Grizzer had a little exercise this morning. After being the recipient of several ride-up and chin rests from Denali, he began a chase with an intensity that surprised the wolf care staff and even surprised Denali. I don't think anyone thought Grizzer could move that fast. Needless to say, Grizzer didn't catch Denali and after several minutes, he gave up, panting and headed for the pond. Of course, Denali followed him in the pond, but by that time, the chase was out of Grizzer, but the attitude probably remains. Grizzer is tolerant, but he has his limits.
The following log was written by Wolf Watch Observer: Roberta Ryan<br> <br> Grizzer tends to avoid the other wolves when conflict arises, but when he is interacting, it's almost always with Denali. Jaw sparring, chasing and resting near each other are common behaviors for these two. When wrestling turns into a dominance issue, Grizzer chooses to leave rather than follow through with reinforcing his dominance. Grizzer prefers to be elevated, spending a lot of time on the den or greeting rock, as is shown in his picture this week. He often pushes other wolves off of these spaces so he can rest there. Notably, Grizzer was observed sleeping with Aidan for about half an hour, suggesting that there may be more to his relationships than we know so far.<br> <br> Note from the Curator <br><br> As a reminder, the Wolf Watch program will be scheduled the first Thursday of the month until the pack dynamics settles into some defined leadership. For more information, check out the Program tab on the website under Seminars…
Grizzer revealed an interesting set of behaviors during the Wolf Watch. He clearly has mastered the skill of intimidation without even touching Denali. His main technique is waiting in ambush, hiding behind bushes or rocks, waiting for Denali to wander in range. These sessions lasted several minutes, with him moving about the enclosure, repeating the behavior frequently, causing Denali to have a very restless, active evening. Grizzer has a very intense direct eye stare, and he uses it frequently on Denali. It does appear that Grizzer's focus on Aidan has diminished, and he is far more tolerant of Aidan, allowing Aidan to bed down near him on several occasions. If we had to interpret a dominant male at this time, we would have to conclude that Grizzer is in this role, although we never would have predicted it. Grizzer is much different than Shadow and rather than physically control this pack through hard muzzle bites, he is controlling this pack through body language and intimidating body postures. It is truly amazing to watch, and we plan on running at least one more Wolf Watch on the first Thursday of October to reinforce our current observations. One thing for sure, Grizzer acts differently without wolf care staff in the enclosure and these behavioral watches are key to truly understanding the pack dynamics.
Three months ago, if someone would have told me that Grizzer would be leading this pack, I never would have believed it. Grizzer showed very little leadership qualities at least to the standard that Shadow set, but here we area, and what Grizzer lacks in direct interaction, he far exceeds the standard in body language. Grizzer makes Denali nervous merely by hiding behind a rock, perking his ears forward and appearing that an ambush is imminent. With Grizzer's size, his burst of speed are fairly limited, and even though Denali can outrun him, it is unlikely that Grizzer will catch him.
Grizzer is again gaining some sympathy from wolf care staff, observations have shown Denali to be more assertive in his testing and be best described as obnoxious or in kinder terms, relentless. Grizzer has the tail structure that shows he is confident, but he lacks the effort to assert his position. He appears to want to avoid conflict, and only deal with dominance issues when his frustration levels elevate. This is probably not a good management style, don't react until you over react, but maybe Grizzer will learn some proactive techniques from Maya. One thing we have observed, Aidan and Grizzer were staying near each other in the den, and Aidan doesn't show nearly as much intimidation by Grizzer as Denali does. This should make Aidan's life a bit more comfortable.
Today Grizz howled with a nanny. Anxious during pen cleaning. Whined and paced a lot, recquired a lot of reassurance. Did fairly well during presentation. Was interested in deer hide. Became stressed towards the end of the program. Did well during program. Was interested in pine cone and deer hide. He also played with Nubee and Groan.
Today, Grizz is 24 days old. The picture shows Grizz and Groan jaw sparring with one another during a dominance interaction. Prior to the 8 am feeding Grizz weighed 6.0 pounds and had gained a half pound by the 8 pm feeding, weighing 6.5 lbs. Grizz has shown interest in the camera equipment. Staff has had to distract him from biting the equipment several times.
Today, Grizz is 25 days old. Also note a change in measuring protocol, making Grizz appear to have gained length, when in fact he only gained a few CM. Public programs so far has been the most stressful on Grizz. During programs he paces the perimeter of the fence, whines, and his respiration and heart rate increase. Staff is currently working on new and creative methods to distract Grizz during programming. To date Grizz has been the most submissive to his handlers. There were several instances today where he submissively rolled over and allowed staff to scratch his belly. Grizz continues to maintain a voracious feeding behavior.
Today, Grizz is 23 days old. He has been biting and chewing on a birch log which is a simulation of an attack behavior seen in adult wolves. He has also been attacking many of the toys and balsam boughs found in the pen. In fact he pulled one of the balsam boughs from the fence and drug it five feet across the pen before leaving it as dead.
Grizz is 26 days old today. He is becoming used to the public programs and slept through them today. After coming back from a program, he enxibited his first play-bow. He continues to be the most submissive to his handlers. He also started exhibiting digging behaviors. When a small amount of sand was placed into the puppy pen, he sniffed it and began trying to dig in it. Staff also started Grizz on weaning formula given to him in a bowl. He smelled it and consumed a small portion. He is continuing to jaw spar with his sister and has been showing more dominance over her.
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