Denali – A Chin Rest

Denali is demonstrating a chin rest on Boltz, but his ears pricked to the side don’t demonstrate a lot of confidence in his actions.  If you look at Boltz’s ears, he doesn’t display a lot of confidence in the behavioral interaction either.  This is the dynamics between a subordinate male (Boltz) and a passive second ranking male (Denali).  Denali never really displays behaviors to increase his rank.  He seems to be comfortable being subordinate to his dominant pack mate, Aidan.  But, when Boltz started showing an interest in climbing rank, Denali appeared to reluctantly show some status.  Fortunately for Denali, Boltz has a timid behavior seems to go with the flow.  Will two more male pups change this dynamic?  Not likely until they reach maturity around 18 – 24 months of age, by then, Denali and Aidan will be getting ready for retirement. 

Denali – Pelage Changes with Age

Visitors and staff alike comment on the coloration changes of our older wolves, particularly Denali.  He is definitely changing with age physically, his facial coloration is more cream colored than the golden brown of his youth, but this is one wolf that is not changing behaviorally.  Denali still displays the youthful, tail-wagging, play-bowing exuberance reminiscent of his youth.  Certainly, individual personality traits can dictate wolf behavior, but it is interesting to investigate behavioral correlations to rank status.  Aidan as a dominant pack leader tends to be more keyed into asserting dominance.  Denali, as a lower ranking pack member, tends to display a more social response to pack activities.

Denali – Filter Housing Tester

In the last month we have completed much of the work on our new filter housing. This cement shelter will allow us to install a UV filter to help kill the algae in the pond when it is running. This will save us a lot of money draining, cleaning, and refilling the pond as we often had to do prior to this filter. Last week we finished bolting in much of the metal roof that rests on top of it, and Denali was quick to give us a good test of it, as seen in this week’s youtube. The new structure in the enclosure appears to be a good stimulus, and is quickly becoming a favorite sleeping spot for the wolves.

Denali – Curiosity in the Enclosure

We have been working hard in recent weeks to finish a cement housing for an above-ground UV Light filter for the pond. This filter will assist in killing algae that grows in the pond during the summer, which allows us to reduce the amount of times it has to be drained and cleaned, and thusly reduce costs for the water needed to refill it each time. Because of this, we’ve had a temporary fence enclosure set up inside the exhibit pack’s area, which Denali has investigated numerous times. We are still waiting on a few parts, and so the fence will remain up as we complete this project. We try to make our temporary fences as wolf-proof as possible, but the Ambassador Wolves have, in the past, shown that they can outsmart our barriers every now and then. For now though, Denali appears to be unable to thwart this fence line.

Denali with a H-1,2 Posture

Denali is in a unique position within the pack. He is a true litter mate to Aidan and is subordinate in that relationship. If Denali attempts to show some dominance, Aidan is quick to remind him of his lower rank. Denali will often respond with a drop of the head and a quick submissive paw acknowledging the message. These are calm communications that help define the pack order.  Unfortunately, Denali is also the recipient of redirection aggression that can be expressed when Aidan’s tension increases.   How can wolf care staff tell the difference? We look for the hackles.   Hackles are defined as the ridge of hair that is located on the middle of the back, starting at the neck and extending to the tail. Hackles are not a voluntary response, but are believed to be the influence of the “arrector pili” muscles attached to hair follicles, stimulated by the nervous system, triggered by adrenaline. The flight or fight response can be another description when assessing hackles. Typically the response of hackles is not aggression, but one of fear, insecurity and defensive response to the action of others. In our Ethogram, we code behaviors based on their presence on the neck (H-1), shoulder -mid-back (H-2), rump (H-3) and tail (H-4). A hackle code of H- 1,2.3.4 tells wolf care staff they need to stick around and see what happens next.

Denali – Hot or Bothered?

We all know animals pant when hot, but animals may become overheated by stressful situations.  Denali has been facing a bit of anxiety as the fall approaches and Boltz and Luna seem to be increasing their activity.  Activity is good; Activity keeps older animals fit, but sometimes the three-year old activity can be a bit more physical and bothersome to a middle-aged wolf.  Denali also has the occasional redirected aggression from Aidan, his brother and pack leader.  To sum it up, Denali is usually on the receiving end of a scruff bite, a ride-up, or some kind of force to bring his 136 pound frame to a subordinate posture.  So, you may have heard me say…”when is a yawn not just a yawn, but an expression of anxiety”?  We also have to say, when is a panting wolf just hot or is there more to the issue.   These are the training details we incorporate for all of our wolf care staff, future pup care members and Wolf Watch participants.  Our next Wolf Watch program is October 2nd, or join us for our Fall Equinox webinar on Wednesday, September 23rd, behavioral interpretation is the focus of our wolf care programs.

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Denali – The laid back wolf

The following is written by Night at the Museum – Wolf Watch participant Anna Toenjes

Denali is comfortable in his pack role, greeting Aidan when appropriate and keeping Boltz below him when need be. Denali walks shoulder to shoulder with Luna and Boltz, tails wagging and faces are licked. He lets Luna push him around a bit. She can stand over him while he’s eating and steal food from him and he tolerates it. Most of the time he’s laid back and enjoys sprawling on the big rock under the white pine.

Denali – Just Chilling

August is known for warm and humid days.  People tend to refer to them as the dog days of summer due to the extreme heat and humidity. Because of these extreme temperatures, most dogs will spend most of their day resting just to stay cool.  Our Exhibit Pack wolves are no different.  We are often asked why is August worse when July can actually have hotter temperatures?   In July, wolves have fully shed their winter undercoat, leaving a comfortable set of guard hairs, but no dense undercoat.  They stay relatively cool even on a hot July day because of their summer pelage.  By mid-August, wolves begin growing their undercoat. The combination of a dense undercoat and the August heat, makes it a challenge to stay cool.  Add the humidity of August that reduces a canid’s ability to evaporate heat when panting, and you have a behavioral need to remain inactive.  So why grow an undercoat in August?  Fall nights start to cool down and those of us who live in a northern climate know that winter is right around the corner.

 

Denali – Wolf Ethology Observations

This week’s wolf logs are based on observations by our Biology 1476: Wolf Ethology participants

Wolf Ethology Participant – Denali is a calmer wolf who avoids conflict when he can – sometimes he’ll play peacemaker, trying to distract wolves from an intense situation. Sometimes he takes the focus of the mobbing. Aidan and Luna both dominated Denali at different times last night, sitting on his head and ‘squashing’ him at times.

Wolf Ethology Participant – During the webinar Denali tended to be in the forefront of the activity. Aidan appeared to show some signs of stress (possibly due to the high winds). Luna may have picked up on this stress redirected towards Denali. At one point Denali performed a stand-over and squash on Aidan. This activity seemed to trigger a response from Luna, who continued to show dominance over Denali. The rest of the pack joined in, chasing Denali around the enclosure. After 10-15 minutes, the activity subsided and the pack seemed more calm.

Denali – Dealing with the summer heat

Wolves are built to withstand extremely cold temperatures, but summer heat can be a challenge for them. We recently added a pile of dirt to the enclosure that has been an excellent source of relief for the wolves. Wolf care staff often water the dirt down to retain some coolness and moisture for the wolves to rest on, and as you can see in this week’s photo, they take advantage of it.