During feeding, Malik showed aggressive dominance toward Shadow, Malik had hackles raised and chased Shadow away from his beaver several times. Shadow showed lowered ears, but did not back away from Mal
Written by assistant wolf curator, Donna Prichard:<br> Malik did well this weekend with all the activity in the wolf yard from the Workin’ For Wolves weekend. Of all the wolves in the Exhibit pack, Malik is observed to be the most opportunistic of them. For example, when Aidan and Denali are chasing and biting at Grizzer, Malik will see an opportunity to come in and try to nip Grizzer. This usually results in Grizzer defending himself by snarling and chasing Malik around the enclosure. Despite the seemingly intense dominance interactions between these two, this is a very cohesive pack that get along well with each other.
Malik has many fans, and thanks to the many people who have sent emails regarding his tooth infection. What's odd about an abscessed tooth is that he has no problem eating or chewing, but does affect his cheek with signs of the abscess under the skin. Of course, Malik doesn't allow for a tooth inspection, so we can only surmise from what we see externally. While the infection seems to be under control with antibiotics, it has a tendency to reoccur, and the Vet's preference is to schedule an exam and determine the cause of this rather than continually use antibiotics. This will likely be scheduled in the next few weeks, although at this time, he has been off of the antibiotics for a week, and there is currently no sign of any relapse.
One email suggestion to help pack dynamics referenced the idea of wolf care staff playing games with the wolves. While we addressed this during the Youtube video about how rough wolves can play and the safety hazards this would create for wolf care staff, we do know that Malik would be excited to play keep the hat away from the Curator. Since he's been successful at taking the hat on three occasions, he tries to grab it at every opportunity possible, including during feedings, when the den straw is being raked or whenever it appears hands are busy. If we didn't have to worry about him eating the hat and the wool binding his intestines, we would just give him the hat. But, it's a bit cold to be giving away good wool hats.
Sorry for the delay, a power outage seemed to take out the internet connection on Friday night and it continued through the weekend. So, the wolf logs will be all the same this week as we have already moved into a new week and 2 snowstorms have resulted in another foot of snow to clear from the wolf yard, the gates, the fences and den sites. It’s been a calm week. We are trying four different techniques to keep the pack in a lower stress environment. We continue to feed the Exhibit pack small amount of chicken Monday through Friday with a deer carcass or beaver on Saturday nights. We also are using Dog Appeasing Pheromone spray in straw beds daily, making sure there is always fresh straw available. We have added a supplement to their daily meds called Anxitane® (L-Theanine) Chewable Tablets, a green tea derivative, donated by the manufacturer that promotes this product as an all natural product to reduce stress related responses to environmental issues. The 4th issue relates to wolf care interaction, we make sure Grizzer gets the attention first as the dominant male of the pack. The retired wolves have had a good week, despite a renewed spot on Malik’s cheek, they are active, play bowing, eating both chicken and deer legs, and overall, not acting like wolves approaching eleven years of age.
Malik's abscessed tooth appears to have returned. We see noticeable swelling on his cheek, but he shows no signs of issues with either the infection or pain. He easily feeds on chicken, deer legs and beaver, often chewing on that side. When we get some warmer weather, we will complete a full exam, which requires immobilization, but it is not worth the risk at his age or with these ambient temperatures. Malik has made several more attempts for my hat, and he and Shadow are showing signs of a hormonal surge as well.
Malik and Shadow seem to have a short duration to their winter dominance, last week there was clear posturing, this week, they are back to being a pair of 11-year old litter mates that have to share food and a den, but otherwise have no issues. Malik has a slight discoloration where the abscessed tooth has been, but swelling is down this week and he shows no issues with chewing on that side. Management decisions have to be weighed carefully, immobilizing an older animal can be risky, and removal of a molar or premolar that he clearly uses for crushing bones may be a more significant impact. The fact that the swelling is down is a good sign, and we will continue to consult with the Center's veterinarian, who understand the medical as well as behavioral influences when managing wolves.
Malik's having no issues with the abscess, the swelling that we had observed a week ago has subsided. He's an active eater and while we've noticed some tension between the Shadow and Malik, the stimulus appears to be guarding behavior of staff. Malik and Shadow have a preference for individual wolf care staff, often different individuals which reduces competition. But last week, Nancy Gibson was here for a visit, and as many of you may know, she bottle fed the Arctics, and the strongest bond is with those individuals that bottle-feed. Both Shadow and Malik were excited with the visit.
Malik has been trying to take advantage of Shadow this week, and he uses some unique opportunities. One situation was on Thursday when one of his favorite wolf care staff was scheduled (yes, each wolf has a favorite human). When this staff person arrived, Malik's confidence increased, creating excitement that resulted in a standoff. The second circumstance happened on Friday, when Shadow got a bit to vocal (growling) with one of the staff, and the Curator held Shadow back while that staff person exited the enclosure. Shadow submitted to the Curator and Malik came in for to show some status. Wolves are opportunistic and these are two perfect examples when the opportunity warranted the behavioral attempt at more status.
Malik joined in on a howling bout this week (see the end of the Youtube video), which is not always his normal behavior. Usually Shadow leads the howls, and Malik may watch, but this week, he was part of the pack howling in unison with Shadow.
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