Social contacts and care
Wolves display a wide range of bonding behaviors, maintaining unity within their pack. I lose track of time witnessing their affectionate gestures, their graceful movements, their fleeting breaths. It’s as if they have the power to break the circle of boundaries in those moments.
Tactile communication plays a significant role in establishing bonds among pack members. Wolves have numerous physical contacts, especially through their noses. This communication is crucial for maintaining the couple’s bond between precious Alpha and the mother-pups relationship.
Sociable attention behaviours can also be observed, including licking each other’s noses and fur, nibbling with the incisors on hair in the neck, back and head area of their partner, and licking a wound when one of them has been injured. They can be performed mutually by the Alpha couple or by the other members of the pack after a long separation, demonstrating the joy of being reunited.
There’s also an invitation to play, standing across each other, rubbing against one another, playfully bumping, running around each other, raising a foreleg, approaching in a friendly manner.
Some of these behaviors are seen in what is known as active submission. A contact activity involving a notion of greeting in which signs of inferiority are evident. The individual crouches, raises its head toward its higher-ranking partner, and directs its nose toward their lips. Its ears are positioned sideways, openings directed downward or pressed against its skull. It narrows its eyes (myosis) and looks at the partner. Its lips are pulled back, forming a sort of smile.
This active submission is also observed in the Alpha female towards the dominant male. In this context, it either expresses reverence or solicits food, in which case it occurs near the den. In both cases, the posture is the same, except that in the second example, it ends with food regurgitation.
Beautiful attention, recognition, and respect within the family!
They savor life, thus harmoniously connected with the earth, making you feel its movement, energy, and by watching them live, your perspective on nature changes. It demonstrates that it is possible to live in harmony with the universe, an inseparable balance. This language can only be visual, slipping into your souls, as Rimbaud intended, a language that speaks to the soul, a language whose meaning is to move your senses.
Like poets alone create what endures.
Artificial intelligence translation of an original text by Sandrine Devienne.
Click here to read the French version