Subtle changes in tail and ear positions, of body and head angle, making and breaking eye contact, and facial expressions are just a few. Clear communication is a key element to the success of a cooperative pack.īody language: They have a rich vocabulary of visual signs that communicate social rank, mood, and intentions. Wolves communicate with each other in a variety of ways. They become sexually mature at two to three years of age. Pups have grown strong enough to travel at six months of age, and from that time will join the other members of the pack learning survival skills. When the pack hunts, one adult member will remain as a puppy sitter. As pups they are already establishing, through play, their future roles within the pack. They leave the den after eight to ten weeks to discover the outside world. They nibble and lick the feeder’s muzzle to stimulate regurgitation. They become caregivers - providing food, play, and protection. Each member of the pack will affectionately lick, nuzzle, and sniff each pup. From then on the whole pack shares the job of feeding them, bringing meat which they regurgitate for the pups. After a month the pups are able to eat meat. At about ten days the pups’ eyes open and at three weeks they can hear. She in turn relies on her mate to bring her food. They are entirely dependent on their mother she is the only one who has contact with them at this time. They have soft, fuzzy dark hair with small, droopy ears and blunt muzzles. Litter size is smaller for Arctic wolves. The mother gives birth to two or three pups in late May to early June. Instead, their dens are often rock outcroppings, caves, or shallow depressions in the tundra soil. Permafrost in the Arctic makes it difficult for the wolves to dig dens. The gestation period for the pregnant alpha female is from 53 to 61 days. Mating between the pair takes place during the breeding season of January through to March. There is a highly complex social order within wolf packs and each pack has a dominant male and female, who bond for life. These wolves live in groups of seven to ten individuals.
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