Malik has had some real excitement in the past week. He had a tree fall in a windstorm that didn't cause any damage, but would be intimidating for a wolf. As with all the wolves at the Center, we condition them to be tolerant of chainsaws when they are pups. We must have had a lot of chainsaw work in the year 2000, when Malik and Shadow were pups because he showed no fear at all when the curator cut the tree up and hauled it to the burn pile.
Malik does appear to interact well with Shadow, with the exception of food possession. In a wolf world, food possession is not tied to rank, meaning that regardless of a wolf's rank status, they can guard and possess food. Malik is good at guarding and possessing food, and has been extremely guarding since Shadow was transitioned into retirement. Staff are watching this interaction, and providing ample resources to satiate both wolves. Malik has always been a lower ranking wolf, and even though Shadow's still transitioning, this seems to be the rank that will maintain. Of course, dominance is much less in retirement, other than a few postures and a chin rest, Shadow has shown no dominance behavior towards Malik. On the other hand, Malik has shown some hackles and high tail towards Shadow when Shadow's a bit intimidated. Malik, as a lower ranking wolf, will take advantage of situations if the opportunity arises; This trait was very apparent when Malik was in the Exhibit Pack.
The most noteable behavior from the Exhibit Pack, other than the more intense social behavior is their increase in appetite. This must be a side effect of prolactin hormone, this pack has never eaten so well. Malik had a large cache in front of the pack holding area and has been actively guarding it from Grizzer today. Malik and Shadow also found a one of Lakota's cache's of Liver and the both rolled in it, leaving a large liver streak on their white hair.
Some wolves spend time in water; other wolves seem to avoid it. Malik is definitely in the group that avoids water. In this week’s video, Malik watches as Maya goes into the water to investigate some leaves, but he doesn’t go more than paw deep in the water. Malik continues to show some aggressive responses to Grizzer, even though Grizzer has calmed down and doesn’t show much testing behavior.
Malik is the most vocally expressive wolf at the Center. Rarely does an observation occur without hearing a series of growls, snarls and protests from Malik, usually directed at Grizzer. While the vocalizations may sound intense, generally, the follow through is not. We can always tell cohesiveness of a pack when they do a ritualized greeting after a long rest. Usually, one of the wolves gets up, and makes the rounds to greet the other wolves. Malik is always a part of that ritual, and for a lower ranking wolf, his high tail confidence shows his comfort with his place in the pack.
Malik is doing well, but a winter of being lower ranking has caused him to try to gain some status, especially since Grizzer isn’t as active in the heat. His video this week is a good example of the vocalization used by wolves to communicate a bit of conflict. Although in the end, Malik usually relents and gets chased or investigates another area of the enclosure. These types of interactions are becoming less frequent and are being replaced by more social interactions and signs of social cohesiveness, commonly influenced by the Prolactin hormone that naturally increases this time of year.
One of the responsibilities of the wolf care team is monitoring pack dynamics and conducting behavioral observations of the wolves. The wolf care team feels very fortunate to have a pack which seems to be very compatible with each other, despite the sometimes intense dominance displays oberved between Shadow, Malik, and Grizzer. During this weekend's "What's For Dinner" program, Malik is observed curling his lip at Grizzer, but note that his ears are in a submissive ear posture. It is these kinds of behavioral observations that tell us much about the dominance heirarchy and interactions that exist between the pack members.
Malik is doing very well, he certainly adapted much better than we imagined for a lone wolf. Shadow appears to be going strong in the main pack, so Malik will remain as the sole retired member for a while. We would be more concerned if he didn't look so confident, healthy and relaxed.
Malik has the same feeding patterns as Grizzer eating the tail of the beaver first, before the rest of the carcass. His den has stayed high and dry as the spring snow melt occurred, but a cold front and snow today means we haven't stopped using straw beds.
This photo is interesting as it shows the tenacity of Malik as he tries to gain back status from a winter spent as the third ranking male. But, the photo also shows the strong influence Shadow has on the pack dynamics. Grizzer is in a submissive posture, and he places his head beneath Shadow showing his submissive status to the dominant male. Shadow isn’t intimidated by Malik’s posturing, so he’s responding with direct eye contact back to Malik. It is a good sign that Grizzer still sees Shadow as the dominant pack mate and protector of this pack. One important behavior to note is the importance of possession rights with food. As the video shows, even though Malik is the third ranking male, he has the right to possess food from any other pack member. In the video, Grizzer attempts to approach Malik, but Malik is clearly in possession of his bone. While Malik’s ear posture turns submissive and he averts Grizzer’s gaze, Grizzer respects his right to possess food and walks away. This is one of the social rules in a wolf pack, if you get something, whether by tug-of-war, stealing or catching it, you have the right to guard it and keep it no matter your rank. The key is you must have possession. If you step away from the item, it’s up for grabs from any wolf.
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