BLACK WOLF'S PACK -- PROTECTORS OF THE FOREST

For this feast of food, the family of Black Wolf's group gathered together and began to howl or to serenade with their eyes closed and heads thrown back enjoying the mood of the occasion. A lot of times the wolf's howling was a means to reunite members of the pack who have been separated by hunting alone or in small groups. It was also a means of contact between other packs for their howling could be heard many miles apart in open terrain. It is believed that the howling of wolves was a means to tell others of their territorial defense among the world of wolves. The pack would leave their mark of scent as a means of showing their territorial ownership. The wolf pack would howl to let the other strange wolves in the vicinity know where their boundary was located. That was their way to lay claim to their land to the nearby neighboring wolves.

Black Wolf, the Alpha wolf, was the leader of his pack and his mate, Maia, being the Alpha female wolf, began to prepare a den for their new offspring. Maia was going to be a mother wolf. She began to make spaces in her den for a new litter of pups. The wolf pack is normally a close-knit family. She separated herself from the other members of the pack merely for protection of herself and the new pups. This procedure was merely a policy of the pack society. As a rule, the sons and daughters of the breeding pair are the helpers in the dens. The whole line of relatives, whether it be uncles, aunts, and grandparents, were great helpers to help with the raising of the pups and to continue their own genes.

Maia had five new pups. There were three males and two females. Maia was a very caring mother wolf. She would not leave her pups for about a week or so which meant that food had to be brought to her in the den by Black Wolf and the other members of the pack. It was his responsibility to be aware that Maia had the food she needed during her absence from the outside. After a period of about eight to ten weeks when the new pups were big enough and were very playful, Maia carried them one by one in her mouth to another site which was in an open air burrow. The pups would not leave their new location. Maia could now return to Black Wolf's pack to be a part of their daily activities. A helper who was a good surrogate mother for the new pups would remain with the pups to help Maia while she was away from them. These helpers would remain with the pups in the new open-air den for comfort and protection while Maia was not present for the new pups. They would not leave their new burrow. They might venture to view the outside surroundings but would never leave the entrance. Frolicking among the pups was quite a rambunctious activity. Their mother wolf was quite tolerant with them allowing herself to be mauled, bitten, attacked, and receiving affection from the pups. The adult wolves of the pack were very lenient also by catering to the activities of the young pups. The growing pups would learn future tricks by frolicking among each other as though they were attacking their prey. They would play with their new brothers and sisters in this manner for a period of time during their growing up stages. This activity was all a part of their growing up habits to become adult and mature wolves.

As the fall of the year arrived their initiations to adulthood became very important to them. They were now a part of the wolf pack to join in the daily hunts in their pursuits of prey. The young wolves now would observe their adult members of the pack as what methods and skills of hunting were required by them to perform. One of the first rules of their hunting procedure was to learn to follow the pack in a single file when approaching to within a few hundred yards of their prey. Once a prey was selected, the wolves would make a loop around the prey to begin their attack of their prey. If by chance their prey was a large bull elk with big horns would quickly turn and charge a young wolf; the wolf would turn and run for safety with its tail tucked between its hind legs. The other wolves would then charge the elk to cause it to return to its group of elks for safety and also for the safety of the young and inexperienced wolf by distracting the elk. If the hunt was unsuccessful, the pack would give up and regroup to lie down to rest. Then they began to search for another prey. This was their usual method of hunting a prey. Once a prey was successful, every member of the pack would enjoy devouring a carcass, which was usually shared with no arguments. The required amount of food necessary to remain in good health, a wolf must eat about fifteen to eighteen deer each year. Wolves are also indeed good fishermen. They could catch a goodly number of fish under suitable conditions in a very short time. They are swift at this part of hunting for their daily needs required for their health and strength.

Some of the younger wolves of the pack might feel the urge to wonder off to hunt alone and leave the pack from time to time. They would meet other stray wolves whether they were male or female to form their own pack and to begin a new territory of their own.

If by chance a male member of the pack decided that he wanted to challenge Black Wolf for the leadership of the pack, he would show his teeth in an argumentative display of anger to Black Wolf. A big show of bodily fighting would occur and they would attack each other with much ferocious fighting and decision making. For the challenger, He would become submissive and leave the pack as an outcast with his tail tucked under between his hind legs. There were not many times that the leader of the pack would be the loser. Even there were times when the females would fight among each other to obtain the role as the leader's mate.

Therefore, the life and role of the alpha wolf and his alpha mate in a pack continues to prevail until one of the two would get sick or die of disease or the alpha wolf is removed from being the leader of the pack. Thus the beginning of a new dynasty of another wolf pack would start.