The nervousness that Malik has been experiencing is related to a large aspen tree that blew over on the fence in one of the latest in the series of windstorms. Lori Schmidt and Joyce Riveroll entered the enclosure and cut the tree off with a chainsaw. All the wolves had chainsaw conditioning when they were pups, and all stood back and watched while the tree was cut, showing no fear anxiety. As a side note, Aidan and Denali also heard the saw, lifted their head to look and listen, then went back to sleep. This is important for a wooded enclosure that has frequent chainsaw issues.
Malik has been taking advantage of Grizzer's calm nature and submissive posture to the pups. When Grizzer is flat on his back, Malik comes over with a high tail and attempts to dominate. The Behavioral Team did observe a mobbing of Grizzer by the pack, where all wolves are chasing and dominanting one wolf. Grizzer was a bit anxious about it, but as fall approaches, his dominance and tolerance for Malik will likely change.
Malik's response to the pups today was better than expected. He did regurgitate some meat for the pups while in the pack holding area, and did have some soft muzzle bites over food possession issues with the pups, but overall, he was very tolerant. Shadow did dominate Malik early in the introduction and set the tone for the subordinate males interactions. One notable behavior related to the pups behavior, the seemed to target Malik for a chase and Denali did a ride-up behavior on Malik, a possible sign of dominance, or excitement.
Malik has reduced the amount of grab bites towards Grizzer when Grizzer is subordinate to the pups. It does seem that he getting used to Grizzer’s more timid behavior and not taking advantage of it as he had done in the first week of the introduction. The pups seem to pick up on Malik’s anxiety as a weakness and have done some ride-up behaviors, showing dominance. But overall, the pups are well received by all members, including Malik.
Malik again received a chase from the pups upon their reintroduction into the pack, but did seem to socially interact with the pups upon their return. We will be monitoring him closely to ensure that he doesn't get too much focus as the pups get older. We begin construction on a new densite in the Exhibit Pack next week, this will likely keep the pups busy climbing on the new rocks. The key to making the omega wolf comfortable is to keep the pups occupied.
Malik is certainly taking advantage of Grizzer's good natured attitude toward the pups. He surrounds Grizzer and the pups with high tail and does a foreleg stab to push Grizzer to the ground. So far, Grizzer has not responded, but as fall approaches, Grizzer is likely to get more dominant. Malik is more relaxed with Grizzer in a submissive posture and has even been observed playing with the pups. The video clips on 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.
Malik seems to be a bit calmer, possibly responding to Grizzer's anxiety about the pups. Grizzer is so focused on not being a pup chew toy, that he has no time to dominate Malik. Malik doesn't take advantage of Grizzer when the pups are with him, because if he gets into the mix, the pups will do the same thing to him. It's a good thing that Shadow and Maya apply some discipline to these pups, if it was left to Malik and Grizzer, the pups would be running the Exhibit Pack.
Malik weighed in at 88 lbs, 1.5 lbs lighter than the last time he was weighed, which was 2005. This is still a very healthy weight. Malik has been doing some very unusual behavior in the last few days. For the first in our observations, he started a bark howl, and startled the pups. When Shadow bark howls, the pups seem to take it in stride, but when Malik did, it caught everyone off guard. The anxious behavior resulted in Grizzer doing some chase and following behavior of Malik.
Malik is a stimulus for chase behavior in the pack. Usually, Malik gets nervous when the pack is rallying and does sprint up the hill and across the log, starting a chase that may last for 5 minutes. This has been good for the pups to experience. Initially, they were a bit nervous as all the adults ran, but lately, they have been participating. Malik still shows some intolerance toward the pups when they food beg, but he has improved his social interaction in recent weeks, and is relaxed enough to exhibit play.
Malik keeps pushing Grizzer to the edge. Perhaps he is trying to gain back his status as second ranking male, taking every opportunity to accomplish this. He’s been growling at Grizzer and lunging at him, but Grizzer’s confidence in facing him, makes Malik nervous and results in a run up the hill of the enclosure. Malik has also being doing some bark howling, specially on windy days (who knows, he might had problems with a branch), but contrary to Shadow’s bark howl, his is more fearful.
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