Dog owners have grown accustomed to seeing their dogs' tails wagged when they return home from work. Dog owners are used to seeing their dogs wag their tails. But did they do it just for us?
The short answer to this question is yes, wolves do wag their tails. Sarah Marshall-Pescini is a senior researcher at Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology in Vienna, Austria. She said that wolves often wag their tails in greeting behavior. "Greeting behaviors are behavior that subordinates show towards dominant individuals, especially during reunions after separation."
Wolves are not always a part of their pack. They may break off into smaller hunting groups or wander off on their own. Marshall-Pescini stated that wolves reunite with their pack by greeting each other with tail wagging and other greeting behavior. This is similar to how dogs greet other dogs.
Related: Animals hug one another.
According to the U.S. National Park Service, wolf packs usually include a male-female breeding couple that leads its offspring as well as nonbreeding adults. One of the many ways that wolves communicate their status is by tail wagging when greetings are given is to let others know.
To show subordination, a wolf will keep its tail down and wag its tail quickly. This is a good way to distinguish between dominant and subordinate wolves. Marshall-Pescini stated that "it avoids conflicts." It is a way for people to clearly identify their roles, and to not have to disagree about them every time they arise.
The highest-ranking members in the pack are the breeding male and female. Age determines the hierarchy with older offspring being higher than the younger. Marshall-Pescini said that family dynamics are similar in certain ways to human families. "I believe that if you ask any younger sibling [human], they will tell you, "Oh yes, my older brother [is] definitely the dominant] in the family." It is the parents who have to negotiate the sharing of resources.
From where does tail wagging originate?
Tail wagging by wolves is usually combined with lip licking in which a subordinate Wolf tries to lick the lips a dominant Wolf. These behaviors begin when wolves become puppies. The older siblings and adults leave the puppies behind in wolf society to hunt. When they return, the puppies greet the older wolves.
Marshall-Pescini stated that you will see a horde puppies running towards adults, showing greeting behavior such as low tail waving and lip licking. It's not just for show, the lip licking is important in feeding the puppies.
According to the International Wolf Center, Minnesota, wolf puppies start to eat meat that has been regurgitated by adults from three weeks old. Adult wolves will regurgitate their meat involuntarily when they see a puppy's lips licking. The greeting behavior allows them to get a meal. According to the University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web, wolf pups switch from regurgitated to regular meat at about 6.5 weeks of age. However, they continue to display status by lip licking, tail waving, and greeting behaviors.
Domestic dogs do not run up to their dominant pack members like wolves, but instead wag their tails and greet people. Unless we teach them otherwise, they will often try to kiss our faces. "The dogs learned that the face-licking was not appreciated and they kind of removed it. Marshall-Pescini stated that they still display all manner of greeting behaviors, including tail waving.
Original publication on Live Science
