Lets get rollin' and learn about wolf body language. It is very interesting. Once you learn how the wolf communicates, you will be able to tell what a wolf is going to do before it does it.

Watch the next special on TV about wolves and use what you have learned to see if you can tell what is going to happen.

figure 1

Attack Position -
In the picture above, the wolf on the left is ready to attack the wolf on the right. The wolf on right is going to submit to the wolf on the left.

In a normal pack, the wolf on the left would not attack the wolf on the right. Instead, the wolf on the left will just grab the neck of the wolf on the right and hold it down for a moment, or grab the top of the snout and squeeze it. This tells the wolf on the right that the wolf on the left is the dominant animal. this means, the wolf on the left is higher up in rank than the wolf on the right.

There are circumstances where a real fight would break out. If the wolf on the right was from some other pack and invading the territory of the wolf on the left, then a real fight may happen.

Wolves will fight with each other, but is it rare. Neither wolf can afford to be hurt, so most of the fighting is just a lot of noise and positioning.

figure 2

Submissive Position #1 -
This is what the result of figure 1 would usually be. The wolf on the right would submit. This means the wolf on the right will lay on its back and expose its neck and stomach to the more dominant (higher ranking) wolf.

figure 3

Submissive Position #2 -
As we continue on through to the end of the behavior you might see something like you see in figure 3 above. The submissive wolf, the one on the left is now licking and nuzzling the dominant wolf.

This is a very important behavior. This lets the other wolves know which wolves are higher in rank than the others. The lower ranking animals will submit to the higher ranking animals. This creates harmony in the pack because all wolves know where they stand, so no one is confused.

Once in awhile a lower ranking wolf will decide that it is time to move up in the rankings. When this happens there is usually a fight. This is called a "dominance fight." Most of the time, this fight will end quickly with no blood shed.

figure 4

Submissive Position #3 -
Figure 4 above shows a very common event. When the alpha male or alpha female, the leaders of the pack, walk through the pack, the other members of the pack will show respect to the leaders.

This is done by lowering, bowing, and turning the head. As you can see in the figure, the ears are pinned back against the head. This gesture is often accompanied by the bearing of teeth of the submissive animal.

When a wolf bears its teeth, it is not always being aggressive. In the figure above the submissive wolf, the one on the left, is showing respect to the leader of the pack and is most likely bearing its teeth.

figure 5

Fearful Position - 
Figure 4 above is showing a flight response. The wolf is fearful and is running as fast as it can to get away. The ears are pinned back and the tail is wrapped completely up under its hind legs.

There are also times when the wolf will not run away, but is so frightened that it will also tuck its tail way up under its legs.

figure 6

In the Fun Zone -
I like to call this the "FUN ZONE." The mouth is open and the tongue is flopping around throwing spit everywhere. The ears are straight up and turned in. The tail is waving in the breeze and the wolf is bouncing around. This is play.

This is where I hang out most of time!

This is what wolves are best at. They love to play.

figure 7

Play Stance -
This wolf is showing the classic play stance. There is no secret hear as to what the wolf wants. It wants to play with another wolf. If the other wolf takes this wolf up on it, then they either wrestle around in the mud or take off and play a game of tag.

Wolves get so involved in playing, that they can forget about what is going on around them. R. D. Lawrence once sat and watched wolves play with each other on a frozen lake for about 20 minutes.

Hare & Hound - The wolves were playing "hare and the hound." This is a game where one wolf is it and all the others chase after the wolf.

The wolves were so involved in playing that they did not notice he was sitting watching. Suddenly, the lead male wolf reached his head up and smelled the wind and then looked over to where Mr. Lawrence was sitting. The wolves quickly left the lake. Mr. Lawrence said it seemed as though they were embarrassed at not knowing he was there.