The position of 3rd ranking male seems to have been defined and Malik is it. While Grizzer is still a relatively calm 2nd male, his mere presence will make Malik growl or bare his teeth, even with a submissive posture from Grizzer. In this week’s photo, Malik has shown the same posture to Maya, but she just submissively licks his face and walks away. If Grizzer does respond to Malik, it usually ends up in a chase. In this week’s video, you will see both Malik and Shadow investigating the ice chunks remaining in the pond. This is the earliest date for the pond to thaw and drain. The frost went out of the ground, thawing the pond, before the top ice melted, causing the ice chunks to collapse.
As summer approaches, there are some predictable changes to the wolves’ locations throughout the enclosure. On warm days, early morning webcam viewers can usually see a glimpse of one of the wolves on the main rock in the Exhibit. The life as a third ranking male has been an adjustment for Malik. He’s always communicating a growl or looking for an opportunity to move up in rank, which is typical wolf behavior. But, he’s content with his rank and seems more likely to interact socially than when he was 2nd ranking and always on guard for a challenge of his status.
One event that happened this week is the launching of the Center’s new Web cam that features a view from the top of the den. The den top is a favorite resting spot for wolves during the winter months. The cooler temperatures inside the den make it a favorite during the summer months, and we often have wolves lying in the doorway of the den when the temperatures increase. We would like to acknowledge one of our members, Johanna Goering, for donating this new camera and the resources necessary for bringing it to our website. Our plan is switch the retired pack camera to the Center’s website and, after fundraising efforts, get a camera that can follow the activities of the new pups in 2008 and thereafter reside in the Exhibit Pack. As we move through this transition, you can still find the existing webcams hosted by www.elyminnesota.com. Whenever staff discusses the rank order issues of the males, there’s always sympathy expressed for the lowest ranking member. It is important to remember, that the lowest ranking member is equally as important as the dominant wolf. Without a bottom, there’s no top, and there would be chaos. In the wolf world, every wolf knows their rank, and acts accordingly. If there’s a chance to move up, they do. When watching Malik’s video this week, you clearly see a lower ranking wolf that’s comfortable enough to hold his tail high. Of course, there he understands a good lip curl and growl are effective as well. This pack has very good compatibility, and that is the ultimate job of wolf care staff. To create energy for the pack that is calm, and allows them to assert their rank order without external stresses.
Malik's abscess scar is nearly healed. I am very glad that we decided to take a conservative course with antibiotics and time rather than pulling the tooth. Malik likes to chew on carcasses, so the missing tooth would have been more of an issue. I had a recent question about identifying Malik from Shadow on a video. Malik is generally slimmer in appearance, with a narrower head and his eyes appear more almond shaped, whereas Shadow's eyes are more roundish. Malik is more aloof, but that is primarily in Youtube filming, on the webcam, when the wolves have their privacy, that may not be apparent. Most often, if there are two wolves on the den and one is on the top, and one is on the bottom, it's a sure bet that Malik is on top.
As any opportunistic wolf would do, Malik gained a bit of status over Shadow when Shadow wasn’t feeling well. Shadow’s feeling much better this week, so we recorded a bit more posturing. Mostly Shadow marking, scraping and doing chin rests on Malik while Malik tried to stand tall with hackles. This is early morning posturing, by midday, the temperatures are warmer and they are resting on the den together.
The pack has had a quiet week, so there's not much news to report and all logs will be the same. The Center is moving forward on an additional habitat for Grizzer with a design that will allow continued access to the current pack holding area. He has become quite comfortable in this area and its' location is right in the Center of Wolf Lab activity which seems to be of interest to Grizzer. This is a bit reminiscent of Lakota.
Malik's abcess healed well, and he has no problem feeding on carcasses. Last weekend's beaver feeding was a feast for Malik, as he appeared to eat both carcasses. Shadow's been a bit off lately, but he has started to feel better this week. Chicken is still offered several times a week, and even though Malik eats the bulk of the food, he's always in line for more.
The temperatures were a bit cool this past week, but we are making progress on melting any residual ice that may affect wolf mobility under immobilzation. We need to move some straw, as the insulating effect of the straw may influence ice melt. Once we have this enclosure clear of ice, and staffing can be arranged, we will conduct the retired wolves tri-annual immobization. This includes a complete blood panel and for Malik, a dental cleaning and inspection.
This weekend is the Working for Wolves weekend, and due to the significant amount of preparation work, we will be posting the same text for all the logs. The main priorities for this weekend include straw removal, cleaning and filling the ponds in the Exhibit and Retired Enclosure, putting a roof and protective walls on the medical enclosure and starting the fence layout for Grizzer’s new enclosure. It will be a busy weekend, and work will continue in the upcoming weeks on Grizzer’s habitat. The goal is to get him into the new area by June 15th. All the wolves are doing well. Aidan and Denali are having no problem eating their entire deer carcass on weekends, and Shadow and Malik are transitioning to more food carcass meals with chicken on Tuesday and Thursdays. Grizzer gets chicken on a daily basis as he has a small area left to heal from his head and we want to maximize his nutrition to keep is immune system strong. Someone emailed with concern about Malik in the den, because he sleeps so soundly, they were concerned that there was something wrong. Old wolves do like their sleep, but we keep the camera on the wolves and staff are aware of their condition.
Malik has had a good week, getting some quality time with his favorite staff member, and with the snow and ice gone, he has discovered many caches from last winter. Some of these are not quite so fresh, but to a wolf, they smell great. We are in the transition period, where some days are too warm, and some nights are too cool for 11-year old wolves. We have left the straw in the den for now, but plan on removing it for the Working for Wolves program. Hopefully, the cool nights will start to diminish.
The International Wolf Center advances the survival of wolf populations by teaching about wolves, their relationship to wildlands and the human role in their future.