As Shadow’s photo shows, he still has strong confidence in showing Grizzer that he’s the pack leader. While Grizzer persists in this behavior, Shadow will increase the strength of the message by showing a full–teeth threat display. Shadow’s video clip shows the behavioral sequence surrounding this image. While the interaction may only last for a few seconds, it is a strong message that for now, is keeping Grizzer as the number 2 male in this Exhibit Pack.
Shadow has been doing very well lately, as last week's logs indicate, he does much better after the high traffic summer season is over. He still leads the pack with howling bouts and has a dignified way in which he rests. In this week's picture, he is showing the typical cross-legged relaxed posture of a dominant male.
Written by Planning for Pups participants Marilyn Masters and Jen Ell: Shadow and Grizzer sharing a comfortable rest on the hill. Although Shadow is still being tested by Grizzer for dominance, there is still cohesiveness within the pack. You can tell by the ears pricked forward that they are self assured and not anxious. The ear position of wolves is one way they communicate with each other. Ears forward shows self self-assurance and as the ears go back, it shows more fear, threat, and submissiveness. Shadow still holds the dominant position in the pack. He showed it this weekend by being the wolf to start howls and showing dominance displays over the other wolves.
Shadow seems to be taking Grizzer in stride, with watchful behavior, alert ear posture and high tail when Grizzer approaches. Staff can tell the mood of the exhibit based on Shadow’s interactions. When Grizzer is pushing his status, Shadow will stay more aloof with staff. The more staff can keep Grizzer occupied with enclosure enrichments, the less problems Shadow will face as the dominant male.
In order to keep Shadow’s confidence level high, we have greatly reduced the Behind the Scenes presence of strangers. We only have one work crew scheduled in October, the Working for Wolves program, and we have many items of distraction to keep the wolves occupied during that weekend. One thing wolves love to do is shred birch bark logs, so the crew will be out scouting and hauling multiple truck loads of logs into the enclosure. One thing to keep in mind, Malik and Shadow were the aggressors that drove out our retired pack of wolves. It doesn't make them bad, it's just what wolves do. We anticipate as Shadow and Malik age, they will be moving into retirement as well. Although, with new pups coming in the spring, the focus for the next several years will be on the young members of the pack, not the old. We hope to keep this cohesive group together until Malik and Shadow are at least 10 years of age.
Shadow did some short periods of bark howling with the Nanny team this week, but has settled into the routine. During the feeding last night, he brought his half of the beaver over to the pups and guarded it from everyone including Maya. He continues to be challenge for new wolf care staff, growling and testing fairly intensely when we attempt to get them in the enclosure. Things may calm down after the pups are in and there's a routine, but for now, he's the dominant male and we have to do things his way.
Shadow continues to be very social with the pups and has a strong alliance with Aidan. He continues to be very social to wolf care staff as well and never displayed any guarding behavior towards the staff. He does go into holding every time the pups are fed and waits outside the pup pen until their return. This is very reassuring to the pups, and makes for a positive association for the pups to enter the pup pen daily.
Shadow took the lead on the introduction and after one day of observations, it can be said that he continues to be the lead on the pups transition into the pack. Within minutes of Malik and Grizzer's release, Shadow dominated them both in front of the pups, setting the tone of their behavior. He regurgitated a full meal for the pups before the introduction even started. In preparation for Monday's events, staff removed the protective pup panel at the front of the Exhibit Pack, leaving the option for nose to nose contact. When the pups were released at 6 am, they ran to the Exhibit Pack, and Shadow greeted, growled at Malik when he approached and regurgitated most of his evening meal in front of the pups. The pups pawed at the fence to reach it. This left Shadow very hungry and he spent a fair amount of the introduction eating meatballs which were meant to distract Grizzer and Malik. When the pups met Shadow, they were taught their first lesson in rank-order protocol, and they did well. Being dominated or disciplined doesn't make them avoid the pack leader, they are more comfortable as they know their place in the pack.
What can we say about Shadow that will even express the incredible depth of his behavioral displays. He is the dominant pack member that guards this pack, howls to any sign of threat, places himself between the pack and intruders (even if he is afraid of those humans at the behind the scenes programs). He will always greet a pup no matter when they approach, but he will always show them the strength of his leadership, even if it is with a hard muzzle bite. The pups don’t show fear of him, they show respect and paw at him for more attention. He will lie on the hill watching as the pack interacts, and intervene if anyone is too intense. We are fortunate to have a dominant pack leader who has successfully integrated two litters of pups.
The wolf logs for the Exhibit Pack will contain the same text, due to extra time needed for Lakota (see Lakota's log). The Exhibit Pack is doing well, consuming a lot of food and spending quite a bit of time in and on the new den. The wolf care staff heard wild wolves howl several times on Saturday's overnight, which may explain why Shadow has been doing so many lone defensive howls lately. Aidan appears to be catching up to Denali's weight, and the pups continue to eat on a daily basis, either a carcass with the pack on Saturdays and Wednesday's or daily chicken, beef or venision during the other evenings.
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