The Searching Wolf



The Gray Wolf Course

10. Reproduction

  1. Mating
    1. Sexual maturity and breeding capability
    2. Breeding season
    3. Breeding pairs
      1. Which wolves of a pack breed?
      2. Pair bonding
      3. Proestrus
      4. Estrus and copulation
  2. Gestation
    1. Duration
    2. Stages of development
  3. Pseudopregnancy
  4. Prolactin
  5. Denning
    1. The need for dens
    2. Places for dens
    3. Den diagrams
  6. Litter size
  7. Sex ratio
  8. Pups
    1. At birth
    2. Life in the den
    3. Developmental events
    4. Growth
    5. Rendezvous sites

Resources

Articles and Reports

Asa, C.S., U.S. Seal, M. Letellier, E.D. Plotka, and E.K. Peterson. 1987. Pinealectomy or superior cervical ganglionectomy do not alter reproduction in the wolf (Canis lupus). Biology of Reproduction 37:14-21.

Asa, C.S., U.S. Seal, E.D. Plotka, M.A. Letellier, and L.D. Mech. 1986. Effect of anosmia on reproduction in male and female wolves (Canis lupus). Behavioral and Neural Biology 46:272-284.

Asa, C.S. and C. Valdespino. 1998. Canid reproductive biology: An integration of proximate mechanisms and ultimate causes. American Zoologist 38:251-259.

Ballard, W.B., L.A. Ayres, C.L. Gardner, and J.W. Foster. 1991. Den site activity patterns of gray wolves, Canis lupus, in southcentral Alaska. Canadian Field-Naturalist 105:497-504.

Boyd, D.K. and M.D. Jimenez. 1994. Successful rearing of young by wild wolves without mates. Journal of Mammalogy 75:14-17.

Boyd, D.K., D.H. Pletscher, and W.G. Brewster. 1993. Evidence of wolves, Canis lupus, burying dead wolf pups. Canadian Field-Naturalist 107:230-231.

Boyd, D.K., R.R. Ream, D.K. Pletscher, and M.W. Fairchild. 1993. Variation in denning and parurition dates of a wild gray wolf, Canis lupus, in the Rocky Mountains. Canadian Field-Naturalist 107:359-360.

Ciucci, P. and L.D. Mech. 1992. Selection of wolf dens in relation to winter territories in northeastern Minnesota. Journal of Mammalogy 73:899-905.

Coscia, E.M. 1993. Swimming and aquatic play by timber wolf, Canis lupus, pups. Canadian Field-Naturalist 107:361-362.

Derix, R.R.W.M. and J.A.R.A.M. Van Hooff. 1995. Male and female partner preferences in a captive wolf pack (Canis lupus): Specificity versus spread of sexual attention. Behaviour 132:127-149.

Derix, R., J. Van Hooff, H. De Vries, and J. Wensing. 1993. Male and female mating competition in wolves: Female suppression vs. male intervention. Behaviour 127:141-174.

Fuller, T.K. 1989. Denning behavior in wolves in north-central Minnesota. American Midland Naturalist 121:184-188.

Goldman, J.A., D.P. Phillips, and J.C. Fentress. 1995. An acoustic basis for maternal recognition in timber wolves (Canis lupus)? Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 97:1970-1973.

Gray, D.R. 1993. The use of muskox kill sites as temporary rendezvous sites by Arctic wolves with pups in early winter. Arctic 46:324-330.

Heard, D.C. and T.M. Williams. 1992. Distribution of wolf dens on migratory caribou ranges in the Northwest Territories, Canada. Canadian Journal of Zoology 70:1504-1510.

Hillis, T.L. and F.F. Mallory. 1996. Fetal development in wolves, Canis lupus, of the Keewatin District, Northwest Territories, Canada. Canadian Journal of Zoology 74:2211-2218.

Kreeger, T.J., U.S. Seal, Y. Cohen, E.D. Plotka, and C.S. Asa. 1991. Characterization of prolactin secretion in gray wolves (Canis lupus). Canadian Journal of Zoology 69:1366-1374.

Kreeger, T.J., U.S. Seal, and E.D. Plotka. 1992. Influence of hypothalamic-pituitary- adrenocortical hormones on reproductive hormones in gray wolves (Canis lupus). Journal of Experimental Zoology 264:32-41.

Lentfer, J.W. and D.K. Sanders. 1973. Notes on the captive wolf (Canis lupus) colony, Barrow, Alaska. Canadian Journal of Zoology 51:623-627.

Maargaard, L. and J. Graugaard. 1994. Female Arctic wolf, Canis lupus arctos, mating with domestic dogs, Canis familiaris, in northeast Greenland. Canadian Field-Naturalist 108:374-375.

Marquard-Petersen, U. 1994. Dens and summer pack size of Arctic wolves in Hold with Hope, East Greenland. Polar Record 30:46-49.

McLeod, P.J. 1990. Infanticide by female wolves. Canadian Journal of Zoology 68:402-404.

Mech, L.D. 1975. Disproportionate sex ratios of wolf pups. Journal of Wildlife Management 39:737-740.

Mech, L.D. 1993. Resistance of young wolf pups to inclement weather. Journal of Mammalogy 74:485-486.

Mech, L.D. 1995. Summer movements and behavior of an Arctic wolf, Canis lupus, pack without pups. Canadian Field-Naturalist 109:473-475.

Mech, L.D. and S.T. Knick. 1978. Sleeping distance in wolf pairs in relation to the breeding season. Behavioral Biology 23:521-525.

Mech, L.D., T.J. Meier, and U.S. Seal. 1993. Wolf nipple measurements as indices of age and breeding status. American Midland Naturalist 129:266-271.

Mech, L.D. and M.E. Nelson. 1989. Polygyny in a wild wolf pack. Journal of Mammalogy 70:675-676.

Mech, L.D. and J.M. Packard. 1990. Possible use of wolf, Canis lupus, den over several centuries. Canadian Field-Naturalist 104:484-485.

Mech, L.D., M.K. Phillips, D.W. Smith, and T.J. Kreeger. 1996. Denning behaviour of non-gravid Wolves, Canis lupus. Canadian Field-Naturalist 110:343-345.

Mech, L.D. and U.S. Seal. 1987. Premature reproductive activity in wild wolves. Journal of Mammalogy 68:871-873.

Medjo, D.C. and L.D. Mech. 1976. Reproductive activity in nine- and ten-month old wolves. Journal of Mammalogy 57:406-408.

Packard, J.M., L.D. Mech, and R.R. Ream. 1992. Weaning in an Arctic wolf pack: Behavioral mechanisms. Canadian Journal of Zoology 70:1269-1275.

Packard, J.M., U.S. Seal, L.D. Mech, and E.D. Plotka. 1985. Causes of reproductive failure in two family groups of wolves (Canis lupus). Zeitschrift für Tierpsychologie 68:24-40.

Seal, U.S., E.D. Plotka, J.M. Packard, and L.D. Mech. 1979. Endocrine correlates of reproduction in the wolf. I. Serum progesterone, estradiol and LH during the estrous cycle. Biology of Reprodcution 21:1057-1066.

Thiel, R.P., W.H. Hall, and R.N. Schultz. 1997. Early den digging by wolves, Canis lupus, in Wisconsin. Canadian Field-Naturalist 111:481-482.

Thiel, R.P., S. Merrill, and L.D. Mech. 1998. Tolerance by denning wolves, Canis lupus, to human disturbance. Canadian Field-Naturalist 112:340-342.

Zarrow, M.X., R. Gandelman, and V.H. Denenberg. 1971. Prolaction: Is it an essential hormone for maternal behavior in the mammal? Hormones and Behavior 2:343-354.

Books, Monographs, and Proceedings

Mech, L.D. 1970. The Wolf: The Ecology and Behavior of an Endangered Species. Natural History Press/Doubleday Publishing Co.: Garden City, NY. (Chapter IV - "Reproduction and Family Life")

Mech, L.D. 1991. The Way of the Wolf. Voyageur Press: Stillwater, MN. (Chapter - "Courtship and Reproduction")

Mech, L.D., L.G. Adams, T.J. Meier, J.W. Burch, and B.W. Dale. 1998. The Wolves of Denali. University of Minnesota Press: Minneapolis, MN.

Videos

Timberwolf Video. 1989. 30 minutes. Timber Wolf Alliance, Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute, Northland College: Ashland, WI.

Videotape taken of four- and six-week old wolf puppiess at Wolf Park, Battle Ground, IN. 1997. 125 minutes.