J Heft, WERC

"Don't look a wolf in their eye!" ...How many times have you heard this popular myth? Even some experienced biologists believe this before visiting the Sawtooth Pack. The truth is that wolves use eye position as an important form of communication, both within their pack and toward other animals around them (like us).

Gray wolves will look one another in the eye, as humans do, when communicating a greeting, dominance behaviors, and other social gestures. Wolf handlers at WERC are taught very early, even before meeting the pack, to look into the pack member's eyes when greeting. This allows the wolves opportunity to examine the emotions or mental state of the handler, a process that can be difficult to perceive from humans absent facial postures.

Wolves communicate regularly through subtle and sometimes dramatic facial postures, however, humans have become quite stoic in facial postures through time probably because of our heavy dependency on verbal communication. Still, most humans maintain very subtle posturing through their eyes, a trait captive wolves can learn to decipher. Hence, eye contact with any canine, from your dog to a wild wolf, is a beneficial action that promotes social communication and bonding. There may be times when eye contact is not appropriate with an unknown canine that exhibits potential hostile behaviors, such as growling and snarling.

The process of avoiding direct eye contact, known as averting gaze, will show the aggressive canine that you mean to avoid a fight. In wolves, a submissive wolf regularly averts gaze when a dominant wolf attempts a dominant display toward them. During drastic submissive displays, the submissive wolf will even open their eyes wide when averting gaze, thus showing the whites of their eyes. This behavior is thought to be the most dramatic of submissive eye postures.

Another behavior to avoid with unknown canines, especially wolves, is the fixed (aggressive) stare directly into their eyes. Such a stare is a blatant challenge of that canine's rank and social status. If performed toward a dominant wolf, a reciprocal challenge and fight is likely to ensue. High ranking wolves use this technique to assert their rank over submissive pack members or as a challenge to another trespassing wolf pack.

Most humans unknowingly use eye posture to communicate with one another, or canines, just as wolves do. Think back to the last time you found yourself in close proximity to an aggravated or aggressive dog. You averted your gaze, right? Or the last time you disciplined your dog for an inappropriate behavior. Did you stare at them while reprimanding them? Wolves use this same eye posturing as an important communication tool, and if used properly, humans can more effectively communicate with canines around us every day.

J Heft, WERC

One of the most obvious communication postures observed in wolves is tail position. Although the positioning of the tail is one of the most frequently observed communication techniques, it is also one of the simplest forms of communication.

There are two factors to evaluate when discussing tail posture: elevation and movement. The elevation of the tail correlates to the hierarchy rank of the individual, generally the higher the tail placement the higher the wolf's rank.

Erich Klinghammer and Pat Goodman (from Wolf Park) described five different tail heights that have become the standard in explaining all tail positions. As Klinghammer and Goodman described in their Wolf Ethogram, a T1 tail posture is when the tail is at full height, pointing straight up in the air. This position is typically reserved for the alpha-pair of the pack.

A T2 tail is when the tail extends in a straight line pointing away from the body, parallel with the spine and ground. This position is usually utilized by beta-males and other high ranking members.

A T3 tail occurs when the tail is held at a relaxed state, or pointing straight toward the ground. Most mid-ranking wolves maintain T3 tails. A T3.5 tail is when the tail points at the ground like a T3, however the tail is pressed against the back of the hind legs in this lower rank posture.

Finally, a T4 tail, which is usually reserved for omegas, is when the tail is tucked against the abdomen between the legs. Each individual wolf can alter their tail posture as necessary to communicate their dominance or submission. For example, a mid-ranking wolf may display a T2 tail when near an omega, but then quickly change the posture to a T3 or T3.5 if an alpha approaches the area.

The movement of an individual's tail is also an important communication factor. Wolves wag their tails like dogs, however contrary to most dog owners; we do not describe the behaviors as a sign of happiness. Generally, wolves wag their tails when there is an increase of energy or excitement occurs.

There are two specific styles of tail wagging that wolves perform: rigid or fluid movement. A rigid tail (like a pendulum) wag means the wolf is excited and has dominant tendencies. A fluid, or snake-like wag typically is a signal of play or greeting toward other pack members.

The elevation and movement of each wolf's tail work together to describe the behavior of each individual. So, a wolf who is rigidly wagging a T1 tail is exhibiting intense dominance, however a wolf fluidly wagging a T3 tail is probably soliciting social play with other pack members.

Wolves can alter their tail posture rapidly in order to maintain coherent communication within the pack structure. Tail posture is an important tool wolves use to maintain hierarchy stability through accurate communication.

J Heft, WERC

Ever wonder why dogs bury bones in the backyard? The reason is simple: to store and protect the bone or food item from scavengers. Not many scavengers in your neighborhood? Well, most dogs will continue to exhibit this behavior because it is an instinct that has been transferred from over 12,000 years of breeding the current domestic dog away from gray wolves.

In the wild, wolves have many competitors for their food, especially ravens and other avian scavengers. In an attempt to protect food that cannot be consumed immediately, wolves have adopted a behavior known as caching. To cache is to bury food in a shallow depression thus preventing avian scavengers from detecting the item. Wolves then return and unearth the item later for a snack between kills.

The Sawtooth Pack caches food constantly, nearly every feeding, and the amounts per cache vary from a small mouthful up to 15 pounds or so. The process of caching is simple. A wolf tears a small fragment from a carcass and trots off to a secluded area, usually with moderate to dense tree cover, digs a depression suitable for the item, then places the item in the hole and uses their nose to cover the meat with the freshly dug dirt. The wolf then tamps down the food grave with their nose. It is easy to see when individuals have been caching as they have the telltale "brown nose" from tamping down the cache site. So the next time your dog has dirt over their nose pad you now know why.

A word of caution regarding cache sites -- all wolves aggressively defend their cache sites against all others. This poses the single greatest danger to handlers of any captive pack, and thus all dog owners should exercise caution when investigating any potential cache site. Amani, even though alone, exhibited the most frequent cache behaviors among the Sawtooth Pack, probably due to the ample amount of food he received. He subsequently must protect the food from the ever-present ravens. Ultimately, the behavior can be summed up as "bury it or lose it."

As most humans in the Northern Hemisphere tend to seek shelter indoors and limit activity during winter, wolves are at their most active. There are two main reasons for this higher activity period this time of year. First, gray wolves are built for cold weather, so as the chill seems to bite into human nerves, wolves do not feel the same effect. The double layer of fur in wolves seal out the cold temperatures and snow, creating a comfortable environment for wolves. On the contrary, the high temperatures of summer are oppressive to the heavily furred canines. Thus, winter is a more active time of the year for them.

The second reason wolves are more active in winter is because it's their annual breeding season. Wolves breed only once a year, during the winter months so the pups will be born in the spring, when food is plentiful and the weather less severe. The season begins in late December and proceeds until late February or early March. Most of this period is simply behavioral preparation for mating, which only occurs for a few days up to two weeks at the completion of the season.

Wolves actually begin an increase in sexual hormone production around October, but obvious breeding behaviors begin to show in December as a general increase in dominance among the hierarchy. Both alpha-male and alpha-female step up their dominance frequency and severity toward all submissive members in an effort to reaffirm their breeding rights. This increase is a major reason why the Sawtooth Pack has experienced most hierarchy changes during winter. As the season progresses, the alpha-female will then begin to solicit attention from the alpha-male, or other males. She does this by performing behaviors that appear to be playful. She will approach the alpha-male and paw at his back or head, place her head across his back, or just simply stand or walk next to him, usually touching.

In the beginning, the alpha-male usually returns a snap or growl in response to her advances. Other females may do the same behavior toward the alpha or other males, but are usually disciplined if caught by the alpha-female. Then, the females of the pack begin their estrus cycle, usually within a few days of one another. Once this occurs, the males of the pack begin to pay attention to the female advances.

The alpha-female then increases her "flirtatious" advances toward the alpha-male, plus performs the ultimate sexual solicitation behavior of pushing her rump against the alpha-male's rump or side and curling her tail to the side (exposing her genitalia). This posture only occurs during peak breeding season and an excellent indicator of the next stage of the season, actual mating. Once the alpha-male catches on to her indications, he will then begin to reciprocate the play-like behaviors of placing his head over her back and sparring with her while both are standing on their hind legs (an action that resembles dancing).

Soon after, he will then pair bond to the alpha-female, which is an act of guarding her from all other males who may attempt to mate with her. She is fertile at this stage. During this time, no other wolf is permitted within a close proximity to his chosen mate. Usually, the other pack members avoid the alpha-pair during this time and observe the two from a distance.

Mating occurs over several occasions each day for anywhere between two days to two weeks. The intercourse process is exactly the same act as domestic dogs perform. When ovulation is complete and intercourse ceases, the alpha-pair no longer exhibit solicitation behaviors toward one another and essentially all dominance and hierarchy behaviors return to normal very quickly, even overnight sometimes.

After the season is complete, all wolves seem to be exhausted and then enter into a very low energy period of the year, springtime. At the completion of the 63-day gestation period, packs with a successful breeding season welcome new pups into their family in April or May.

Scent rolling is the act of pressing the body against a strong-smelling object or scent. This behavior usually begins with the wolf pushing a cheek against the object, and then sliding on it until the side of the chest has cleared the object. The wolf will likely stand and repeat the process several times on each side of the body.

Wolves commonly perform this behavior with any strong or unique-smelling object within their territory, such as a smelly carcass (food), urine or feces from another animal outside the pack, or any other pungent odor encountered that is not a regular scent within their territory.

Many visitors ask why wolves and subsequently their dogs perform such a behavior. For wolves, the answer is simple: olfactory camouflage. We believe wolves are essentially transferring the scent of the different odor to their bodies so when hunting their prey may not smell wolf, rather the benign rolled-upon scent, when in close proximity of the hunting pack. This camouflage has obvious benefits for hunting wolves, as they may be able to gain closer access to their prey. Another theory for evolution of scent rolling is to transfer the scent of the rolling wolf onto the object chosen, thus "marking" it as an item within their territory. Gray wolves likely utilize both of these advantages as a motivation to perform scent rolling.

So, why do dogs perform such a behavior? Some breeds may scent-roll for the same reasons wolves do, especially to mark their territory. A pertinent question to any interested dog owner is: "Does your dog typically scent-roll on your property more so than off your property?" If so, the motivation is likely a territorial marker. In some dog breeds, scent rolling is simply a rudimentary, or useless hereditary, tie-over from their ancestors, wolves. Regardless if domestic dogs perform scent rolling or not, the behavior is an important survival tool for gray wolves.

Have you ever noticed your dog scratching the ground after urinating and wondered why the heck do dogs do that? Well, once again, this behavior, known as a scrape, is a residual behavior tied over from the dogs' ancestor, the gray wolf.

The act of scratching the ground in a backward motion, usually with the hind legs, and sometimes also with the front, is typically performed by dominant wolves, but may also be done by mid-ranking individuals depending on the circumstances. Wolves do this scraping as a type of marking behavior, such as to announce a territory boundary to an opposing pack, or to claim a food item as their own.

Wolves have scent glands located between the pads of their paws, so every scrape they perform leaves a characteristic scent of that individual. Hence, dominant wolves tend to use this behavior to announce their status among their own pack, or perhaps a rival pack that may cross into their territory.

Domestic dogs probably use the behavior for similar reasons, or simply may conduct scraping due to instinct and not possess a current motivation. The Sawtooth Pack: Wolves of the Nez Perce are often noticed scraping after a dominant member urinates, after the alpha-female, Ayet, displays dominance over Motoki, and usually when fresh food is available.

Have a canine behavior you are curious about? Send possible future Wolf Behavior 101 topics to jeremy.heft@wolfcenter.org.