We've certainly observed a different side of Denali in the last several weeks. A once gregarious wolf that tested everything and everyone one, is now more intimidated and quite nervous about engaging in behavior, particularly with Grizzer. There still seems to be a drive to test, but his confidence seems to be lacking. The interesting thing is that Grizzer is doing this intimidation with very little physical contact, the dominance is primarily though body language, which probably makes Denali more nervous.
Well, it appears that Grizzer is not willing to give up any status, and it also appears that Denali is not willing to just accept a 2nd ranking role, so this means, the testing continues, and continues. During wolf care, Denali can be best described as obnoxious, and not just to Grizzer, wolf care staff get the pleasure of this exuberant young adult as well. It is hard to predict how this will be settled, but no doubt, there will probably be a stand off between these two individuals. We are offering one more Wolf Watch program on October 7th, this one should be interesting.
Denali does not appear to have any intent on submitting to Grizzer or Maya for that matter. His behavior has become increasingly tense, constantly pawing at Grizzer until Grizzer has enough and chases him. Of course, this chasing makes Maya seek out Aidan. If we had one key to solving this tension, it would be encouraging Denali to be a 2nd ranking male. But all of our wishing will not make it happen. Grizzer needs to be more definitive in his leadership and earn some respect. Grizzer showing no dominance towards Denali and Aidan when they were young is probably contributing to this situation.
The following observation was written by Wolf Watch participant Cameron Feaster. <br> Denali continues to test Grizzer. If Grizzer has a button to push, Denali always finds it. It's important to note that not all of these dominance interactions start with Denali. Grizzer does his fair share of stalking and chasing or Denali as well. It appears that it will be quite some time before Denali accepts his position as second ranking male, if he ever accepts it.
Denali seems to have reduced some of his testing behavior, possibly because Grizzer has become more proactive in showing dominance. We have noticed Denali trying to engage Grizzer through direct eye contact, but Grizzer is really a non-confrontational personality, he tends to avert Denali's gaze and avoid interacting. Denali still looks a bit nervous when Grizzer starts chasing him, but his long legs can our distance every member of the pack.
The log postings are all the same this week, we have a Working for Wolves program this weekend and will post some behavioral observations from participants on Sunday. The Exhibit Pack is doing well, despite the increased aggression that is typical of the first cold and snow of the year. Both packs received straw on their dens which is always a source of initial excitement, but also encourages bedding behavior. Malik's abscessed tooth has healed, as his photo shows no indication of the scar. Shadow continues to take small portions of food on a daily basis with a peak of interest when the weather turned cold.
Denali has always been know for being an opportunistic tester. Grizzer experienced it last winter and Aidan deals with this behavior if there's anything that causes him stress. We finished the Behind the Scenes programs this week and it appear that Aidan, who's generally shyer, had some intimidation during the programs. This prompted Denali to do some ride-up behaviors, jawsparring and pinning Aidan. Denali gets pretty excited in a short period of time, this is why he will be the 2nd wolf to meet the pups during the introduction.
Denali still seems to respond in a submissive posture to Aidan, but there are times when he attempts a bit of dominance. Our preference is that Aidan takes the lead with the pup introduction as he has better qualities of leadership and dominance than Denali. Denali is much more about chasing and wrestling behaviors, which might be a good outlet for Boltz, but doesn't do much for establishing boundaries in the pack.
It is always hard to predict how an individual wolf will act when they meet pups. Denali appears to have a lot of high excitement, running along the fence and wagging his tail, especially if Oscar and Boltz are wrestling. For those of you who may have been around the Center's operation in 2008, you may recall another wolf who appeared to socially engage more than discipline. Grizzer was the instigator of play behavior with the pups and while that made the pups comfortable, we know that when they reached 2 years of age, they didn't respect Grizzer's rank. It will be interesting to see how Denali responds.
Denali is acting just like Grizzer during a pup introduction. When Denali came into the pack holding area, he made no effort to show any dominance behavior towards the pups, but instead, ran along side as if he were a pup himself. The biggest issue we have with Denali is that he is a bit food possessive and makes it a challenge to feed the pups. Aidan respects the pups possessions, delivers them food and doesn't try to take food from them, Denali is the opposite. With the pups reluctant to feed when moved off the Exhibit (they are anxious to be separated from the adults), we have to feed sufficient amounts of deer or beaver to allow the pups to satiate and compensate for Denali's consumption. Fortunately, Luna can drive Denali off a carcass and defend it.
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