Malik continues to show status when Shadow isn't around, then runs for the hills when Shadow shows up. Staff have noticed Malik asserting more dominance on Maya and Grizzer than in previous weeks, usually without Shadow in the vicinity. So far, Grizzer doesn't resist Malik when he's alone, but shows more status with Shadow's help.
This week's wolf logs were written by program participants in the 10/28-10/30/05 weekend program called "Working for Wolves", in which participants performed enclosure enrichment and maintenance projects in both the Retired and Exhibit enclosures. Written by Theresa Williams: This weekend was a busy one for the wolf pack. A "Working for Wolves" group did modifications to the enclosures. Malik appeared very relaxed during the activities and seemed to take it all in stride. This morning he was hesitant about coming out of the holding pen and had to be coaxed back out when the project (draining the pond) was completed.
Fall and winter are always good times of the year for the wolves; the heat of summer is past and the weather and snowfall bring cooler, and more comfortable, temperatures. All of the wolves have their full winter coats, making them look very big. This is a marked change from the summer when they have shed their winter coats and look very thin. Wolf care in the winter involves checking for bites or scratches that may be hidden within their dense undercoat. In this picture, you can notice Malik's full winter pelage.
Shadow continues to assert his alpha status over Malik, particularly when Grizzer and Maya are playing or interacting and Malik tries to intervene. This gains Shadow's attention, and he will often growl or place himself in between Malik and Maya, giving direct eye contact and holding his tail high in a dominance display. As winter approaches, the intensity of these dominance interactions will increase. With three males, it should be an interesting winter.
Malik is a wolf, which means he is an opportunist. When the focus is on Shadow, he takes every opportunity to stand near by and see if he can gain some status. There are still moments that Grizzer and Shadow join forces to keep Malik in his place, but the dynamics for Malik is variable. Wolf social dominance is a complex and the wolves are the best teachers of this concept.
In this week’s video for Malik, you will see Grizzer test Shadow, and Shadow respond with a bit of intimidation. This creates an opening for Malik to gain a bit of status on Shadow. He responds by coming in from behind and following Grizzer and Shadow up the hill with a high tail response. While Grizzer is facing Shadow, Malik is to the side watching for opportunities. This is a common response within a rank order, and it generally gives the middle ranking wolf a bit of confidence.
In this week’s video for Malik, you will see Grizzer testing Shadow. While Shadow is able to defend himself from Grizzer with growls and barred teeth, the issue is with the response of the other wolves. Maya tends to just follow along, and not attempt any dominant moves on Shadow, likely due to the close bond these two maintain. Malik sees this as an opportunity to increase rank. When Shadow is vulnerable, Malik comes in for some scruff bites and chases Shadow to the den with a high tail posture. This is natural rank order behavior that will intensify with cooler weather and the increase of hormones during the winter months. So far, things have been noisy, but no bite wounds during these ritualized dominance displays that are inherent wolf behavior.
Malik is less tolerant with the puppies than Shadow. On the last environmental enrichment, Malik succesfully took a turkey from Grizzer and ran up the hill. Shadow chased him and apparently, Grizzer got his turkey back. Maya tried to take the turkey too, but Malik growled at her. Maya has a submissive posture, and Malik is walking with a T2 tail position.
Malik does very well when there's a large program such as Pups at One Year. He takes the opportunity to look for weaknesses in Shadow. He is often found laying in the woodline of the enclosure watching the action, and when the opportunity arises, he attempts some dominance on Shadow.
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