Grizzer is getting a bit wider than usual. Every winter, he grows a thick coat that makes him look like a table top, but this winter, with the added mid-week feeding as a distraction from the construction, and as a necessity to keep Denali occupied, Grizzer's increased access to food is adding a bit to his size. By spring, he will likely lose this weight, but it is something that we are concerned about. Until the construction is complete, we will continue to feed on Wednesday's.
Grizzer is showing more excitement towards wolf care staff and especially towards retirement. When Shadow is dominating Malik, Grizzer is right at the back gate in a high tail. This behavior reinforces our decision to not put Grizzer and Malik together. Grizzer channels some of that excitement towards Oscar, who is always up to something in the yard to keep Grizzer occupied. Otherwise, Grizzer gets a lot of bones and enjoys visits from a large number of wolf care staff. The Level 1 handlers at the Center (we have 3 tiers of handlers based on experience, Level 1 are the newer handlers) are allowed to go in with Grizzer when accompanied by a Level 2 or 3 handler. This means that Grizzer gets far more stimulation by seeing a lot more people. All the other wolves see only a limited number of people due to the increased intensity of their behavior, especially from Shadow and Aidan.
Grizzer continues to get very excited when Wolf Care Staff are in the enclosure or when Oscar is in the wolf yard. He has been whining towards Aidan and Denali when they are involved in activity, and it appears that he runs along the fence line with them. We also see a lot of straw compaction in the new den where the webcam is focused. It appears that's his sleeping spot, with the straw bed in the kennel near the wolf yard having little compaction.
If we could use one Ethogram term to describe Grizzer these days, it would be "Stand Tall". This is an behavior where a wolf stands on an object and pushes the front legs to full extension. This can be interpreted as a confident, and can be viewed in threat displays, social engagement or greetings. When a wolf does this behavior alone, it can also be interpreted as that individual feeling pretty good about themselves. Grizzer has been Standing Tall on top of the den on a regular basis.
Grizzer had an interesting observation from a web viewer last week. I received an email from someone that they observed on the webcam that Grizzer had a raven land on his back. Grizzer looked up at it, but didn't do anything to chase it. My response to the email, Grizzer's tabletop back makes a perfect landing strip. Ravens do increase in population around the enclosure during winter, attempting to scavenge on remaining carcasses. There presence is good stimulation for the wolves, and while wolves in the wild rarely kill ravens, captive wolves have caught a raven or two.
The hazard tree that tipped over and lodged into another tree was removed by chainsaw last week. The wolves were placed into the retired area with the exception of Malik, and were very stimulated by the fresh sawdust and the branch pattern. Grizzer seems most interested in the residual stump, and attempts to climb on it. This will be a good winter stimulus, as snow will likely accumulate on the remaining branches, giving the appearance of a snow cave.
Grizzer has been very social with the pack, showing most activity with Denali, but spending time wrestling with Aidan. He is still very respectful of Shadow, even when Denali isn't. Grizzer is much more relaxed since Malik's retirement, and has initiated many social chases throughout the wooded area of the enclosure. Staff are watchful of Grizzer's interactions with Aidan. At this time, they are just social wrestling, but Grizzer is starting to follow Maya when she chases Aidan, and we want to make sure the excitement level is controlled.
The logs will all be the same this week due to some other obligations of the Curator. Malik has adjusted well to the new privacy fence erected on the fence line facing the Exhibit Pack. He still has an area to view the pack between the fences at the main entrance gate, but by having the 100 foot wall protected, it gives him more security. There was a lot of debate about the wood privacy fence among staff. We weren’t certain that he would have more anxiety if he could hear the pack, but not see them. We also had to determine if his anxiety was about getting back in with the pack, rather than not being the focus of the pack. If he wanted to get back in with them, he would likely become more excited at the lack of visual connection. If he was insecure about them seeing him, and wanted to be protected from them, then he would likely relax. The fact that he was sleeping comfortably in his den within 15 minutes of the fence completion is probably indicative of an attitude that he wanted protection from the pack. He is very relaxed, and as I write this (we have a security camera on him so he is always visible in the lab), he is very relaxed, watching ravens on his food caches. Many people have asked when we will put a webcam on his enclosure, at this time, we don’t want to make any changes to his environment, and want to give him time to adjust. The webcam boxes are large and bulky, necessary to keep the cameras heated in winter, but a bit intrusive for a wolf that is getting used to his life and enclosure. He will be filmed for the weekly YouTube video, and when he is ready, there will be a camera. The main pack is very calm, Maya and Aidan still have some issues, actually, Maya is just dominant, she has no issue. Shadow is extremely social with all pack members, and Denali likes to wrestle, eat and foreleg stab at things. Grizzer is extremely calm, and the removal of the stress between he and Malik has done wonders for him, and the pack tension overall.
Grizzer and Denali have definitely formed a strong social bond, wrestling with each other, and sharing carcasses during a feeding with no aggression. The combined weight of these two make this duo something to take seriously. So far, they haven't shown any aggression towards Shadow, but if Denali is wrestling with Aidan, Grizzer may join in, definitely outweighing Aidan. If either Denali or Grizzer test Shadow this winter, it will be interesting to see if this alliance will make the difference in either one of them winning some status.
Karen Pajari spent 3 days observing the pack after Malik’s retirement and provided the following observations. Grizzer walked and ran along the retirement enclosure fence with Maya, Shadow, and Denali and spent several periods biting at the lock of the holding pen and trying to move the rocks away from that fence line. This is how Grizzer displays anxiety, and certainly indicates that the issues between he and Malik were not over. This helps support the decision to retire Malik. It was observed that Grizzer and Denali were virtually always together. Denali would foreleg stab him, jaw-sparred with him, ride up on his back, and nip his rump. He did occasionally growl at Denali and chase him but also rolled onto his back briefly. This is probably indicative of Denali testing, and it will be important to see how Grizzer responds. Grizzer is part of the chorus howl initiated by Shadow, and remains timid to Shadow’s dominance. This month’s Podcast will review the USDA incident report concerning the aggressive incident that prompted Malik’s retirement and the subsequent management challenges.
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