User:Jules Atticus/sandbox

Relationships with humans
When studying wolf attachment behaviour it was found that there are specific criteria for a wolf to exhibit attachment behaviour towards a human. Wolves that were removed from the den around 10 days of age and were raised for 3–7 weeks by a human caregiver, were shown to display attachment behaviour to their human caregiver.[1] The pups were with their caregivers 24 hours a day for the first 1.5–2 months of their lives.[1] Then the pups were with their human caregiver for 16 hours a day after the first 1.5-2 months and the caregivers were responsible for feeding the pups.[1] The pups were tested with a novel stranger and their caregiver present in a novel room, this was done by using a modified Ainsworth Strange Situation Tes t.[1] Prior to testing the wolf pups were observed to show no preference between their caregiver and a novel stranger.[1] After the wolf pup's 2 minutes of isolation phase they were shown to more likely greet their caregiver compared to the stranger. Wolf pups were even observed to show an effect of reunion by having greater proximity with their caregiver compared to a novel stranger.[1] Though this does not necessarily mean that all wolf pups will exhibit attachment behaviour as different variables may impact the attachment behaviour present in the wolves.[1]

Wolves who have been raised by humans for 16 weeks showed a different behaviour compared to those raised by humans for 3–7 weeks. The wolves that were tested were separated from their mothers and siblings 3–5 days after birth.[2] The wolves were in close contact with their human caregiver for 20–24 hours a day for the first 16 weeks.[2] The wolves were socialized with other wolves and were exposed to novel situations to the extent that they were used to traveling in cars and on public transportation.[2] Due to being raised by humans, the wolves lacked wariness and did not actively avoid humans.[2] It was noted that the wolves had a strong interest in strangers.[2] The experiment was tested over seven episodes where the wolves were first exposed to their caregiver, their caregiver and a stranger, just a stranger. They were left by themselves, with a stranger and finally their caregiver.[2] The wolves raised by humans studied seemed to seek physical contact with the stranger and did not discriminate between following their caregiver or the stranger.[2] This result was theorized to be due to the wolves being of a more independent age at the time of the testing.[1] After the study, the wolves used were able to re-socialize and were allowed to enter into a pack of wolves.[2]

Wolves are different than dogs when it comes to their ability to understand where a human is looking.[6] In a study, wolves were socialized with humans for an extended period of time to determine if they could react the same way that dogs do.[6] When a dog is trying to find something that a human has hid they will look at the human to determine where they are looking and thereby where they should be looking.[6] This behaviour is not seen in wolves no matter how much socialization occurs.[6] The wolf does not look back at the human, but rather looks for it by themselves without looking to the human for help.[6]