Courting wolves commonly “snuggle” while walking and laying together.

This behavior probably has the same adaptive value as the snuggling, hand-holding, arms-around, and related contact of human courtship.

Upon greeting, both Wolves stand tensely shoulder to shoulder, with fur bristled, tails out and wagging, and ears erect as they venture a sniff of each others nose and muzzle. As they get to know each other better, there may be some play posturing, and then tail,  and sniffing. This progresses into romping, running, licking, and nuzzling, by which time the greeting phase fades and courtship begins.

Wolves are extremely intelligent beings, having great curiosity, the ability to learn quickly, and the full range of emotions people like to attribute to humans alone. It is documented that Wolves have a physical brain size from one-sixth to one-third larger than domestic canines.


Also documented, are Wolves ability to tread through standing water to mask their scent and opening doors by turning the doorknob after having watched the humans doing it.