Four wolves part of a pack, social interaction

Ingrid Holvoet senses the mental world of wolves in a picture



Second wolf from the left, wolf nr. 2

Is happy, has got a good life. He (or she) is well accepted as one of the group. He has acquired a place in the group. He is respected, he gets his share. He counts as much as the others. He is not pushed aside, he is not cast out. He gets equal parts of the food as the others.

There’s plenty of food available, there are lots of small animals in the neighbourhood they can hunt for, they are never hungry. They move in groups through the landscape in search of food.
When a member of the pack has been able to catch a prey, this is shared, unless it’s a small animal. Everyone in the group gets sufficient food. If one wolf catches a lot of food, then this is shared with others, so that every wolf gets enough.
 
As well as going in search of food and eating, they lie together in a group on the ground or they are sleeping in a group.

His feelings towards the other wolves of the pack: he is great friends with the wolf on his right (the wolf on the far left in the picture, wolf nr. 1). He likes him and they get on very well. They often play together (biting each other slightly, fighting playfully). They share food between one another. Wolf nr. 1 has sometimes not enough and then he gives a bit of his part, he doesn’t mind. To him friendship is more important than a filled stomach. Only if he’s very hungry and there is not much food he won’t share with wolf nr.1. But as soon as he has sufficient food himself, he will feel sorry for wolf nr.1 and he will make sure that wolf nr.1 gets some food.
 
Wolf nr.1 sometimes walks with a limp and can at times only advance with difficulty. The other wolves of the pack don’t care about that and leave wolf nr.1 to fend for himself. But he takes care of his companion. When wolf nr.1 can no longer keep up with the group and when the others are way ahead, he stays near wolf nr.1. Even if this means he’ll miss out on food. Then he stays on the spot with wolf nr.1 and he searches some food in the immediate neighbourhood (small animals) which he shares with wolf nr.1. And then they stay together until the other wolves return.
When wolf nr.1 is tired and exhausted and is unable to keep up with the group, then he does not find it in his heart to leave him alone and he stays with him. Even if this means fasting. The other wolves approve it. They don’t care. On occasion the wolf on his left (wolf nr.3) shows some disdain with regard to this (by growling) but it doesn’t bother him.
 
Wolf nr.1 is a wolf that came from another pack and that has joined their group. Wolf nr.3 didn’t like this newcomer and growled at him, but he (wolf nr.2) went to him, and stayed with him for a while, with wolf nr.3 growling at a distance. But after a number of days wolf nr.3 got more indifferent and they came closer and wolf nr.1 could stay without any problem. But wolf nr.3 has always ignored wolf nr.1 and has never showed him any regard. Wolf nr.1 is accepted, but with reserve.
 
His (wolf nr.2) feeling toward wolf nr.3 is a feeling of competition, wolf nr 3 is the boss and is dominant and he (wolf nr.2) follows and he knows his place. But he is a bit jealous and if he would see the opportunity to cut out wolf nr.3 he wouldn’t abstain from it, but there’s no chance. He doesn’t show his true feelings to wolf nr.3. On the contrary, he shows respect for him (= he knows his place), is submissive, he demonstrates his (false) affection to him (by going round in circles beside him, by turning round a few times beside him). In spite of this he does in fact have respect for wolf nr.3 because he’s the leader.
 
His feelings towards wolf nr.4: he doesn’t know him very well, he doesn’t hang around a lot of time with him, he is rather indifferent to him. However he is jealous of wolf nr.4 because that one is slightly more regarded by and gets slightly more attention from wolf nr.3 than himself. If wolf nr.3 gives up some food, wolf nr.4 will always get food first and will always get more food than himself. The difference between how he is treated by wolf nr.3 and how wolf nr.4 is treated is subtle, but he can notice it though. It is clear to him that wolf nr.4 is a bit favoured and that wolf nr.3 feels more affection for wolf nr.4 than for himself. 
 

First wolf from the left, wolf nr.1

Is curious about what is happening behind him, is hearing a noise.
Belongs to the group, is a bit older. Can’t move on as well as the others, doesn’t always find food. He gets leftovers from the animals caught that the others don’t eat. When another animal has finished eating from his catch, he gets the rest. Sometimes a wolf just eats a small part of his catch, and the rest is for him.
 
He usually lies at a small distance from the other animals of the group. That’s because his rank in the group is a bit lower and he has a few less rights. Other than that he’s accepted in the group and he has about the same rights as the others.
 
His feelings towards wolf nr.2: he is being helped by him and he is grateful for it. He is looked at with some contempt by the other wolves and he is ignored, but that doesn’t hit him hard. He’s got one companion in the group (wolf nr.2) and that is sufficient. He doesn’t take everything too much to heart, he is very happy to have some food (sometimes a bit less than the others, and he can’t always catch much himself, but he doesn’t mind all that), and not to have to wander about alone and being left to his own devices. Because that is dreadful. He’s happy to be admitted in the group, and apart from that he’s satisfied with anything.
Feelings towards wolf nr.2: that wolf looks after him, he is dependent on him, gratitude, feeling united, love, a feeling of belonging together.

His feelings towards wolf nr.3: he doesn’t care much about him, wolf nr.3 ignores him and sometimes scornfully leaves over some food, but that doesn’t affect him much. He couldn’t care less about wolf nr.3, he pretends to respect him but in his heart it’s not the case.
His feelings towards wolf nr.4: that one is more of a stranger to him, he has got little contact with him, that one is always near wolf nr.3, he couldn’t care less about him.
 

Second wolf from the right, wolf nr.3

That wolf is dominant and aggressive.
He is thinking up a strategy to get hold of food. He thinks of which direction they have to head for to catch food. He thinks of a hole of smaller animals where they can catch animals. This hole is in a forward direction. He also thinks of the possibility on his right. There are a great deal of holes with lots of animals over there.
He takes charge when they hunt. He goes in front and the others follow a little behind him. If there’s not much food to catch or if there’s only one hole, he assumes the responsibility for the catch. If he catches some food, this is proportionally divided among the members of the pack. He eats a part of the catch first, and next the others eat. The wolf on the far left eats last and if there is anything left.
 
Feelings towards the others wolves: they all belong together, he knows his place and the others know their place, he feels respect towards and a bond with the wolves beside him, and looks somewhat down upon wolf nr.1. But yet he won’t hurt that wolf and he will help him when he needs help, because the wolf belongs to the group and that is respected. He only feels some contempt for him and he will also let it be seen to him.
- By ignoring him, (walking alongside him without making any contact), by growling. By this the wolf knows he has to keep his seat.
- By making sure that the rest of the food he’s caught is sometimes solely reserved for the other wolves and that nothing or nothing much remains for that wolf.

Sometimes he (wolf nr.3) is in a better mood and he can bear it more that that wolf tucks into a prey he’s caught. On occasion when the members of the group are lying on the ground together, he can tolerate it better that that wolf is lying closer by him, and he won’t growl.

Wolf on the (far) right in the picture, wolf nr.4

That wolf is out for food. She is focused on herself and doesn’t care much about the others. She lives in her own small world and has little contact with other wolves.
She is particularly preoccupied with food and standing in wolf nr.3’s favour. She displays a somewhat slimy behaviour towards wolf nr.3, in order to be in favour with wolf nr. 3. She walks close beside him (= a bond, we belong together), she caresses him (rubbing with her head against him, is a sign of the greatest respect for him), she goes in search of food for him and puts it down before him (he gets her food, that is a sign of the highest possible respect), she lays her paws across him when they lie and rest on the ground, (again a sign of the utmost respect).
Wolf nr.3 tolerates this from her, from many others he wouldn’t tolerate this. This is a sign that he accepts her respect for him and that she is greatly accepted by him.

She chiefly butters up wolf nr.3 because she’s out for the best food. And she has noticed that it does the trick, because she thinks she is a bit more favoured as to food than other wolves. She has the impression that wolf nr.3 lets her eat the quickest when he’s finished and also leaves the best parts to her. She thinks she has noticed he favours her slightly above the other wolves as to food. This proves that her slimy attitude is working and that he doesn’t see that she actually doesn’t mean it. She purely does it to get more food.

Attitude towards wolf nr.1: she’s scarcely aware of him being there. She’s so self-absorbed and so caught in her own small world and she’s so preoccupied with getting a lot of food, that she hardly notices the presence of the other wolves in the pack.
Attitude towards wolf nr.2: ditto + she’s slightly jealous of him, and she is slightly competing with him. This has everything to do with the fact that she wants to receive the best and the most food. She is a little more aware of wolf nr.2 than wolf nr.1 because she is competing with him for food.