Environment & Energy
Related: About this forumWolf Puppies Are Adorable. Then Comes the Call of the Wild.
Im sitting in an outdoor pen with four puppies chewing my fingers, biting my hat and hair, peeing all over me in their excitement.
At eight weeks old, they are two feet from nose to tail and must weigh seven or eight pounds. They growl and snap over possession of a much-chewed piece of deer skin. They lick my face like Im a long-lost friend, or a newfound toy. They are just like dogs, but not quite. They are wolves.
When they are full-grown at around 100 pounds, their jaws will be strong enough to crack moose bones. But because these wolves have been around humans since they were blind, deaf and unable to stand, they will still allow people to be near them, to do veterinary exams, to scratch them behind the ears if all goes well.
Yet even the humans who raised them must take precautions. If one of the people who has bottle-fed and mothered the wolves practically since birth is injured or feels sick, she wont enter their pen to prevent a predatory reaction. No one will run to make one of these wolves chase him for fun. No one will pretend to chase the wolf. Every experienced wolf caretaker will stay alert. Because if theres one thing all wolf and dog specialists Ive talked to over the years agree on, it is this: No matter how you raise a wolf, you cant turn it into a dog.
As close as wolf and dog are some scientists classify them as the same species there are differences. Physically, wolves jaws are more powerful. They breed only once a year, not twice, as dogs do. And behaviorally, wolf handlers say, their predatory instincts are easily triggered compared to those of dogs. They are more independent and possessive of food or other items. Much research suggests they take more care of their young. And they never get close to that Labrador retriever I-love-all-humans level of friendliness. As much as popular dog trainers and pet food makers promote the inner wolf in our dogs, they are not the same.
Read the article at:
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/13/science/wolves-dogs-genetics.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=second-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0
Doreen
(11,686 posts)People should never take a wolf as a pet. I also think it is wrong to cross wolves with domestic dogs. That is just a dangerous mix. Wolves are wild animal so leave them like that. I like what you are doing with those special needs wolf cubs. They will never be 100% on their own but to allow them to be as wild as possible is good. Wolves social order is a lot like ours ( but better. ) They are a beautiful and majestic creature.
Purveyor
(29,876 posts)samnsara
(17,635 posts)...but the ppl who choose to raise wolves or wolf hybrids are setting themselves up for heart ache...at some point the 'wolf' will come out and the poor 'dog' will be the one to be euthanized...