Former paratrooper Werner Freund is quite literally the leader of the pack – the wolf pack, that is.

The German researcher is top dog for six packs of wolves at his Wolfspark Werner Freund animal sanctuary in Merzig, in the province of Saarland, Germany.

He runs the park, which is spread over 25 acres and is currently home to 29 canines, with his wife Erika.

Together they have hand-raised more than 70 animals in the past 40 years, since Freund set up the sanctuary in 1972. The cubs are usually rescued from zoos or animal parks.

But living with wolves is no easy task. To assert his dominance over the European, Siberian, Canadian, Artic and Mongolian beasts, the 79-year-old must act like alpha male – which means he gets first bite of fresh dead meat he feeds them.

His bravery – and strong stomach – are paid off as the pack show him respect and even playfully lick his mouth clean afterwards.