| This room was created for Da Pups!! Enter at your own risk...this is where they do their best playing, and be their true wild selves. Come on in and play with them and help them learn, but remember, The pack is always watching..so don't hurt or mistreat them...or when you turn around you just may have a nice set of teeth staring at you!!!! ; ) |
| Pups are born in the spring in small caves, hollowed out logs, or, most often, underground dens. Dens are dug by both sexes and used again, year after year. The wolf has a gestation period of 62-63 days. Generally there are 5 or 6 pups in a litter, all deaf and blind, weighing about one pound. Before they are born and while they are being nursed, other wolves will feed the mother wolf by bringing her food or regurgitating food for her to eat.
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. The mother slowly extends her time away from them and almost every pack member becomes involved in the care of the young. Females, whether they are biological mothers or not, can also nurse the pups; in fact, there is often a bit of competition between the females for access to the young.
During the second week, their eyes open up and activity increases. The pups grow quickly, and at around 3 weeks of age start to explore outside the den. Their baby teeth come in and they begin to eat solid food brought to them by wolves of both sexes who regurgitate food they have eaten so the pups can eat. This was also done for mother wolf when she was pregnant. The mothers are seldom fed by the others after the pups emerge from the den and, by this time, she often leaves the pups alone or with another adult or yearling while she hunts for food. (Yearlings are sort of in-between in behavior, stilll being fed by adult wolves, but also taking responsibilty in feeding the pups.) At around 9 weeks of age, the pups are weaned and moved out of the den to the area the pack normally stays in.
All pack members play with and care for pups. The adults also play with each other. Adults and pups play by chasing, jumping over each other, ambushing and wrestling with jaws or forelimbs. Other play behaviours include muzzling, tail wagging, paw raising and licking faces, and of course, running! Play is an important part of establishing rank within the pack.
The pup becomes a young wolf, practicing for survival by hunting with the adults (around 3 mos.), losing his baby teeth (at 4 to 6 mos) and finally getting his 42 adult teeth, and quickly enough becoming a yearling; but only about 25% of pups born in the wild make it through their first year, the rest dying because of lack of food, disease (mange, parvovirus among others), accident or attack by bears or humans. |
 
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