Unlike dogs, wolf pups must be removed from their parents before three weeks of age and hand raised by humans through the age of four months in order to be tamed. Pups who are not hand-raised become extremely fearful of humans even in cases where the rest of the pack is tame and humans interact with the puppies extensively every day.

Once a week the main wolf pack is allowed to hunt the resident bison herd. Contrary to what you might expect, the bison do not seem nervous when the wolves appear. Some remain lying down while others continue grazing and ruminating. The wolves don't stalk the bison the way a border collie stalks the sheep it's herding. Rather, they nonchalantly walk around the herd inconspicuously looking for subtle signs of weakness. Occasionally they square off with an individual but usually within a second or two the individual chases them away. if it's a calf that is being tested, its mother comes to the rescue. Because none of the herd members have been sick at the time of the hunt, no bison have ever been killed in the 15 years of the hunt at Wolf Park.

The wolves at Wolf Park are tame enough to interact with visitors attending the behavior courses. Like dogs, they look forward to interacting with staff members daily. They run up to greet the members and even offer kisses and beg for tummy rubs. Unlike dogs, each interaction is a chance to test. Wolves have a higher drive to be at the top that dogs do. As a result every time a wolf interacts with another human or wolf, even in play, it is also testing for weakness. That means fun and games can quickly turn into a play for power. Due to this testing, staff members never interact with the wolves unless another member is present and humans are not allowed to interact with the wolves when they are on medications or are debilitated in some way.

Wolves are highly social animals with a highly organized group structure. The alpha female is head of the female pack members and the alpha make is the head of the male pack members. This pack order is expressed in daily ritualized greetings where the subordinate wolves offer submissive gestures to the more dominant wolves. They may lick the alpha wolf's lips, lower their body, or even roll on their backs exposing their underside (an alpha roll). Note that the submissive wolf offers the alpha roll. The alpha wolf does not throw the submissive wolf into the roll!

Wolves in the wild probably live to about five or seven years of age. They succumb to starvation, predation by humans, parasites, broken bones, and other injuries. In captivity, wolves live closer to 10-12 years of age. Wolves get all of the same medical problems as dogs including hot spots, diabetes, kidney disease. In the wild, the ones that develop these diseases die younger and produce less offspring.