just saw 856 for the first time since 151 Walker's butt-biting sneak attack. one of the difficult things about these sorts of wounds is that they often look much worse to humans than they actually are for the bears. as such, i wont be posting photos of 856 where the wound is visible because it would be upsetting for folks, even though 856 looks like he is actually doing fine.
what i think is more interesting than this specific incident and the resulting injury to 856 is the way that this highlights just how the hierarchy is changing at Brooks River, and how the Big Boars are reacting to these changes.
151 Walker is a very large boar that is 17.5 years old. he has been working his way into the hierarchy, or trying to at least, for the last couple of years. this often resulted in him fighting with, and losing to, older, larger boars like 856, 747, and 32 Chunk.
but, now, 856, who has been the dominant boar for quite a while, is getting old...and 747 isn't far behind. of course 151 Walker and the other boars entering (or already in) their prime are attacking them, fighting them, displacing them. there's a changing of the guard coming, and its easy to see.
this is probably also why 32 Chunk has been so aggressive this season -- he's older than 151 Walker but younger than 747. he had one season where he was top boar because 856 was injured, and it didn't exactly go great for him -- there's many reasons that the cam viewers call that season "the reign of errors". So, of course now that 856 and 747 are getting older and less willing/able to throw their weight around, he's getting more aggressive.
i will be interested to see how other boars who are in (or entering) their prime will handle this transition. 89 Backpack, who is 18.5 and (i think?) smaller than either 32 or 151, seems to be adopting a "will fight if provoked" style so far, which seems to be working for him. he used to play fight frequently with both Chunk and Walker when they were younger, so they may tolerate him more than they tolerate other bears.
i am also interested to see the attitude that gets adopted by the boar that does end up coming out on top here. there are a few different 'ruling styles' that we've seen over the years at Brooks River. 856 and 747 have both historically been relatively calm, and their reigns had much more posturing and threats than actual fighting. but there have been brutal, fight-filled 'regimes' in the past as well, as i'm sure anyone familiar with 814 Lurch knows.
only time will tell, i suppose, but i am curious to see where this ends up.
