In an effort to get Shadow and Malik accustomed to retirement, we have been allowing them in the retired enclosure several times a week. Initially, Malik was reluctant to come into holding with Grizzer, but lately, he's been entering the holding area, and running into retirement. His change in behavior may have something to do with Grizzer showing some anxiety to the new den, and Malik sees this as an opportunity. Malik has spent time in the den, and even went for a swim in the retired enclosure pond. He seems accepting of the retired enclosure, which will go a long way in making him comfortable when the inevitable transfer to retirement occurs.
Written by program participants Charlie and Sierra Stearns: On Saturday, while Shadow and Grizzer were involved in a dominance challenge, Malik circled around the enclosure in order to stay out of the fray. Throughout the weekend, Malik frequently came close to the observation windows and showed interest in the people inside the auditorium. Malik continues to aknowledge his lower status compared to Grizzer. He spent most of the weekend laying on the greeting rock as if "posing" for pictures.
Malik is fairing well, although as the lowest ranking male it is likely that there will be some dominance focused on him as winter approaches. One such event occurred on Sunday morning. There was a short dominance display with Grizzer and Shadow pinning Malik, and following him in a fast gate around the pond. Following is an intimidation behavior that is quite effective. One of the Center staff created a distraction to stop the interaction, but it was likely the influence of the cooler mornings and a bit of anxiety about the deer carcass thawing in the wolf yard. There will be discussions on management options to increase the stimulus, and likely the feedings as winter approaches, which in turn may reduce the redirected aggression toward Malik. Grizzer consumes a lot of food and he gets excitable when he’s even the slightest bit hungry. Of course, we are concerned about his body weight, especially since his winter coat makes him appear so much larger, but with pups coming to the facility in the summer of 2008, he will likely wear off any excess fat from the winter.
The following logs were written by Nannies, Vicki Bomberger and Lynne Haines: <br> Malik was active the last few days during the cooler weather. While Maya and Shadow show extreme interested in the pups, Malik spends less time at the fence by the pups, however, Maya did a full body block of Malik from the pup den. Malik, Grizzer and Shadow spent some of Saturday afternoon near the viewing rocks. All three were relaxed. Malik and Maya were the first two wolves on the carcass during the Sunday feeding. Malik at one point successfully defended the carcass from Grizzer. Later, Malik started a pack howl.
Malik is doing well, he will be the most likely wolf to benefit from the mid-week feeding, although indirectly. The pack seems to be very calm lately and that makes Malik less anxious. When tensions are high, Malik spend a fair amount of time growling at any wolf that approaches, which only ends up aggrevating the group. We still see him get into the mix, he seems to like to be in the middle of interaction showing a high tail until someone reminds him of his status. This week's photo is a perfect example of this.
Written by Planning for Pups participants Maria Perdziak, Jill Badyrka, and Tom Skorupinski: Although Malik is the third ranking male in the exhibit pack, he is comfortable in his environment. This is evident in the relaxed posture in the sphinx pose with ears pricked forward. Overall he demonstrates confidence even with Grizzer stalking him and mantains a high tail posture.
There’s not much to report for Malik’s log, the second feeding in the pack has given him a chance to gain some extra food. He’s been very agile, with many bouts of running across the logs. He remains cautious about Grizzer, but with Grizzer having a fuller than usual stomach, there aren’t too many chase scenes going on. Malik’s video show him eating on of the Wednesday snacks, a front deer leg from a recent roadkill.
I received an email of concern about Malik, so I thought I would share my response with everyone who might be concerned with the wolf dominance behavior that we are experiencing. We always have concerns for the omega wolves as caretakers for the wolves, we're human and we think emotionally. Wolves are wolves, they don't think like humans do on an emotional level, but think as a wolf, a socially dynamic animal that lives in a rank order based on abilities and strengths. Calm, assertive behavior keeps the pack calm. Anxious, nervous energy is viewed as a weakness. A classic wolf behavior it to express anxiety over strangers, changes to routines and anything different. Such is the problem, when work needs to be done in an exhibit. We had a great wolf check this morning, Malik, Shadow and Grizzer all got a venison roast, while Maya made off with the deer head. Whatever anxiety they had last week seems to be over. Thanks for checking the logs, we appreciate the fact that people see how incredible these individuals are and that they respect them as wolves. Unfortunately, because they are wolves, there will be behaviors that effect the human emotion. Our job is to understand them, care for them and be calm and stable when interacting in the wolf yard.
Malik continues to be the low ranking wolf with the high ranking tail. Whenever possible, Malik approaches the other wolves with a high tail showing his willingness for a higher ranking status. Most of the time, Shadow shows no concern over this posture and ignores him, whereas Grizzer sees this as something to address. Fortunately for Malik, Grizzer’s follow through is lacking. Generally, Grizzer chases Malik a few times around the pond and over the logs, and then stops to interact with Maya or rest on the greeting rock. Malik stays on the other end of the enclosure for a while, and then repeats his higher ranking tail. This arrangement seems to work for this group of males. In this week’s image, Malik displays a sign of status by scraping the ground after doing defecation.
Written by Workin' For Wolves program participants Shannon MacDonald and Susan Meyers: Much time was spend this weekend on placement of rocks around the pond in the main exhibit, and birch logs placed throughout. Malik was observed inspecting the logs and seemed very curious about staff and volunteer activities in the wolf yard. It was apparent that Malik was aware of the rest of the pack's proximity most times. He was observed frequently checking over his shoulder and would avert his gaze when another wolf was seen nearby, as was seen in one incident with Maya. Malik was also observed with his ears pricked forward and alert with Shadow in the background, a difference in his usual body posture.
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