Wolf Pack - Ways of the Wild Wolf in Wild Wolf Society

Of course, the whole process begins with a female choosing her mate and then pair of wild wolves mating. It is usually the dominant pair, but not always. Sometimes another wolf pair is successful.

The wolf pups fathered by a subordinate wolf are not in danger of being killed. All members of the wolf pack love and nurture the young pups and protect them fiercely.

It is only possible for the pack to raise one litter at a time. It is for this reason that mating means so much in a wolf pack.

Next the pack heads to the family site where all females give birth. All the pack members go in one at a time and contribute their share in cleaning the den.

Now all that is left for them to do is to fatten up so that they can raise healthy pups. So, until the birth of the pups, about all they do is eat and sleep.

It is the mother to be who gives the alpha male the signal telling him, "The Pups are coming." She does this very discretely with her eyes. Then he leads the pack to the birth den.

The wolf pack cleans the den often before the birth of the wild wolf pups. But they do not sleep in it. They want it to be as clean as possible for the pups. If they slept in it, or failed to keep it clean during these few weeks, then that den would become overrun with parasites. Itchy fleas and ticks carry disease that will quickly take the life of a pup.

The pack runs to the borders of their territory and marks them well while proudly announcing in wolf song the arrival of the wolf pups.

In the first few days of the wolf pups' lives, they are unable to go outside the den. So fecal matter and urine has to be cleaned up by the mother. That's right. She eats it! She has to. Otherwise, predators would locate and kill her pups in no time.

Raising a litter of wild wolf pups in such an unforgiving environment is no easy task. Even in times of plenty, the life of a wolf is hard. Only about one in ten hunts is a success.

And the pups always come first. The pups are on mom's milk for a very short time. All members of the pack soon force them to learn how to be feed on a real wolf's diet. The pups learn quickly to poke their nose in the corner of an adult's mouth or suckle the lips in the corner, and are rewarded with well chewed partially digested food.

As though they have studied wild wolf behavior, the wolf pups start wrestling for dominance with each other almost right away. They use their bodies to block one another from food as a means of establishing rank. They also begin to run in a line in strict pecking order.

The most intelligent, steady one ends up leading the little puppy pack. It has nothing to do with size. The pups discover early that leadership is about doing what's best for the pack, NOT about power and control.

Since even rival alphas rarely kill wild wolf pups, the pups are sometimes brought along if the alpha picks up the scent of an intruder on his land. Tours of the pack's own land are also a way the alpha keeps peace among the pack. When tensions start running high in the pack and squabbles are breaking out, the wolf pack leader takes them on a tour.

Roaming and territory marking the borders of their land, and scent mixing with each other, are ways of reinforcing close knit bonding among the pack members. If a rival's scent is picked up, though, the alpha will lead his pack to the spot. Usually the other pack flees at the sight of the rightful landowner. But if they don't, the alpha scratches the ground and makes clear the boundary.

Sometimes, the packs will howl back and fourth settling things through a voice contest. Other times, the two alphas will wrestle it out until one has pinned down the other. Winner receives the land. It is rare for one alpha to kill another.

Feast and famine is a cycle, a rhythm. The same track every time. Famine happens because the herbivores eat themselves out of house and home, literally. So the herds move on in mass to find new plains of plentiful grass.

This period of time is a great test of a pack's strength and a leader's skill. Many wolves die, and the wolf packs have few to no pups. The young do not often survive. The alpha decides what the pack eats and what it leaves. Such as if a bird of prey drops her meat, the alpha will either take it to his pack, or let them know with his eyes, "Leave that alone."

The famine is hard. But it does pass. Soon times are good again, and once more the cycle begins.