Wolves are very social animals. They travel in packs. This can range from the lone wolf up to twenty individuals in any one pack.

Wolf packs are very family orientated. We can see this especially when it comes to rearing young. All the members of the pack show great care when it comes to the pups. They are extremely tolerant, and other members of the pack will adopt the young if the parents are unable to care for them. Other wolves in the pack will often act as babysitters to the cubs, if the parents are busy, and are friendly and amiable towards the pups.

There is a very strict hierarchy in place in the packs. There is an alpha male and an alpha female who rule the pack. They are the only ones within the pack who are allowed to mate, and although they usually mate with each other, being alpha also means that they can choose their mate from anyone within the pack. It was thought for a long time that it was the alpha male that ruled the packs, but it has now been proven that the alpha female can control the pack, while the alpha male could just be the highest ranking male there. Below the alpha male and female, the pack all knows its place in the hierarchical structure of the pack.

Wolves do not fight unnecessarily; in fact they go to great lengths to avoid it. Most disagreements rarely end in serious fights. If, however, either the alpha male or female dies, or gets killed, there can be in-fighting within the pack to gain the position.

The Gray Wolf:

The Red Wolf: They have smaller packs than the gray, which are usually consist of an adult couple and their offspring.