WHAT IS THE FEMALE WOLF CALLED?
The female wolf is called the she-wolf. This carnivorous mammal belongs to the Canidae family. This wild animal is a cousin of the dog.
ALPHA FEMALE WOLF
WHAT IS AN ALPHA FEMALE WOLF?
The pack is very often made up of a dominant couple who act as group leaders.
The male is called the Alpha Wolf and the female is called Alpha Female Wolf. These are the leaders who make all the decisions necessary for the well-being of their entire pack and are the only ones to breed.🐺 They can be recognized by their postures, straight ears, fixed gaze, and stiff tail. In the pack the hierarchical order is made up of the Beta, who come after the Alpha and then comes the Omega wolves, who, because of their position in the pack, will be the last to eat, on a prey killed by the pack.
Alpha individuals are by definition the highest in the hierarchy of a group. Their instinctive missions are the organization of meals, the initiative of hunting departures and guide the pack during the hunt. They are also the first to eat during the capture of a prey.🍗
ALPHA FEMALE ROLE
The alpha female plays a very important role in initiating and organizing the movement of the pack. She dominates the pack with the alpha male. Together, they ensure the defense of the territory by olfactory markings, or even double marking, which is one of the best indicators of the status of dominant breeder, in addition to the initiation of howling.
The alphas couple attribute to themselves the best resting places, an isolation zone specific to the dominant couple. The other members of the group do not have access to it and the alpha male's dominance is total. This is where mating takes place. One of the most important roles of the alpha couple is to regulate the reproductive activities of the pack. This regulation thus prevents the destruction of prey by overconsumption, which would mean the death of the pack in the more or less long term.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MALE AND FEMALE WOLVES
Of general nature, the male is larger than the female. The total length of the snout to the tip of the tail averages 1.65 m for the male and 1.59 m for the female.
The height at the withers varies from 66 to 81 cm. Adult gray wolves weigh an average of 16 to 50 kg for females and 20 to 70 kg for males, depending on subspecies.
The smallest subspecies is the Canis lupus arabs with an average weigh of 18 kg for male and a female holds the record for lightness with a weight of 12 kg.
WHEN DO FEMALE WOLVES BREED
The mating season starts in February, March. During spring, the pregnant wolf settles in a den abandoned by a fox or a marmot. If she doesn't find a vacant burrow, she digs one in the side of a sandy hill.⛰️
After a two-month gestation period, the cubs are born. The wolf gives birth once a year to a litter of 4 to 7 babies. At birth, wolves are the size of a squirrel. They measure 25 to 33 cm and weigh about 450 grams. The parents are very affectionate towards the pups and all members of the pack take care of the newborns.
When the cubs reach the age of one month, they are ready to go outside. At the age of two months, they are introduced to meat in a rather special way. Cubs feed by licking the jaws of adults who regurgitate half-digested food.
