With disproportionately large paws and heads, wolf pups at this age maintain a daily routine of romping, playing, biting, and wrestling. Beyond being great fun for the siblings, the pups are sharpening important skills, establishing a pecking order in the family hierarchy, and strengthening family bonds.
We captured some really nice footage of a few Wiyapka Lake pups near the end of July! The pups appear to be typical size for this time of year. In total, we got 3 different pups on this camera so at least 3 of the 6 Wiyapka Lake pups survived until the end of July. It is very possible there are other Wiyapka pups that are still alive that were not captured by this camera. We have several other cameras scattered about this pack's territory so we should get more footage when we check these cameras soon!You will notice that one of the pups has little green ear-tags. This is from when we tagged this pup in the spring. If the pups are large enough in the spring, we give them these little green ear-tags (in addition to a micro-chip) so that we can identify the individual pups once they are adults. We were only able to tag 2 Wiyapka Lake pups this spring because the pack's den was a narrow rock crevice and we could not fit far enough into the den to reach all 6 pups. This footage was captured on our new cameras that we were able to get because of the generous donations from many of you! BIG THANKS to everyone who donated for making it possible to capture moments like this!
Although they’re not yet full grown, these pups are still valuable members of their family.
Big or small, every member of a wolf family plays a key role in ensuring the survival and growth of the unit. As pups grow, they begin to accompany adults on hunting trips and learn valuable lessons. Passing down knowledge from one generation to the next also allows the family to maintain traditions unique to that pack.
