A BBC film crew was here on Sunday, April 19th, and Shadow did extremely well. Usually, Shadow shows some fear avoidance and bark howling to strangers, but he was very accepting and confident with the crew. We have worked with this crew before, and it helps that wolf care staff were very relaxed. But, the reality is, we are thankful for the BBC in their understanding of animals, their calm nature and tolerance of accepting the wolves as wolves. It makes all the difference. To the BBC crew, thanks for the donation to wolf care and the great film session.
Shadow did well with the Wolf Watch program, showing a limited amount of anxiety after he initially saw the team at the bleachers. Shadow’s observation data sheet reflects a calm leader that spends time sitting back observing his pack, placing his body between threats and the pack (during howling bouts with Behind the Scenes participants) and showing strong social relationships with the dominant female Maya. This week’s video clip was filmed during a Behind the Scenes program; you can hear Wolf Curator, Lori Schmidt, interpreting for the public and the variety of behaviors displayed by Shadow.
Written by program participants, Paulette Blask and Tanya Stein: Grizzer started a non-agressive mobbing of Shadow (joined by Maya and Malik), which quickly turned into a more serious aggression. Shadow showed tucked tail, but still barred his teeth. During the enclosure enrichment, after finding chicken and tuna hidden in varios places, Shadow retrieved a piece of bacon floating on a log in the pond. During wolf check, Shadow avoided letting wolf care staff clean his eye -he seemed to know what staff were up to something when they offered a scratch/rub. When a dead fish was retrieved from the pond filter, it was rolled on by Maya, then Grizzer, then stolen by Shadow and taken to another area for his examination.
Shadow continues to surprise staff in his mild mannered social behavior towards staff. This is likely the influence of prolactin. Before the feeding on Sunday, Shadow appeared very timid in front of the crowd, Curator, Lori Schmidt approached him and he did a full submission and stayed on the ground for several minutes. This is a rare occasion, but the rest of the pack was busy with the beaver carcasses, so he probably didn't feel too threatened. Shadow is in dire need of brushing, when he sheds his undercoat, he sheds in sheets.
During Friday’s wolf care, Malik was growling trying to dominate Grizzer. Shadow immediately body blocked Malik, with full hackles and growls. To some people, Shadow’ behavior was that of protecting Grizzer. The reality is that he was protecting his own rank as the pack’s leader. If a lower ranking wolf starts gaining rank order by means of dominating the second ranking wolf, that might give him the confidence to attempt challenging the dominant male. Shadow’s behavior prevents Malik from escalating in the rank, and a possible challenging him. Shadow is a very confident wolf and a confident pack leader. He still shows strong sings of ownership of the pups over the other wolves.
The following logs were written by Nannies, Vicki Bomberger and Lynne Haines.<br> Shadow continues to show protective concern for the pups with the arrival of new nanny teams. There was increased bark-howling over the weekend during the change over process. All four of the ambassador wolves have been active the last few days due to the cool weather, with noticeably increased activity prior to the Sunday night feeding. Shadow pawed at the auditorium glass several times just prior to the feeding.
One behavior that we are definitely observing is the guarding, possessive behavior of a dominant wolf. Shadow didn't display this in 2004, likely because there were only 2 wolves in the Exhibit Pack then, Shadow and Malik. With a pair of wolves, there wasn't as much of a need for a dominant pack leader. With the addition of the 2004 litter, Shadow has clearly made it clear that he is in charge of this pack, he is the first to howl, he is defensive about people invading his space and he is the first wolf the pack seeks when there is stress or anxiety.
Shadow has returned to bark howling at the Nannies during the program. This is likely a response to wolf care staff getting a bit casual because things had been going well, letting Nannies sit at the picnic table seems to have set him off. We will work at keeping him calm, and giving him space, and the wolf yard protocol will be followed to the letter in all following weeks of the program. He is the critical component to this pup introduction.
Shadow weighed in at 93.5 lb. His confidence as the dominant male continues to amaze staff. While the other wolves did the long neck stretch toward the scale, keeping their bodies and feet as far from the strange object as possible, Shadow confidently walked on the scale at least a dozen times. We are confident about his weight. He has increased bark howling this week, and upcoming Nanny teams will have to be very careful about all the wolf yard protocol to keep things calm.
Written by Working for Wolves participant Joyce Wells: This weekend the Working for Wolves volunteers completed several projects in the wolf yard and around the retirement enclosure. Shadow did some bark howling, indicating a level of stress about strangers within proximity of his pack and his space. Staff added fresh cedar chips and wood shavings to all dens. In this weeks photo you'll see Shadow scent rolling on the new wood chips.
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.