Lets start this page with the puppies.
Wolf Pups is the start of every Pack.
Pups, are born 63 days after breeding pair mates.
Litters range from three to nine pups,
but most have only four to six pups.
Pups are born deaf, blind, capable of only limited smount of
scooting around in order to stay near the warmth
of their mother.
Most pups weigh only about a pound at birth.
Within a week they hit their stride in growth
and gain about three pounds per week or more.
At about three weeks,
the pups begin venturing into the outside world.
They begin to play fight with each other.
All pack members involve themselfs with the wolf pups.
This is where aunts and uncles come in
and babysit while the parents do the hunting.
Wolves introduce pups to solid food in an ingenious way.
Each day, pack members radiate out from the den to hunt,
while the mother remains behind to care for her offspring.
Hunters fill up with meat, then return to the den,
where they disgorge a meal for the pups and
the nursing mother.
Later on. pack members bring undigested meat,
like a deer haunch, to the pups.
Little wolves engage in endless hours of roughhousing.
The pups are acquiring skills they will use to
hunt real prey in a few months.
At the same time, they are establishing their own dominance hierarchy.
At about nine weeks of age,
they are mobile enough to permit the pack to
move to a "rendezvous site".
Rendezvous sites are secure areas near water,
where the pups can cavort in safety while the rest
of the pack hunts.
These sites are like dens above ground.
In early fall, the pack hits the trail again
with the pups running along.
Though the youngsters are now full-sized
and look like adults,
they can do little more than cheerlead during attacks on prey
until they become a year old.
The first year of life is a harsh form of schooling.
Young wolves that fail to receive passing grades
are not alive for long.
Communication
Howling is one source of communication.
But, wolves growl,squeal,bark, whine, and of course, howl.
Whimpering or whining conveys friendly intentions.
Talking wolves are described as whimpering or whining.
This seems to be a form of talking for the wolves.
If you listen, you can almost understand
what they are saying.
It can be very emotionly and stirring.
Their eyes are brilliant with feeling.
Now Growling is a different story.
Growling is a threatening noise. Barks signal alarm.
Wolf howls are one of the most moving
and haunting sounds in nature.
Wolves throw themselves into howling with evident joy.
When they start howling, they instantly seek contact
with one another,
troop together, fur to fur.
Some will run miles to join the howling.
Wolves sing two different notes
and produce three tones-the two
being sung plus a harmonic.
Howling celebrates and reinforces pack unity.
Like "aloha," the howl of a wolf has several meanings,
and which one applies is determined by context.
Wolves howl to reinforce territorial claims,
particularly when challenged by the howls
of an intruding pack.
Pack members howl back and forth to
keep track of each other
when visual communication isn't possible.
A howl can reunite a pack that has broken up to
hunt within an area.
They also, howl after a kill, this may be the way they keep
other packs away from their fresh kill. It's kind of like
"high fives", when you greet someone.
Wolves will respond to human howls.
Researchers often howl to trigger a reply that
confirms a pack's presence.
