WHEN 10-year-old Alisa Selekh cries wolf, the whole village comes running — but only to watch her ride on one’s back like a horse through her front garden.

    It’s just one of a handful of party tricks Alisa has up her sleeve that she performs with the pack of pet wolves her family keeps at home in the village of Zacherevye, some 250 km north of Minsk, Belarus.

    She can also roll about in the grass with them and even share a big kiss without a second thought for their razor-sharp fangs and ravenous appetite for flesh.

    She has become inseparable from the furry beasts since her father, Oleg, the local gamekeeper, took in a group of young wild wolves in 2009.

    Unlike many other species of pack animals, male and female wolves tend to operate on an equal footing within their group. So, rather than being dominated by a single “leader,” a wolf pack is led by an alpha couple — one alpha male and one alpha female.

    These two animals lead the pack during a hunt and often eat first when a kill is made. Generally, though not always, the alpha wolves are the only wolves in the pack to have pups. Second in command is the beta wolf, which can be male or female.

    At the bottom is the omega wolf — a scapegoat.

    Although there are leaders and weaklings, it is not always survival of the fittest. It is always the hungriest that gets to eat first, not necessarily the biggest.

    Working together, they ensure each member has a role to play and none are neglected.

    Contrary to popular belief, wild wolves are not dangerous and tend to flee at the first sight of humans.

    However, domesticated wolves and hybrid breeds can pose the biggest threat to people as they have lost their natural fear. (SD-Agencies)