Boltz- In a Confident Posture

Over the past few months, we have been working with Boltz to increase his confidence.  To do this, we were drawing Boltz and Denali into the medical pen and Assistant Curator, Donna Prichard has been spending time with them allowing Boltz to maximize greetings with limited competition.  This photo seems to indicate that this method has definitely worked, but maybe a bit too much.  It’s always our practice to avoid intervening in the rank dominance and allow the wolves to determine the order, but Boltz’s lack of confidence is related to human socialization issues and we do try to help when the human dynamic is the cause.  We will continue to monitor the activities and adapt our handling procedures to each individual wolves needs.

Boltz – Time in the Upper Woods

Boltz is taking advantage of the leaf fall and spending more time in the upper woods exploring old caches, and interacting with Denali in a strategically cooperative manner.  This means, that rather than randomly search for food or to stalk and catch a bird, they have been observed in stalking together and driving a bird to a waiting wolf.  Certainly, some theorize that the depth of wolf communication and social behavior in the pack has evolved to make them more efficient as a pack predator.  Boltz shows that ability to read body language and respond quickly.

Boltz- A Wolf of Many Faces

Boltz is one of the most challenging wolves that I have worked with in a long time.  His older age when meeting our staff and our facility (he was nearly a month of age when we selected him), means that he doesn’t have as strong of a bond and can be mistrustful of staff or situations.  We are continually working with him to build confidence and trust, but his hesitancy towards strange actions is when he is most expressive.  One thing I see is that Boltz, independently of Luna, is much less testing and far more social.  Luna stimulates the antagonistic behavior and Boltz follows her lead from behind.  If Boltz is interacting with Denali alone, they greet and tail wag, rubbing shoulders along the way. 

Boltz – The Chin Rest

A common dominance position involves a chin rest, where one wolf rests their chin on another wolf either to reinforce their rank as a dominant animal, or to gain some status. In this week’s picture of Boltz, it’s the latter. Aidan had been greeting and rolling over for wolf care staff when Boltz decided to take this opportunity to try and gain some status over the dominant male. We’ll likely see more of these behaviors as he tries to test for rank this upcoming winter, ‘tis the season for testing.

Through His Eyes

We continue to work on bonding with Boltz. I wonder what it would be like to see his world through his eyes.
During wolf care we have been holding Denali and Boltz in a separate pen so they can have some one on one with staff persons whom have a good relationship with them both.
Aidan and Luna are getting some attention at the same time with other staff.
It appears to be good for all. When Denali and Boltz go back into the main enclosure after these interactions all the wolves seem less anxious and very calm.

Boltz – Still the Subordinate Male

 I’ve mentioned Boltz’ testing behaviors a lot in the past few logs, but it’s important to note that he’s currently maintaining his rank as the bottom ranking male. He actively submits when the other wolves get too tense. We’ve noticed a trend however, when Luna gets into any sort of scuffle with Aidan, Boltz appears to get confident and tries to test him. It’s important for us to remember what triggers these bouts of testing, as wolf care staff can at times influence pack dynamics when we’re doing daily physical checks.

Boltz – A Dominant Male One Day?

In the wild, many wolves nearing the age of 2 will often disperse from the pack in order to find their own mate to create their own pack. In other cases, they may simply test the rank order within the pack they’re born to, and potentially climb the hierarchy. In captivity however, dispersal is not an option, so testing the rank order naturally comes next. Boltz is finding his way into these testing behaviors. Now and then we see Boltz attempting to ride-up on Aidan, or perform some chin rests. These are all dominance behaviors of a young male attempting to gain some status over the higher ranks. Aidan seems to be taking it in stride now, but it’s unclear if this rank order will be so set in the coming years.

Boltz – Testing the Dominant Male

During wolf care’s last webinar, where participants could view a live lecture inside the exhibit pack’s enclosure from their computer, Boltz was quick to test Aidan when he was briefly found in a subordinate posture. This was a reminder to wolf care staff that he is a young male, still looking for weaknesses and opportunities to climb the rank order. It’s very possible that we could see some of this climb, or at least some attempts at it, this winter.

Boltz – Two-Year-Old Testing

Upon Aidan’s return to the pack after his medical examination, we did notice some posturing towards Aidan from Boltz. 2 year olds will often test the ranks, perhaps to climb them. Aidan ignored most of the advances however, and Boltz did not push his limits. It is important to note these behaviors however. Boltz could very well be the next dominant male after Aidan retires.

Boltz – Coming of Age

Boltz has been the lowest ranking pack member since he was a pup living with all of Luna’s “Special Needs”.  He joined a pack of two strong males, both weighing over 130 lbs and neither one willing to just let Boltz climb to the top of the male rank order.  But, now that Boltz is maturing, we are seeing some sign of his confidence building as he comes of age.  He will be adding a bit more bulk in the upcoming months and will definitely be a player in this winter’s dominance.