Like many people, wolves live in extended families. Wolf family groups are sometimes called packs.
Wolves live in packs because cooperation allows them to hunt larger prey, defend their common territory, and take care of and feed pups.
The male and female leaders of the pack are called the breeding pair (or parents). These two lead the pack during a hunt and often eat first when a kill is made. They typically are the only wolves in a pack to produce pups. The average litter size is four pups. Pups are born in the spring and the entire pack raises them.
Wolf pups are born weighing about one pound and are darkly furred. They are deaf, blind, have little or no sense of smell and cannot cool or heat themselves.
Pregnant female wolves usually dig dens themselves, often as early as three weeks before the pups are born. It is believed that the pups are between eight and ten weeks old when the den is abandoned.
While the pups are small, they remain at meet up (rendezvous) sites while the adults hunt the surrounding area. When adults return from the hunt, the pups lick the muzzles of the adult animals, and the wolves regurgitate (bring food that has been swallowed back to and out of the mouth) food for the young pups.
As the pups grow, some of them will be very assertive in their play, while others in the same litter will be weaker and more submissive.
The rest of the pack is typically made up of young (adolescent) wolves, one to four years old, several pups and an omega. An omega wolf can be either male or female and is the scapegoat, the lowest ranking member of the pack. The omega lives on the outskirts of the pack, usually eating last. The omega serves as both a stress-reliever and instigator of play.
When wolves become adolescents and have reached maturity, many will leave their home in order to search for a mate. These wolves are called dispersers. The long, drawn-out howl of a ‘lone wolf’ will hopefully attract another ‘lone wolf’. The two new self-proclaimed alphas find suitable territory to start a family of their own.