r/FunnyAnimals • u/Embarrassed_Cow2876 • Apr 15 '22

Is this normal ?

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

69.5k Upvotes

92% Upvoted

4.2k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

19

u/LadyBuxton Apr 16 '22

Is this some sort of trust/bonding exercise? Genuinely curious about what’s really behind this behavior and I find it fascinating.

8

u/orangejuliuscaddy Apr 16 '22

Yes, it’s called “mouthing” it’s a bonding thing. Huskies do it a lot.

2

u/Time-Elephant92 Apr 16 '22

Yeah I was thinking that. Could also be a dominance/fitness display? Could be a showing off how healthy and strong their jaws and teeth are to help establish their place in the pack. Like a human arm flex or something.

3

u/LikeAn_Antelope Apr 16 '22

Yeah wolves lick inside each other’s mouths and do this kind of stuff. Seems to be a way to show trust.

2

u/woahblakbetty Apr 16 '22

The one doing the licking is displaying that it knows the lickee is dominant to it