Meet the wolfman! Ex-paratrooper, 79, who is so close to his pack of 29 wolves they eat meat from his MOUTH
- Werner Freund, 79, has raised more than 70 wolves on his sanctuary in Merzig, Germany
- To maintain his alpha male position in the pack, he ensure he always feeds first
By HELEN COLLIS
PUBLISHED: 12:10 EST, 27 January 2013 | UPDATED: 14:01 EST, 27 January 2013
It's clear to see who is the leader of this wolf pack in Germany.
Werner Freund, 79, sits at the top of the table in this pack of 29 wolves.
For 40 years the ex-paratrooper has hand reared and lived among wolves at his sanctuary in Merzig, Germany.
Leader of the pack: Wolf researcher Werner Freund feeds Arctic wolves with meat with his mouth in an enclosure at Wolfspark Werner Freund, in Merzig in the German province of Saarland
Werner Freund has hand-reared wolf pups at his sanctuary for 40 years
The wolves, acquired as cubs from zoos or animal parks, were mostly hand-reared and all know who is boss
The magnificent creatures, naturally feared by any layman, all behave playfully and submissively towards Werner, who has over the years exerted his dominance in the pack.
The enclosure at Wolfspark Werner Freund, in Merzig, in the German province of Saarland, contains wolves from six different packs across the world.
They include European, Siberian, Canadian, Artic and Mongolian regions. Some of which look fairly similar, but the snowy white Arctic wolves are the most distinguishable from the rest.
Werner exerts his dominance at feeding time, ensuring he is the first to get his teeth into some raw meat
Knowing their place in the pack, the hungry wolves can do little more than watch on, while salivating, as Werner tucks into a deer's leg
Once Werner has had his fill, the lower ranking wolves can finally move in and begin to devour the carcass
The hungry Mongolian wolves finally get their fill and devour the entire deer cadaver
At feeding time, Werner must ensure he continues to feed first and disallows any of the hungry and salivating wolves to come near, in order to maintain the respect of the pack.
It is for this reason that they do not attack him and, instead, lick his face and act playfully when they are not feeding.
When they are not feeding, the pack show their affection for their leader, staying close and acting playful
Mongolian wolf Heiko licks the mouth of wolf researcher Werner Freund in a sign of acknowledgement and subservience
Unperturbed: Werner is used to this sort of behaviour, which far from being aggressive, is in fact a sign of respect and submission from the wolf
Werner Freund, 79, a former German paratrooper, established the wolf sanctuary in 1972 and has raised more than 70 animals over the last 40 years
Werner established the wolf sanctuary, which is spread over 25 acres, in 1972 and has raised more than 70 animals over the last 40 years.
The wolves, acquired as cubs from zoos or animal parks, were mostly hand-reared.
At home in the Arctic conditions: Spread over 25 acres, Wolfspark is currently home to 29 wolves forming six packs from European, Siberian, Canadian, Artic and Mongolian regions
Home from home: The Arctic wolves look quite at home in their currently snow-covered enclosure
One of them: Leaning back on his haunches and howling into the cold air, Werner looks completely at one with his life as leader of the wolf pack
Werner has a ready supply of slaughtered deer to feed his pack, all of which he will have to eat himself to show who is boss
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2269114/Werner-Freund-Pensioner-spent-40-years-running-sanctuary-living-packs-wolves.html#ixzz2JErFWlAQ
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