The Thuja Pack: the largest pack of Fall 2023
Introducing the Thuja Pack, the largest pack in our area this fall. The pack had 11 members, 7 of which appear to be pups. Having 7 pups alive in fall is pretty exceptional for wolves in our area.
For perspective, the most number of pups we have documented a pack successfully rearing to adulthood so far is 5. On average, packs successfully rear around 2 pups each year (meaning that the majority of pups die before their first birthday…average litter size is 5.1 pups).
Of course, just because the Thuja Pack had 7 pups alive in fall does not mean all the pups are still alive now or will be alive come the end of winter.
It is quite common for packs to be substantially larger in the fall than they are in the winter for two reasons. The first is that some pups die during the fall (see post from last week regarding this), which obviously decreases pack size.
One striking instance of this was in 2021. The Half-Moon Pack was 10-11 members in late summer (7 pups and 3-4 adults) but by December was down to only 3 adult pack members. The 7 pups were nowhere to be found (i.e., they died).
The second is that younger adult wolves (1-2 year olds) commonly disperse from their packs during late summer and fall in search of their own mate/territory.
Last year, the Wiyapka Lake Pack was 7 wolves in October (5 adults and 2 pups). However, two young male wolves dispersed in the fall and the pack was down to 5 wolves by early winter (3 adults and 2 pups).
All this to say, it is likely that the Thuja Pack will be smaller this winter than in the fall. However, the pack will still likely be larger than most packs in the area.
What is interesting is that the pack to the north of the Thuja Pack is the Windsong Pack and they are only 2 wolves (a breeding pair) currently. And then the pack north of them is the Paradise Pack and they are only 2 wolves as well. I.e., none of these packs “recruited” any pups this year.
We think such variability in pack size and pup production is pretty interesting, and is one of the things we are keen to understand.
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