Meeting with Wolves
I had a chance to meet real, full-blooded wolves this past weekend so I went and took some pics. I wasn't sure what the arrangement would be — initially thinking they'd be fenced off somewhere, but it turns out I got face to face with them. These aren't hybrids wolf-dogs, they're the real deal.
The owner has four wolves on the property: two with the "classic" mixed coloring, one Arctic white phase, and one black phase. You could almost pass the black and white ones off as normal dogs at glance, but there's absolutely no mistaking what the others are.
The normal phase adult male is a bulky 120 pounds and you know it right away. My family has always had dogs so I'm used to the vibe that a dog gives off. In the vast majority of cases, once a dog knows you're welcome at the house, they basically just want to play or want attention from you.
The wolves are nothing like this. There's something about their presence that demands respect and attention. They don't walk like dogs, and don't act like dogs. They weren't aggressive or on edge, but they weren't a happy-bouncy, tail-wagging domesticated dog.
Interestingly, they usually won't look you directly in the eye. They also didn't seem to want stand around with their back exposed. They definitely know where you are at all times. So in the midst of all that, the owner gave me an opportunity to feed them by hand, which I took him up on. I'm not sure how many people would have a chance like this, but it was pretty incredible.
You can see quite a few more photos in the gallery.
Meeting with Wolves
Posted Jul 29, 2008 — 11 comments below
Posted Jul 29, 2008 — 11 comments below
Anonymous Coward — Jul 30, 08 6189
Magnus Nordlander — Jul 30, 08 6190
Wow, that must have been a pretty cool experience...
About looking wolves in the eyes though, that's a pretty bad idea, even with dogs, because looking them in the eyes means that you're trying to assert dominance, and that's probably not a great idea since some wolves tend to get kinda violent about someone trying to dominate them.
twobyte — Jul 30, 08 6191
Scott Stevenson — Jul 30, 08 6192
I personally don't think it's much of a problem with most dogs, at least those that belong to somebody you know. In any case, I wasn't making an attempt to make eye contact with the wolves -- it was something the owner told us about afterwards.
Aaron Harnly — Jul 30, 08 6195
Jeremy Pinnix — Jul 30, 08 6196
Scott Stevenson — Jul 30, 08 6197
Yup. Stuffed bear.
Steven Harms — Jul 31, 08 6198
Could the wolf's disinclination to look you in the eye be part of their pack–orientation?
I assume, given the living condition you've described, they've identified your host as the alpha and, not being interested in picking a fight to move up in the order, they're showing proper deference by not looking you in the eye?
Scott Stevenson — Jul 31, 08 6199
I think that's basically the reason, yes.
Chris Bahn — Oct 06, 08 6466
Scott Stevenson — Oct 08, 08 6476
I'm not an expert so I'm not sure. The owner has raised dozens of them, though, and said that they're the real deal, not hybrids. Even a few within his own group looked quite different from one another because of the particular region they were from.
Not sure if it matters, but they're much bigger in person than these close-ups suggest.