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PROGRAMS
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Wolves Online
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Ambassador Wolves
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November - 2009 |
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Shadow, an Arctic subspecies of the gray wolf, was born May 8, 2000 and is a brother to Malik. Visitors to the Center may recognize this male arctic wolf that is larger in size than his brother and tends to be more shy of strangers. Malik may be right up at the window looking in on visitors, Shadow is likely to keep his distance and watch from afar. He is the leader of the Exhibit Pack. For each wolf, you will see a weekly photo, notes on behavior or physical health and a video clip. Please note, due to the large file size of the video clips, they will only be archived for 30 days. Photo by Center Staff
Watch extended wolf video on the International Wolf Center's YouTube Channel.
Enjoy a close-up of wolf behavior on our four Wolf Watch Cams.
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11/16/2009
Lori Schmidt - Shadow has been showing some increased dominance and growling behavior, even towards staff. This is common for this time of the year, but not so common for a wolf this age. Shadow and Malik were 9 1/2 years old on November 11th, and Shadow shows no sign of weakness. When Lucas, the former dominant male, was this age, he was often backing down and avoiding confrontations with the arctics. Of course, the difference is, Shadow and Malik didn't have the intense ritualized dominance that Aidan and sometimes Denali face from Maya. The yearlings were shown their place in the pack throughout their maturity, and that will inevitably help Shadow hold his position longer.
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| Shadow using direct eye contact to make Denali submit |
| Photo: Center Staff |
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11/9/2009
Lori Schmidt - Shadow continues to be in an extremely social mood, with both staff and wolves. Aidan seeks him out for reassurance, and was observed with both paws on Shadow's face. Shadow shows him boundaries, but is very tolerant of all of the pack members. He shows no signs of decline that were evident with the 1993 litter at this age. Shadow and Malik turn 9 1/2 years old on Wednesday, and you would never know by looking at him.
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| Shadow waiting to scent mark after Maya scent marks |
| Photo: Center Staff |
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11/2/2009
Lori Schmidt - Shadow continues to be very excited greeting staff, and overall has a calm and social response to the pack. This tells us that while staff have a hard time watching the tension between Maya and Aidan, Shadow's not showing any tension with the pack, meaning that it's not that serious. Shadow does show a response when the tension in the pack is a problem. So, as usual, we need to take the cue from the dominant pack leader and remain calm and take this opportunity to learn about wolf behavior. Shadow did a lone howl in response to what sounded like a wild pack, but the rest of the group didn't join in. The pack knows the difference between a rally howl, and a defensive howl.
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| Shadow howling in response to wild wolves |
| Photo: Center Staff |
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