Source and Additional Information

Animal Diversity Web
 
Julia Smith, Tanya Dewey
Some rights reserved

Gray wolves are highly social, pack-living animals. Each pack comprises two to thirty-six individuals, depending upon habitat and abundance of prey. Most packs are made up of 5 to 9 individuals. Packs are typically composed of an alpha pair and their offspring, including young of previous years. Unrelated immigrants may also become members of packs.

There is a strong dominance hierarchy within each pack. The pack leader, usually the alpha male, is dominant over all other individuals. The next dominant individual is the alpha female, who is subordinate only to the alpha male. In the event that the alpha male becomes injured or is otherwise unable to maintain his dominance, the beta male will take his place in the hierarchy. Alpha males typically leave the pack if this occurs, but this is not always the case. Rank within the pack hierarchy determines which animals mate and which eat first. Rank is demonstrated by postural cues and facial expressions, such as crouching, chin touching, and rolling over to show the stomach.

Each year, gray wolf packs have a stationary and nomadic phase. Stationary phases occur during the spring and summer, while pups are being reared. Nomadic phases occur during the fall and winter. Wolf movements are usually at night and cover long distances. Daily distance traveled can be up to 200 km, the usual pace is 8 km/hr. Wolves can run at speeds up to 55 to 70 km/hr.

Home Range

The territory of a pack ranges from 130 to 13,000 square kilometers, and is defended against intruders.

Communication and Perception

Source and Additional Information

Animal Diversity Web
 
Julia Smith, Tanya Dewey
Some rights reserved

Rank is communicated among wolves by body language and facial expressions, such as crouching, chin touching, and rolling over to show their stomach.

Vocalizations, such as howling allows pack members to communicate with each other about where they are, when they should assemble for group hunts, and to communicate with other packs about where the boundaries of their territories are. Scent marking is ordinarily only done by the alpha male, and is used for communication with other packs.