this last week. He is very confident in engaging play with Grayson. There was several IWC programs going on and Axel was very observant and interested when the program participants were in the Lab or close to the wolf yard. He did not seem fearful, just very curious.  When Axel is put in the holding for a brief time during wolf care he noticeably wants to get back into the main pack as soon as possible. Axel enjoys a drink from the pond on these nice fall days.

Axel – Running with the Big Guys

Axel and Grayson will be 5 months of age on October 2nd and we are definitely seeing personalities emerge.  In contrast to Grayson, Axel is less interested in spending time with staff for the daily “special feeding sessions” and more interested in spending time with the Exhibit Pack, feeding on a beaver or a deer carcass.  He still is feeding well on the nightly feedings, but getting him to come into the medical pen to spend 30 minutes separated from the pack is a challenge.  Although despite the added challenge, he seems to be getting the resources he needs.  We track the pups on a weekly basis with a weight on Fridays.  Since September 1st, Axel has gained 17.4 pounds, with the highest gain of 5 pounds in the last week. 

Name Date Pounds Weight gain since last measurement
Axel 9/1/2016 48 4
Axel 9/9/2016 50.4 2.4
Axel 9/16/2016 54.2 3.8
Axel 9/23/2016 56.4 2.2
Axel 9/30/2016 61.4 5

Axel is on task with Shadow, our previous dominant male and one of our arctic subspecies concerning age related weight.  Shadow was approximately 62 pounds at the same age.  Axel still shows more dominance than Grayson, but as Grayson confidence increases, so does the number of times Axel gets rolled over in a submissive posture.