Shadow has been very calm lately. It probably has a lot to do with Grizzer being occupied mid week by a beaver or two. One thing that is noticeable about Shadow as the dominant animal, he has a calm personality, he is social but assertive when necessary. Malik gets anxious and spends a significant amount of time in a ruffled state (hackles up…) Shadow always appears to be in control. In this week’s video for Shadow, you will notice one specific wolf social rule… Possession is based on who is on a carcass, not based on who is more dominant. Any pack member, regardless of rank can guard food from another pack member, as long as they maintain possession. Grizzer demonstrates this in Shadow’s video clip.
Written by Workin' For Wolves program participants Wendy Watson and Ronnie Daniels: Shadow continues to be nervous and aware of surroundings with the Workin' For Wolves program, though there was no bark-howling this weekend. Notice his calm approach to approach and greet Grizzer in this week's video clip, wth Grizzer doing a tail wag.
Shadow’s video this week is a clip of the pack howling. One of the reasons the wolf care staff wanted cameras to focus on the den and the greeting rock, related to the opportunity for watching the actions of the wolves without staff in the enclosure. The den and the greeting rock are high points in the enclosure; the wolf that dominates time in these areas is the wolf that typically is displaying more confidence and dominance. Last week, staff watched a stand-off between Shadow and Grizzer, after a few moments of averting gazes, Grizzer moved to the lower rocks. It’s these subtle behaviors that make wolves the complex social pack member identified in many research projects. You may have noticed on the webcam that Shadow has a slight limp. Over the weekend, he may have pulled a ligament from jumping on or climbing off of rocks. Wolf care staff are monitoring him closely and have placed him on an anti-inflammatory medication.
When we got the call last Sunday from the education intern about one of the arctic wolves limping, there was a sinking feeling that it was Shadow the dominant wolf. The challenges of treating a dominant wolf are quite different than any other ranking pack member, and Shadow is a critical component to the successful introduction of the pups in 2008. It is critical that the dominant wolf is not separated or removed from the lower ranking members, as they see this as an opportunity to move up in rank. It is also critical that during inspections or treatments, the dominant wolf is not shown to be vulnerable in front of the other wolves. In early attempts to inspect Shadow, Grizzer was placed in holding, but when he was released, he redirected aggression towards both Shadow and Malik for being separated. Staff needed to be creative to ensure that Shadow received treatments without agitating Grizzer. In addition to this challenge, Shadow decided to stop taking meatballs (he and Lakota must be up to something)… So, Shadow's daily anti-inflammatory and his twice daily antibiotics are now delivered in a small slice of butter. We have also added his cosequin to the butter ball and have decided to place him on Durlactin as well. Hopefully this meatball phase will end soon, but for the current bout of treatments, Shadow takes his pills well. He is definitely healing, feeling better and still in charge of the pack.
Shadow is getting tested by both Malik and Grizzer, and while they are intense and cause him some tucked-tail anxiety, he seems to be maintaining a calm disposition, He and Maya continue to have a good social relationship, and Maya always seems to be able to take food from Shadow. You may notice the video clips are not on the site today. Our camera is in the shop and is estimated to return in 2 – 4 weeks.
In this week’s video, you will see Malik showing a defensive threat display, while Shadow stays back in higher tail posture. The one observation we notice is that when Grizzer is dominating Shadow, Malik jumps in to take a grab bite, but when Grizzer and Malik are interacting, Shadow doesn’t usually go after Malik. It’s an interesting dynamic between the littermates, which is why we our pup plans always include at least two pups. The social interactions of wolves for status are critical to the wild, and are a strong instinct in captivity. This behavior truly defines the wolf pack structure.
Shadow has had a few moments of testing and anxiety because of Grizzer, but lately, he’s been very confident, social and interactive with the pack. As his video demonstrates, in order to keep Grizzer submissive, he needs to be vocal, and he does this well. At Saturday nights feeding, Shadow and Grizzer were feeding on a beaver together. Of course, it was away from the windows as Shadow doesn’t like a big crowd at the viewing window. Pack cohesiveness is a high priority in captive management and we are very pleased with the social group and look forward to the addition of two pups in the fall. The Nanny positions are extremely critical to raise pups with a strong social structure and an understanding of dominance. Nannies are expected to be viewed as pack leaders to these pups, being calm and assertive in all situations. We owe it to the Exhibit pack that we start these pups on the right track. This is why the Nanny program has prerequisites, it is a challenging task. Applications are still being accepted for the Nanny program, applications can be found on the website. Look for the Programs tab, and then open Wolf Seminars. The Behavioral Observation team, which monitors the pups first week in the pack, does not require prerequisites.
Written by Jerid Hedberg and Tim Heitter: This week’s photo shows Shadow with H-2 hackles doing a soft muzzle bite on Grizzer. The leg injury sustained earlier doesn’t affect Shadow’s rank as pack leader. He remains a social animal towards all and expresses his dominance towards the yearlings or Grizzer only every now and then. Shadow readily stood on the scale and showed an increase in weight, weighing now over 86 lbs.
Shadow continues to be tempermental about feeding, but he seems very content. In this week's photo, he is actually submitting to the Curator. This is a behavior we rarely saw when he was the dominant pack leader, but now, he rolls over and seems very excited to submit.
Shadow is doing very well, and is in control of the pack. He not only controls through dominance, but Shadow receives a very strong social response from all packmates. This week's photo shows Denali greeting with a full facial lick, and staff have observed Maya in many postures of greeting when Shadow approaches.
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