Boltz- Spring Snows

Boltz is displaying a submissive ear posture as he makes his way through yet another spring snow event.  Staff are sympathetic to his behavior expression of submission, we are all voicing the same opinion;  Enough with the snow.. let spring begin.  While we know weather affects our human lives, it’s important to remember that wildlife are affected by weather as well.  There are physiological impacts of weather in the form of hypothermia, physical changes to a wolves pelage as temperatures warm and shedding of the undercoat occurs.  But in captivity, we witness behavioral changes that can occur with weather.  Our ambassador wolves get excited with the first snows of the year or the crisp cool air that transitions fall into winter, but by spring, the stimulus seems to be greatest as the weather warms and melt occurs.  As we endure another spring snowfall, the expression of submission is more often witnessed than excitement.   Maybe it’s the influence of the human handlers, wolves  are definitely influenced by the energy and attitude of their caretakers.

Boltz -Mixed Signals

Boltz is displaying a T-2 tail posture that indicates a more assertive posture, whether it be related to dominance, predatory or investigation behavior.  The mixed signal is in Boltz’s ear posture.  While his tail shows assertive behavior, his ears are pricked and turned sideways, usually an indication of tension.  The other notable postures in this photo is that Aidan is standing tall, his ears are also pricked and turned sideways, with a slight wag to his T-2 Tail.  Our interpretation of this response is that he’s facing off with Boltz and confronting Boltz’s display, but there’s a slight anxiety about the interaction show in the ear posture and tail wag.  It’s been our experience with the testing of previous pack leaders, that these subtle behaviors can be important when predicting the loss of confidence in a dominant wolf.

Boltz – Alert and Relaxed

In previous logs, we have referenced the importance of body postures to indicate a wolf’s attitude.  We are particularly interested when these body postures represent an alert and focused lower ranking wolf.  Boltz will be turning 4 years of age in March and so far, he has been somewhat reserved when posturing for status.  This doesn’t mean that he isn’t always watching for opportunities and can take advantage of another vulnerable wolf, but at this point, his timid personality trait prevails.  Of course as a science driven organization, we are always interested in the nature versus nurture debate.  We know that wolves respond differently to changes in their environment.  When the construction of the new Wolf Care Center started, the dominant wolves seemed to be more anxious about the work than the lower ranking wolves.  In this photo, Boltz is alert to the activity displaying ears pricked forward, but the tail is in a T-3 or relaxed position.  Maybe if you’re at the bottom of the pack order, there isn’t much concern about external distractions, but when your at the to top, it’s just one more thing to test your position. 

Boltz – Opportunistic Carnivores

Biologists will often describe wolves as opportunistic carnivores.  This generally relates to their hunting behavior, rather than fitting into a defined prey selection method, wolves tend to look for opportunities for the easiest prey.  In captivity, where hunting for prey is restricted to the stray squirrel or songbird, there seems to be some transfer of predatory behaviors to fellow pack members.  This can start out as social behavior, stalking and ambushing another pack member, leading to a chase around the enclosure with tails wagging.  In the case of some dominance behavior, this can also be observed with younger wolves, watching an older pack leader for vulnerability.  We typically see this when our dominant pack leaders are between 8 – 10 years of age, and our subordinate pack members are in the 2 – 4 year range.  As we enter the year 2016, we have entered the time where older wolves have weaknesses  and opportunistic young adults are quick to respond.  As we look at Boltz’s gaze and head posture, it suggests a wolf looking for opportunities.

Boltz – Distant, but Curious

Boltz is not quite as socialized as the other wolves on site, and so he tends to be more cautious when approaching staff.  Some days he is quick and excitable to greet, other days he tends to shy away. The snow has created quite a bit of excitement, and investigative behavior in all of the wolves, including Boltz.

Boltz – Testing when he can

As shown in this week’s youtube video, Boltz opportunistically tests Aidan. If Aidan is preoccupied with dominating another wolf (often Luna, but sometimes Denali as well), Boltz may attempt to ride up, or otherwise test Aidan’s status. With pups on the way next year, it’s important that we keep Aidan as calm and stress free as possible, because as Aidan’s confidence wanes, it opens up more opportunities for Boltz to test his status.

Boltz – In Tune and On Alert

Boltz is known for being shy, somewhat timid around flies and often on the sidelines of activity.  His intense eye stare is memorable for those who have had the honor of being face to face with him at the Center.  Even watching YouTube videos, his shy personality is obvious.  But, what we see when we interact with him is a wolf that seems to be constantly watching.  He is quick to respond to an opportunity to show some status and demonstrates that in this week’s photo.  Note Luna’s tucked tail while Boltz is “Standing Tall” with his “Ears Perked”.  If we fast forward 3 or 4 years, he definitely has what it takes to be a pack leader.

 

Boltz- Showing Some Excitement

Boltz has been showing an increased level of excitement due in part to the return of one of his favorite wolf care staff, Assistant Curator, Donna Prichard’s return to the Center.  Donna was a significant part of the 2012 pup socialization process, and even though she spends her summers away from the Center, Boltz always associates her return with a positive experience.  Wolves are social carnivores and the social bonds established as pups seem to have a life-long presence. 

Boltz – The intensity of his gaze

The following is written by Night at the Museum – Wolf Watch participants Noelle and Kara Holter

Boltz has an interesting relationship with the pack. He is the most stand offish. When we were observing through the fence during our behind the scenes program, Boltz waited until the other three wolves left before he approached for an ice cube treat. He would occasionally smell participants. His glare is extremely intimidating!

Boltz seemed to be the most independent of the group, being comfortable with being on his own.

Boltz – A T1 Tail

Over the summer, many visitors have experienced Boltz in a subordinate, fly avoiding behavior.  In this photo, we see that Boltz has another side.  He is incredibly alert and seems to mimic Aidan’s behaviors.  This includes some focused dominance on Luna.  In this photo, Boltz shows a T1 tail that is in stark contrast to his tucked T4 tail when a fly buzzes his head. Everyone has to start somewhere.  When Aidan was a  yearling, he had the same postures, but it wasn’t a fly buzzing his head, it was Maya.