Fang Ye watched the situation for a while, then lowered his voice and said, "See the wolf standing on the rocks? That wolf is Mizzle, and the one below is Charcoal, Mizzle's husband."
"Mizzle, that name sounds so feminine. Is it a female wolf?"
Director, can a female wolf become an alpha? Mizzle doesn't look as strong as the black wolf below. Why is she standing above?"
"The leaders of the wolves are usually a wolf couple, and of course, a female can be an alpha. It's not about physical size—personality and intelligence, social skills, experience, and so forth are much more important!
For example, when encountering danger in the wild, it's necessary to rely on the leader's wisdom to make decisions. Putting a strong but brainless fool in charge would lead the whole pack into a pit."
"Hahaha! Makes sense."
Fang Ye continued explaining, "The new wolves haven't left because they're being watched by Mizzle, but also because the region outside emits the scent of Charcoal and Mizzle! This smell sends a message, 'The masters here are Charcoal and Mizzle!'
Wolves mark their territory by urinating, defecating, and rubbing the ground to leave scent marks. These scent markings are spaced about 240 meters apart across their entire territory and typically last for 2–3 weeks. The marks are usually made on rocks, trees, or the bones of large animals.
In the wild, if the scent markings and howling don't stop strange wolf packs from entering their territory, a fierce battle will ensue.
Mizzle has a relatively strong sense of territory; look how she's constantly staring at those wolves as a warning. But she also doesn't dare to act rashly because she and Charcoal are only two wolves and are disadvantaged in number; they would be at a loss in a fight."
The new wolves won't stay still just because of the scent. The new environment is also very attractive to them. It's just a matter of whether they will choose to join Charcoal and Mizzle, provoke them, or simply walk away without interaction?"
Upon hearing this, netizens became a bit anxious, watching the standoff between the wolf packs intently.
At that moment, the physically weakest Doudou gathered his courage and took the lead!
He trotted a few steps like a dragonfly skimming the water, moving to the open grassland ahead, and instantly, the focus of both groups of wolves shifted to him.
Once Doudou realized he was the subject of Charcoal's and Mizzle's gaze, his pace immediately slowed. He hung his head low, not daring to meet their eyes, with small, slow steps. His tail tightly tucked between his hind legs, he passed by as if a eunuch tiptoeing to deliver a vegetarian meal to the emperor while holding back a bowel movement.
"Wow, wolves really do tuck their tails, this is my first time seeing it!"
"That must be a sign of submission, right?"
After this behavior repeated several times, Mizzle tacitly allowed him to follow but did not permit him to come too close, staying about three meters away; any closer and she would attack.
Charcoal went up to interact with Doudou, and this time Mizzle did not intervene.
Charcoal was relatively friendly; he sniffed Doudou's scent without bullying him, and Doudou quickly made a submissive gesture by licking the corners of Charcoal's mouth as if to flatter, appearing to say, "Boss, having a smoke!"
Of course, wolves don't offer cigarettes, but the appeasing gesture was no different from that of humans.
Charcoal licked Doudou appreciatively then went back to Mizzle's side.
Now, Doudou seemed to have secured his place, respectfully laying in the grass on the periphery.
The netizens who witnessed how wolves communicate and form packs felt as though their eyes had been opened!
"Hey, even wolves can butter someone up," someone remarked.
"I thought Mizzle's fierce demeanor meant Doudou was going to be bitten to death just now, it gave me quite a scare but turned out to be all bark and no bite."
"That was just a formal warning. He was already showing such submissiveness; obviously, he wanted to join the pack, not fight to the death."
"Does this mean Doudou has been accepted into the pack now?"
Fang Ye chuckled, "Actually, he's not really part of the pack yet! Joining the pack is a lengthy process. A newcomer has to go through weeks of probing and attacks to test whether they can be trusted."
After Doudou was temporarily accepted, the other wolves made their decisions as well. Lame Leg, being a loner, was the first to leave. Two other young wolves followed suit and slipped away.
The young female wolf who had once tried to seduce Charcoal, because of her grayish-white fur, was named Little Cabbage and stayed behind, probably feeling that the burly and strong Charcoal provided a greater sense of security!
Mizzle didn't seem too pleased with Little Cabbage, squinting and watching her for a bit. However, Little Cabbage didn't make an overt move, keeping her tail tucked and head bowed, maintaining distance and not casting flirtatious glances at Charcoal, behaving impeccably like a well-mannered lady, which made it hard for Mizzle to act out.
A wolf that is too brutal cannot lead the pack!
Charcoal, having learned from past lessons, also wisely stayed away.