Wolf pup recovers from debilitating leg injury over a 6 month period

At 7 months old, these pups from the Stub-tail Pack both suffered substantial back leg injuries, and one survived from the injury, the other likely did not.

In early November 2024, one pup appears to have broken its back left leg with the skin on the back of the leg looking as though it had been peeled off. No idea how this injury occurred.

We never observed this pup after December, which likely means it did not survive.

The other pup looks to have broken its back right leg in a little before late November. This pup clearly did survive through the spring.

This video shows the pup’s nearly half-year long recovery from the debilitating injury in early November 2024, when the pup was struggling to move around, to the eventual healing of the injury by early April 2025.

You can see the calcified mass in the pup’s leg in the March and April videos where the break in the leg healed.

Wolves breaking their back leg is not uncommon, and we have noted many wolves in our area that have had broken legs that eventually heal.

Sometimes the legs heal in a few months sometimes it might be a 9 months or longer. The length of time required likely depends on how sever the break is.

Almost all instances of broken legs for wolves that we have noted are in the back legs, and specifically around the ankle. The back legs of wolves are much more fragile (relatively speaking, of course) than their front legs which are more robust.

This is because most of a wolf’s weight and muscle are centered around the front legs, and so these legs are able to handle much more duress than the back legs.

Of course, these injuries are likely quite painful and certainly appear debilitating at first. But wolves adapt and are surprising quick with just 3 legs.

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Written by Voyageurs Wolf Project