How do wolf packs work?

Answer 1

A wolf pack works together by following the Alpha, or leader. There is usually a Alpha male wolf with his mate which would be the Alpha female. Only the Alphas can mate, the rest of the pack cannot. Alpha dogs decide where they live, what food they eat and how they get it. Think of it as one giant social group. When they hunt, the Alpha (leader) tries to bite the nose of the animal they are chasing, for example an elk. The Elk would then stop to shake the alpha off, but when it stops the rest of the pack would jump at the sides and bite it. They aim for the most important organs first.

Answer 2

No. Wolves try to avoid other wolf packs as much as possible. If they do meet, the encounter is usually violent and sometimes fatal. They have even been known to allow injured prey to escape if it crosses a boundary of another pack's territory. Scent-marking and howling are ways to communicate with other packs, and keep them at bay.

Answer 3

Wolf packs work as a team, and to create minimul conflict, they have a pecking order.

There is:

Alpha male - he leads the pack and in a small pack, is the only one to breed.

Alpha female - chosed by the Alpha male, she helps to lead the pack, and commonly is the only female to have pups, depending on food

Beta male - he is second in command and will take over the pack when the leader passes.

Beta female - only occaisonly to packs have one, since the beta male usually chooses a mate once he is alpha.

Pack members - usually between the ages of 2 - 5 they are all equal and listen to the alpha wolves.

Omega - the lowest ranked wolf, this wolf usually eats last, and follows at the back of the pack. The omega is commonly used to baby sit the pups while the rest of the pack goes hunting, but the whole pack helps with careing for pups.

So, the whole pack works as a team, following orders from the higher ranking wolves.