What factor detemines the size of a wolf pack?

Answer 1

The top factors are:

-diseases in the area. If there's an outbreak of rabies, for excample, there is less likely to be any new pups, AND the already existing wolves will die off quicker, resulting in smaller packs.

-Prey. That's an easy relationship. More prey=more wolves, less prey=less wolves

-human interference. If wolf packs get too big, people will start to hunt them, resulting in smaller packs. Plus, if there are a lot of people in the area, the packs there are likely to be smaller regardless if they're being hunted or not.

-Health/fertility of the breeding couple. A female wolf who's sick isn't likely to have pups, and of course, a mating couple where one is infertile means no pups at all. If the mother is very healthy, she'll have more pups in a litter, and if the breeding couple are very fertile, it'll have the same effect.

-Other wolf packs. If there is a high concentration of wolf packs, the packs will often be small, because they have smaller territories and thus less prey. However, sometimes such close packs will sort of merge and inter-breed, creating larger packs