WELCOME TO WOLFS AS MOTHERS

The pack leader is known as the alpha male, and his mate is known as the alpha female. Usually only the alpha pair mate, beginning at about two years of age. Wolves breed just once a year, in the winter. Though the females are in heat for just a few weeks, they are fertile for only 2 to 5 days.



A wolf pack averages eight members or fewer, and consist of the "alpha" or dominant pair, their most recent litter of pups, the pups' older siblings and occasionally other unrelated wolves.





A pregnant wolf might use as a den for her pups a hollow tree trunk, a bushy thicket, a cave, or even a hole in the ground dug by the wolf. Wolves do not use dens for any other reason except to raise their young in. For the first week or so, the mother spends most of her time in the den with her babies as they are unable to regulate their body temperature very well and depend on her for warmth.






Pregnant wolves usually have their litters of one to eleven pups in the springtime. Wolf litters are in average six pups. A pregnant wolf's gestation period is 63 days and usually each puppy weighs about 1 pound. Social ranking begins at birth, when the biggest and strongest pups push for position at their mother's teats. Since only about half may make it through the first year, the pups' survival is a top priority for every pack member. If the alpha wolf female fails to produce pups, or the pups die, the pack resumes its usual nomadic travels within their territory. The wolf mother will then ignore the den if she has no living pups.



Puppies are always born with blue eyes. Wolf puppies are at the center of the pack's social life every kill is brought back to feed the pups. That is the only reason the adults returned to their den each day is to take care of the pups. The parent wolves may sometimes need to feed the pups by regurgitating partly digested meat for them. Once they are a few weeks old and their teeth can chew well enough to eat meat on their own. Pups normally stay with the parents until winter, and sometimes longer, if the need is great for protection or food.



The pups love to play for hours on end. Pouncing, chasing, rolling and attacking come naturally to the pups; they practice these activities regularly. As they grow older, they will use these same activities for more serious matters, such as hunting prey for food.



Yearling wolves, spend a great deal of time playing with their younger siblings. These younger wolves also feed the pups and babysit while the adults are off hunting. The parents and young make-up the basic pack, which establishes and defends their territory by marking with urine and feces. The majority of wolves and dogs have a very keen sense of smell and won't venture into marked territory.




LEGEND