Whether it be because you are interested in getting wolves of your own, have just recently gotten wolves, or are just interested in interesting wolf facts, this article covers information all about wolves and their puppies. Wolves are incredibly interesting creatures because they are the ancestors of dogs and they are very family/pack oriented.
Wolves tend to have about 4 to 6 puppies each year, although this is the average and numbers can range from 1 to the extreme of 15 puppies in a single litter. Throughout a female wolf's lifetime, they will average about 56 puppies, though it ranges typically from 28 to 84.
But, how many litters do wolves have in their lifetime, what is the early life of a puppy like, and do wolves each their you? I will answer each of these questions and provide many more interesting facts that will be both useful for someone who likes learning about wolves, and for a prospective wolf owner.
How Many Wolf Pups Are in a Litter?
Once a wolf reaches the age of maturity it will start mating. A pack is often not just a group of wolves who came together, but rather a family according to this article. So, when a wolf reaches maturity they go out in order to find a mate to create a pack of their own. Once they have done this they will mate and have their first litter. Within their pack, they typically will only have those two parents and on occasion, they will join with other older wolves to hunt larger prey.
While a litter can contain anywhere from 1 to15 pups, there typically are only 4 to 6 pups per little. Because of the pack mentality that wolves have they only breed once a year, so the pups born in that litter will be mostly grown by the time the parents have to focus on the next litter. It is because of this that a wolf pack is usually only around 6 wolves in size, though depending on what food they hunt, pack sizes can grow quickly to over 20. By the time there are multiple litters, the older litter is leaving to start their own pack. (Source)
How Many Pups Can a Wolf Have in a Lifetime?
A wolf will hit maturity at the age of 2. Once this happens they will start breeding and will continue to do so until they are too old or are incapable to care for and protecting the newborn pups. A male wolf will typically live around 16 years and a female wolf around 14. These ages can be different for a variety of reasons like injury, sickness, lack of food, or many more, but when it comes to averaging the numbers we are assuming they are living their full lifespan. (Source)
Using the averages of 4 to 6 pups each year after they reach maturity, in the female wolf's 12-year lifespan they will average anywhere between 28 and 84 pups. The best average we have is that likely a female wolf will have about 56 pups during her lifespan and a male wolf will sire around 65 pups during its lifespan. Sometimes these numbers can be much higher for the male as it may take on multiple mates.
What is a Wolf Pup's First Year Like?
When a wolf pup is born in the wild, they are typically born in some kind of cave or den. These dens need to be big enough to house all of the pups that are born and the mother wolf, while also protecting them from both the elements and other predators. Some packs will use the same den for years while other packs will use a different den every year.
Pups, before even being born will develop inside of their mothers for 3 months or about 63 days. Then, when the pups are finally dorn, they are born with their eyes closed and they only weigh about 1 pound. However, once they are born they grow very quickly. It takes about 10 to 14 days before they finally open their eyes, and then just after opening their eyes they begin to learn how to walk around. About a week after opening their eyes and walking they are taken outside for the first time.
And, once they reach three weeks of age they finally start to eat meat as before this they had only been feeding on their mother's milk. Once the pups are about eight weeks old, the adults leave the den and take the pups to an open area, the wolves gather to sleep, play, eat and just hang out. The pups will play with each other and their older brothers and sisters, stalking and pouncing on each other. This type of play will help them all their lives, as it is practice for stalking and killing prey and learning the social interactions of the pack. (Source)
Do Wolves Eat Their Pups?
The only cases of wolves eating their young are so extreme that they aren't likely to happen. The first is there has to be an extreme lack of food available for the rest of the pack to eat. The second extreme is that the pup has to die of external causes. This is because wolves see any in their pack as family and refuse to do any harm to them. A wolf is unlikely to eat any pups, even from another pack, and even less so a pup from their own pack.
This is a common misconception since cannabilism occurs somewhat frequently in the wild animals in almost every meat-eating species, and so will an apex predator like a wolf, many believe that they would participate in cannabilism as well.
Wolves have been known to occasionally kill other wolves from other packs since they are very territorial and can engage in wars, however, when this does happen the dead wolves are usually left behind. Wolves only resort to cannabilism when food is scarce.
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