In an effort to allow the wolves to investigate the Retired Enclosure after the loss of Lakota, the pack has been given supervised access to the Retired Enclosure several times in the last week. It is great stimulus for the pack, and Grizzer spent time scent rolling, checking out the strength of the den, and while he didn't discover the newly planted trees, we are sure that he will eventually. This is why the visits are supervised. Grizzer continues to be a calm and social influence with the pups, and they do seek him out while he is resting on the straw on top of the den. Of course, Grizzer does like his straw resting spots, so this might change as the winter progresses. A YouTube video was posted with the activity in the Retired Enclosure.
Grizzer showed a lot of excitement going into the Retired Enclosure to reunite with the pups, but the excitement may have been more about the enclosure than the pups. Since the Retired Enclosure was still a new stimulus, there were things to smell and things to investigate. Grizzer spent some time digging up old caches, but once back in the Exhibit Enclosure, he was back to his same behavior of being submissive to the pups and letting them climb on him. Aidan took out some of his frustration on him by doing a head shake, and Malik had a few jabs and quick bites, but overall, Grizzer took it in stride.
Grizzer continues to be very calm with the pups, tolerating most of their actions, but when there’s new straw on top of the den and he wants to rest there, the pup’s interference is too much. As his video shows, he is asserting his dominance, but it’s with a fairly controlled muzzle bite.
Grizzer has had a major set back in his confidence as pack leader. This situation is complicated by the appearance of Maya's indifference to Aidan's increase in status, despite the altercation between them last week. Grizzer and Maya still sleep on the den together, but if Grizzer has to deal with the 2 younger pack mates on his own, his ears go flat back and his tail drops.
It was clear to us that Grizzer had lost all confidence and would not be rejoining the Exhibit Pack upon Maya's death. We are giving him a chance to recuperate in the pack holding area, and are building his physical as well as psychological health. Wolf care staff erected a wood barrier facing the Exhibit Pack to give Grizzer some sense of visual cover from Aidan and Denali. This has helped him tremendously and he has been sleeping soundly, probably the most restful sleep he has had since testing began in November. We are in the planning stages for a new enclosure for Grizzer, and haven't ruled out the possibility of some type of visitation arrangements between Grizzer and Shadow. We are also watching Malik very closely, at this point, he shows no fear association towards Grizzer and even though Grizzer deposed him in 2009, Grizzer's lack of confidence now may be a factor in reducing that risk towards Malik. No decisions will be made for a while, Grizzer needs time to recover. Also, summer is the best time for wolf changes to social companions.
Today Grizz is 72 days old. Grizz gets more active every day, engaging in long bouts of running and playing with his packmates. His aggression towards nannies has also diminished, and he seems to be focusing more on attempting to dominate Nyssa and Maya. He explores a lot, and has become an accomplished climber and jumper.
Grizzer continues to be social with the pups, engaging them in contact and rolling over when they grab him. This causes some dominant behavior from Malik, but so far Grizzer continues to be tolerant of it and lets the pups climb on him. This will likely change when winter approaches, but so far, it's been good for the pups to have this social outlet and to learn about pack dominance without too much aggression. The video clips posted with the wolf logs are very short, if you would like to see several minutes of the pack activitiy, we are now posting weekly videos on Youtube. To locate these videos, search for the International Wolf Center.
While Grizzer is still social with the pups, the pups are showing a bit more aggressive behavior towards him, probably due to the lack of discipline. Grizzer gets overwhelmed sometimes and has started displaying a huff or half bark towards the pups, and runs away from them. It seems like he doesn't want to dominate them, but just wants them to stop chewing on him. Unfortunately, that means he needs to show a little more dominance. This will likely come as the fall weather and the pups size increases. But as wolf care staff have learned, it's better to start showing boundaries young, or the pups will take advantage of you.
Grizzer continues to let out a half bark at the pups, flustered when they get too active. He is also teaching Denali some bad habits, like banging on the water bowl before a feeding. On Wednesday, Shadow had a bit of irritation with some activity in the wolf yard, and started bark-howling. This created redirection toward Grizzer, with some hard muzzle bites and intense aggression. Grizzer then redirected toward Malik and did a chase around the pond. The pups scattered, and watched before Denali began in the chase. When Shadow dominates Grizzer, he is very submissive, and Malik takes advantage of the situation and goes in on a bite for Grizzer, but when Grizzer is away from Shadow, there is no question that Grizzer is higher ranking than Malik.
The wolf logs for the Exhibit Pack will contain the same text, due to extra time needed for Lakota (see Lakota's log). The Exhibit Pack is doing well, consuming a lot of food and spending quite a bit of time in and on the new den. The wolf care staff heard wild wolves howl several times on Saturday's overnight, which may explain why Shadow has been doing so many lone defensive howls lately. Aidan appears to be catching up to Denali's weight, and the pups continue to eat on a daily basis, either a carcass with the pack on Saturdays and Wednesday's or daily chicken, beef or venision during the other evenings.
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