Maybe it means something, maybe it doesn't, but Malik has been observed in several full scrapes after urination. If you recall, this was a behavior typically done by Shadow. It appears Shadow's more subdued behavior may be influencing Malik to be more assertive, and the subtle way to do that is to scrape the ground after urination.
After we cleared the den of Malik's cache's, Shadow is now allowed to sleep there, and has regained his status after some obnoxious food possession behavior from Malik. In this week's YouTube clip, there's a scene with Malik, who dug up a cache, but Shadow's formidable posture makes Malik a bit too nervous (flat ears) to really possess the piece of meat. They posture and growl, but Shadow is the master of chin rests, and Malik's ears continue to drop until Shadow takes the moose meat. If Malik would have been standing over it, Shadow would have backed off like usual, but you only get to guard your possessions, if you are actually clearly possessing them. There's no gray area here.
Malik had a good week. We fed a deer torso that had a head attached. Malik detached the head and proceeded to carry it around for several hours at a time. He would bring it past Shadow, drop it, then stand over it before carrying it away. Shadow didn't exhibit much testing behavior, as a matter of fact, Shadow didn't seem the least bit impressed with Malik's head.
We've had some good visits with Malik who is generally more reserved with staff. As long as Shadow gets to greet first, Malik can spend some time interacting. There seems to be a pattern to their interactions as well. When wolf care staff are not in the enclosure, the surveillance cameras reveal two wolves who frequently sleep in the den together. But when staff are interacting, Shadow keeps Malik away, which prompts Malik to do some posturing. If you change the names of the wolves from Malik and Shadow to Denali and Aidan, the behaviors would be the same. I know Aidan and Shadow were very social, you have to wonder if this isn't something Aidan picked up from his former pack leader.
Malik had some very interesting ride-up behavior on Grizzer during one of Shadow's dominance sessions. Grizzer is very quick to submit to Shadow, and often this results in Denali and Malik coming in for some dominance. The difference between the two, is that Denali gets away with it, Malik gets some redirected aggression when Grizzer is free. Malik takes it in stride, and seems to know when enough is enough, dropping his tail to the tucked position and making himself as inconspicuous as possible.
Malik is doing well, and interacting with the pack, often with high tail. The recent YouTube video demonstrates his involvement in the pack, and while there are moments of tension, he seems to accept his lower ranking status. I did receive an email from someone concerned about Malik getting enough food. On Wednesday morning's, we feed a mid-week meal of usually beaver or a deer torso, and Malik has no problem getting resources. On Saturday night, it's a bit more challenging, since the feeding is at night, and the wolves tend to be a bit more intense at that time of night, and the feeding is usually a full deer carcass, meaning there is more competition over one carcass than 6 beavers. The deer are large enough for the more aggressive wolves to feed first (Denali, Maya, Grizzer), with enough remaining for the rest. We monitor scats daily for color, to indicate which wolf is processing meat. Malik has had no problem getting enough resources.
Malik is doing much better this week. He still has periods of time when the pack activities gets him excited, but he has been much more social with staff and has been chasing ravens. One advantage of living alone is that you don't have to share the resource, with other wolves of course, but ravens still deserve a chase.
Malik is doing well, and spends a lot of time watching Denali and Grizzer's interactions. He's frequently with high tail when Denali has a hold of Grizzer. Malik does show very submissive posture towards Grizzer when Grizzer gives him direct eye contact, blocks him or does a face off. It's clear that Malik knows his rank, but he's not so timid that he won't try opportunities to increase in rank. One thing we have noticed, Malik doesn't do any Raised Leg urinations, he primarily does standing or squatting urinations, another sign of a lower ranking wolf.
One benefit from Grizzer getting a few extra meals is that he does rest a lot. This is good for Malik, who even took an opportunity to do a partial stand-over Grizzer on the slate den. Malik is doing well, he knows when to posture himself in a low body posture and stay out of trouble, although if Shadow is nearby, he still tries to growl and grab at Grizzer, but with Denali in the mix, he has backed off a bit.
Malik was placed in retirement on Tuesday, November 17th, after some intense aggression that originally started with Grizzer, but was quickly joined by all the other pack members, including Aidan. While there were no serious injuries, a consultation with the Center’s veterinarian, and discussions among wolf care staff, it was decided to retire Malik before the aggression intensified. This means, that Malik will be in retirement alone until Shadow shows signs of weakness. Since the retirement, staff have been very conscientious about spending additional time with him. Malik still has some anxiety when the main pack is active, definitely showing the psychological aspect that he needed a break. We will give Malik some transition time before we install webcams on the enclosure, any change to his situation right now can be stressful. It will take some time to develop protocol that is best for Malik’s situation, and these discussions are ongoing with wolf care staff. This month’s Podcast will review the USDA incident report concerning the aggressive incident that prompted Malik’s retirement and the subsequent management challenges
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.