Wolf cubs raised by humans become attached to us like puppies

Wolves that are raised by people may have similar levels of attachment to humans as dogs.

Christina Hansen Wheat and her colleagues assessed attachment behaviour in 12 Alaskan huskies from two different litters and 10 European grey wolves from three litters while Wheat was working at Stockholm University in Sweden.

For the first two months of their lives, each litter – whether dog or wolf – was separately hand-raised and extensively exposed to humans, with the 24-hour presence of human caregivers.

Caregiver presence was gradually reduced to the point where the puppies spent…