Once the pups are about eight weeks old, the adults leave the den and take the pups to a rendezvous site. No, typically the alphas (male+female) are actually the oldest. These are often groups of three to seven wolves led by an alpha male and alpha female [source: Busch].From there, the couple's pups and possibly younger, unrelated wolves comprise the rest of the pack. Wolves live in groups of between two and twenty (averaging about six to eight) animals. Most packs do not hunt prey the size of bison, but a larger pack is able to do so — and the wolves walking in a single file line through deep snow is a classic example of how they are able to use weather conditions to their advantage while hunting prey that is … Each pack of wolves maintains an area, called a territory, which belongs to it and which it defends from other wolves. These two animals are dominant over all the other wolves in the pack. Wolves are extremely social animals that live in families. The other members of the pack will care for the older wolf. The alpha wolves decide when the pack will … Wolves are social animals and they instinctively form packs, either with family members or nonrelated wolves living close by. In some cases a wolf might disperse and breed when it is 22 months old – the second February of its life. Pack size can temporarily be as high as 30 or more in parts of Canada and Alaska but most packs are much smaller. A pack is an extended family group comprised of a the breeding, or “alpha” male and female pair and some of their subordinate offspring and current pups from one or more years. 14) What happens to a pack when the alpha male or female is killed? But it may be what we’ve learned about the social nature of wolves and how that relates to other species including humans which is the most significant. Wolves play together into old age, they raise their young as a group, and they care for injured companions. It was not to be. Wolves howl as a way of communicating with other wolves. When a wolf leaves its natal pack, or the one it was born into, it becomes a lone wolf.Wolf biologists also refer to this process as dispersal.In most cases, dispersal occurs between the ages of 1 and 2 years old, coinciding with sexual maturity [source: Feldhamer et al]. One of the most often used howls is a call which reassembles the pack, such as after a chase, or if a wolf has gotten lost. Often, one of the adult wolves stays with the pups to watch over them. A typical wolf pack in the wild consists of between 8 and 15 members. Each pack of wolves maintains an area, called a territory, which belongs to it and which it defends from other wolves. All of these ungulates have adaptations for defense against wolves, including a great sense of smell, good hearing, agility, speed, and sharp hooves. A wolf that is too old to hunt will stay behind and protect young cubs if there are any in the pack. It is the only book in the series whose story is told from the viewpoint of the wolves themselves, rather than from Julie's point of view. Wolf Image Gallery. The rest of the pack is typically composed of adolescent wolves, one to four years old, several pups and an omega. Wolves are social animals and usually live in packs consisting of eight to 12.