Avoiding Conflict

Denali is the largest wolf in the Exhibit Pack, but he is the least likely to start any dominance, of course, unless it’s over food.  Denali seems to avoid conflict, but he seems to like social engagement and greetings with his fellow pack members.  Every wolf personality is different and they all seem to mesh to produce a cohesive pack structure.  At this point, Denali is frequently observed in a tail wag greeting, unless Luna or Aidan show some dominance, then he is quick to drop to the ground and submit.

Laid Back

Denali continues to show no dominant behavioral traits over Boltz, which means that Boltz can take advantage of Denali anytime. Fortunately for Denali, that’s not Boltz’s personality trait. Denali is most harassed by Luna, who seems to focus on Denali’s subordinate traits. Luna is not as easily distracted as Boltz, which means our ability to give Denali some relief from Luna is limited. But, Denali has discovered his own escape. We have a double high rock pile that is nearly 5 feet off the ground which Luna rarely climbs and has become a good location for Denali to get some Luna free time.

Gained Status

This log written by Wolf Care Staff volunteer, Cameron Feaster. In this week’s youtube video, you can see Luna performing a stand-over Denali, while Boltz is actively submitting to him. The dynamics between Boltz and Denali seem to be in a constant change, it appears Denali has regained some status over Boltz in the past few weeks. However, this doesn’t keep Boltz and Denali from feeding on beavers together.

A Nip or Two

This entry was written by visiting Wolf Care Staff Volunteer, Cameron Feaster. Though Denali would not likely challenge Aidan outright for the position of dominant male in the exhibit pack, he never seems to miss an opportunity to get a nip in here or there during a dominance interaction between the yearlings and Aidan. During one of these interactions this week, when Aidan’s excitability caused him to be the focus of Boltz and Luna, Denali was seen at the edge of the interaction, moving in to get a nip or two on Aidan while he was distracted with the yearlings.

Giving Thanks

I would like to thank all of the members and donors who support our educational mission at the International Wolf Center. I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving and would like to report that all of the wolves are doing well. We have some great pack interactions as the winter begins and our wolf care staff are so honored to work with these incredible ambassador wolves.

Tail Wags

The topic for Denali this week is tail wags.. There were several observations of Denali this week watching a wolf from across the enclosure, making direct eye contact and stimulating them to stalk and chase him. These are all very social behaviors and even though they might result in a chase, the results are submissive and calm.

Mild Mannered

We cannot say this too many times. We are so fortunate that our largest wolf is the most mild mannered wolf on the Exhibit. Denali likes to wag his tail, greet the rest of the pack and stay out of the yearlings line of sight when they are jaw sparring. He is completely submissive to Aidan and just a look from Aidan will result in Denali dropping his head to the ground and submitting. While at the International Wolf Center Symposium in October, I listened to some great presentations about the dynamics of the Yellowstone wolves and how each wolf had a different personality. We can attest to that and it’s why we believe in a socialized wolf exhibit that helps demonstrate that part of wolf life that people seem to forget.

Avoiding Conflict

Denali can certainly get excited about pack dynamics, but fortunately, when the tension increases, he tends to avoid conflict. He has been described as a gentle giant, and to those of us who have the privilege of working with him on a daily basis, we couldn’t find a better description. Denali has the most animated tail wag, often engaging one of the yearlings from across the enclosure.

Juvenile Behavior

Denali continues to act like a third juvenile and has become the focus of Luna’s attention. He seems to willingly take dominance and unless the pack is involved, shows great willingness to submit. When the pack does get involved (particularly Aidan), he displays some very intense hackle response.

Forced Submission

Denali has had his fair share of forced submission lately, mostly stimulated by Aidan. There does seem to be some limits of how active Denali can be with Luna. If Luna let’s out a squeal, even if she started something, Aidan is quick to end the interactions. Fortunately for Denali, Aidan’s not an overly active dominant leader. He’s actually quite relaxed, watching interaction with limited intervention on most days. But, Denali seems to have a constant interaction with Luna when there’s activity and it usually involves Luna grabbing a scruff of Denali’s neck hair.  This will be the only posting this week due to the International Wolf Center Symposium in Duluth, Minnesota that starts on Thursday. There are still opportunities to register, check out the details at www.wolf.org.