Denali – Reverting to an Oversized Juvenile

The pup introduction started with some challenges and Denali’s overactive interactions have not made it much easier.  Denali has been displaying playbow behaviors, which is described as springing up from his front haunches to invite a chase.  Needless to say, a 148 pound wolf chasing around the exhibit was a bit intimidating for Grayson.  We also witnessed Denali pawing at Axel’s head to invite social interaction, but the size of Denali’s paw gave Axel a bit of a pause.  While Aidan maintains the maturity of a pack leader, Denali has reverted to some behaviors reminiscent of his juvenile days.

Denali-A Calm Watcher

This week’s wolf logs are written by behavioral team members Holly Cox, Melinda Gleaton, and Hannah Stouffer based on their observations during the first week of introduction.

Denali’s calm energy was no different during this week of pup introduction. He is very carefree and patient when dealing with the pups and other pack members. He has spent most of his time wandering and observing from afar. Occasionally coming to the font sniffing and wagging his tail around the pups. He also has taken advantage of the extra food during this introduction, caching some of his treats.

Photo by Kelly Godfrey

Denali – Definitely Willing to Greet

It is standard practice for wolf care staff to inspect each wolf for any ticks, bite wounds, burrs, injuries, tenderness or other abnormality that needs attention.  Denali is the most tolerant of this somewhat invasive handling technique and while he may display some anxiety (shown by his ears pricked and turned sideways), he accepts the inspection of two different handlers.  As a lower ranking wolf, he doesn’t seem to be as cautious of showing submission or vulnerability.  When doing a wolf check with a high ranking wolf, staff must be cautious to not put the wolf in a compromising position that may make them a target of a testing pack member.

Denali – New Scents

Summer brings a variety of scents to a wolf exhibit, some welcome and some not so welcome.  We typically see a complete food consumption from our wolves, but sometimes, they may bury a cache that tends to linger during the summer heat.  In this photo, Denali happened upon a cache that stimulated the response to scent roll and mark the odor.  Other smells during the summer are fly ointment, human presence that relates to maintenance, construction and repairs and of course, the ever stimulating smell of the pups.

Denali-Airplane Ears

Boltz has had a variety of behavioral displays since the pups arrived and since he spends most of his social interactions with Denali, Denali is the recipient of those interactions.  In this photo, Boltz had been food begging from Denali and expands the behavior in what we term, “Obnoxious Submission”.  This display includes continue licking and greeting of the face of another wolf often blocking their path of retreat.  Denali displays another classic wolf posture termed “Airplane Ears”, where his ears are off to the side resembling the wings of an aircraft.  This is usually interpreted as a bit of intimidation; we have often witnessed this posture with new and novel stimuli as well.  Denali tends to interact best when there’s no conflict and no subordinate pack members pushing their nose in his mouth.

Denali – Who Do you Think You Are

Denali is receiving a stand-over from Luna which is a dominance display.  His facial expression seems to indicate a less than desirable response to this dominance.  Luna’s become a bit possessive in the presence of the pups and seems to redirect to all pack members.  One would think that Denali’s size would preclude him from this overt behavior, but in the world of wolves, size is not a definitive path to dominance.  We weighed the adult wolves today and Denali, who’s always been the largest wolf on Exhibit, now has  new record.  Denali weighed in a 141.1 pounds an increase from his 136.7 weight last year at this time.

Denali’s interest in the pups is not as significant as the other pack mates.  He watches, but isn’t  as focused as Luna and Boltz.

 

 

Denali – Quick to Investigate

We started the pump to fill the upper pond and Denali is quick to investigate the sound and movement of leaves as they flow down the rocks.  Denali is extremely alert to anything that may be food related, but he is also stimulated by social greetings.  After the Sunday afternoon pup program, the pups spent some time in a rare period of sunshine after several days of rain.  Denali was immediately at the gate, whining to the pups.  Axel approached halfway across the yard, but Grayback sought comfort from the wolf care staff.  There is a noticeable difference between the two pups and it will take some time for them to get familiar with their future pack mates.  Especially a wolf like Denali that looms so large over their heads.

Denali – Notice the Ears?

Denali has camped out in the sand pile in front of the wolf lab ever since the pups have arrived.  On the first evening of their arrival, we brought in a pup blanket that sent Denali into an excited state and seems to be a motivation behind his recent choice of resting spots.  It might be the smell of formula and raw meat that is creating the stimuli or the increased presence of human handlers; whatever the reason, the adults are staying in view of the auditorium windows despite the warming seasonal temperatures. In this photo, Denali has his eyes closed, but his ears are pricked in an alert listening mode.

Denali- Breaking Trail

Being the tallest wolf in the Exhibit Pack may have it’s advantages when involved in a chase behavior or jumping on a rock ledge, but when it comes to traveling under snow-laden branches, the only thing height gets you is a face full of snow.   Denali certainly has a personality that gets him into unusual situations, although that’s part of being a wolf.  Some of the first behaviors we witness in pups is “Investigative Behavior”, as neonates, pups are blind and deaf, but by 14 days of age, they start to hear and start to explore.  Sniffing, listening and looking define a wolf pups at a young age and the same behaviors make wolves successful predators as adults.

Denali- Redirected Dominance

Since the new Wolf Care Center construction is in full swing, there seems to be a slight increase in Aidan’s dominance over Denali, and subsequently, Denali’s redirection to Boltz.  While overall, the wolves have done well with the construction, any prolonged change in the surrounding environment can impact pack behavior.  In this week’s photo, Denali is forcing Boltz into a submissive posture with a behavior we identify as “Squash”, while Boltz struggles to break free.  You may be familiar with this behavior from observing Luna, she frequently displays this behavior to acquire possessions from her larger pack mates.  Notice that Aidan isn’t in the photo, this open display of status would not likely be tolerated by Aidan.