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Emotions through Body Language
Happy/content
Facial expression: open mouth, tongue hanging loosely with lips drawn back, ears forward.
Body posture: relaxed, loose tail wagging
Vocalization: happy panting, chuffing
Anger/threatening
Facial expression: wrinkled nose, snarling with lips pulled forward, bared teeth, ears upright
Body posture: standing tall with arched neck, hackles raised, tail lifted stiffly or horizontal to back
Vocalization: snarling and growling. A low rumbling growl is subtle threat, whereas more high-pitched growling shows high aggressiveness.
Sadness/Mourning
Facial expression: ears droopy, eyes lowered
Body posture: head and body lowered, tail drooping, fur smoothed
Vocalization: whining. Wolves often howl when mourning a lost pack member.
Curious/Investigating
Facial expression: eyes widened/alert, ears perked forward
Body posture: head lifted, tail loose with tip curled upwards
Playfulness
Facial expression: open mouth, tongue hanging loosely with lips drawn back, ears forward
See: Wolf Play
Fear
Facial expression: mouth opened, ears flattened back, eyes widened
Body posture: crouched ready to spring, rounded back with tail close to body curled between or around legs
Vocalization: defensive growling and/or a high pitched whine
Humiliation
Facial expression: lips drawn back and downward, ears drawn back and flattened
Body posture: rounded back, tail half curled under
Submission
Facial expression: keeps mouth closed with lips drawn back, ears laid back and lowers eyes avoiding eye contact.
Body posture: lowered body with fur flattened, tail tucked under
Gesture: Wolves roll onto their back to present their vulnerable undersides as a sign of complete submission. They often paw at the other wolf's muzzle and face, encouraging play to ease the tension. To show mild and respectful submission a lower rank will lick under the dominant wolf’s muzzle and neck.
Vocalization: whimpering/whining
Warning/annoyance
Facial expression: staring directly at offending wolf, ears lifted and pointing forward, or flattened when showing annoyance
Body posture: fur ruffled, tail raised or flicking quickly
Gesture: The direct stare is a serious and stern way for a high-ranking wolf to warn another to obey or to back off. Often all a dominant wolf has to do to keep authority and peace is stare at a lower rank and it will immediately cringe, turn and slink away.
Vocalization: A soft growl may accompany the stare as a warning.
Suspicion
Facial expression: ears flattened, narrowed eyes
Body posture: Lifted head, tail slightly raised
Dominance
Facial expression: ears upright and forward, eyes keen/alert
Body posture: head lifted, standing tall and confident with tail raised high, sometimes curling backwards
Gesture: In a display of friendly dominance, a dominant wolf stands over another, closing its jaws gently over the wolf’s muzzle. This is a re-enforcement of status without bloodshed. In a simpler version of this, the dominant wolf arches its neck and nips the other on top of the muzzle.
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