A video (below) of a majestic wolf bonding with a wildlife worker named ‘Danielle’ will melt your heart.
Kekoa is an 8-year-old grey wolf who lives at the Colorado Wolf and Wildlife Center, a snowy animal sanctuary in the woods, according to The Dodo. His name means Brave One in Hawaiian.
Although Kekoa does everything a normal wolf would do, he also enjoys the presence of humans. Grey wolves are generally sociable animals and travel in packs of six to ten.
The 115 pound wolf was transferred from the Seacrest Wolf Preserve in Florida to Colorado.
“Kekoa is a handsome young male with a sweet personality, which is good because he loves to greet visitors with wolf kisses,” his biography on the center’s site says, the Daily Mail reports. “When he puts his paws on an other person’s shoulders he towers at about 7 feet.”
The footage shows the moment when Kekoa cuddles up next to Danielle, who shows no fear, the moment she sits next to him.
The love fest doesn’t end there. Sakara, Kekao’s sister, comes by to kiss Danielle on her face. The three are happily exchanging kisses and snuggling.
Sakara then comes toward the person filming and licks their hand.
“I have always had a passion for nature and animals,” Danielle says on the site, according to the Daily Mail. “These wolves have my heart and I am [honored] to have been accepted into their pack.”
“Since he was raised by people and bottle fed from the time he was born, he is very well socialized, meaning he enjoys the company of people,” Danielle told The Dodo. “This is not the same as domesticated or tame. He is still a ‘wild’ animal, and he does tend to show it when he is around is sister. A wolf in the wild would not act this way.”
Timberwolves, also known as grey wolves, were nearly hunted to extinction in the lower 48 states, according to Daily Mail.
However, they have since been reintroduced into the wilderness. They have mostly died out in Europe, but many have survived in Alaska, Canada and Asia.
When hunting large prey such as deer, moose and elk, grey wolves will assist each other. And if there is a puppy in the pack, all the wolves will help care for the baby cub by bringing them food and looking after them while the others hunt.