{"id":331087,"date":"2025-12-06T11:31:13","date_gmt":"2025-12-06T11:31:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/331087\/"},"modified":"2025-12-06T11:31:13","modified_gmt":"2025-12-06T11:31:13","slug":"why-wolves-will-sometimes-adopt-pups-from-rival-packs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/331087\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Wolves Will Sometimes Adopt Pups From Rival Packs"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nature, as majestic as it is, can be extremely cruel \u2013 especially to stepchildren. Lions that take over an existing pride make infanticide<\/a> the first order of business; dolphins kill off unrelated calves specifically so they can mate with the mother; heck, even in humans, a new partner is more likely<\/a> than the biological parent they\u2019re replacing to kill or seriously injure a child.<\/p>\n

But among all this rampant child-murder, there\u2019s one species that stands out as particularly good parents \u2013 and it may not be who you\u2019d expect. \u201cWolves accept foreign pups,\u201d says Jeremy SunderRaj<\/a>, a biological technician at the Yellowstone Wolf Project. \u201cWhen a dominant male dies or is kicked out by an intruding male [the] new lead male will usually adopt young pups.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt definitely happens,\u201d he tells IFLScience. \u201cAlthough it’s rare.\u201d<\/p>\n

It takes a pack<\/p>\n

Wolves have a certain reputation. We have, historically, used them as a benchmark for cruelty<\/a>: they\u2019re the ruthless killers of fairytale protagonists; the cunning hunters of ancient fables that steal children\u2019s sheep. Even among their own kind, we\u2019re taught that they live a cruel life, with \u201calphas\u201d ruling the pack and betas, sometimes even omegas if the mythology extends that far, having to put up with it or else.<\/p>\n

But all that? It\u2019s totally fake. There\u2019s not really any such thing<\/a> as an \u201calpha wolf\u201d \u2013 and, far from being heartless brutes, the animals are evidently vying for nature\u2019s \u201cparent of the year\u201d award.\u00a0<\/p>\n

We know now that wolf \u201cpacks\u201d are really more like family units \u2013 and what we used to call the \u201calpha\u201d male and female are really just mom and dad. But while they\u2019re the parents by blood, everyone pitches in to pup-rearing: \u201calloparental care\u201d \u2013 that is, care for pups that comes from adults other than the parents \u2013 \u201cis really important for the survival of a pack,\u201d explains Giselle Narv\u00e1ez Rivera<\/a>, wolf curator at the International Wolf Center in Ely, Minnesota.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Pack size is one of the most important factors in the social dynamics of wolves.<\/p>\n

Jeremy SunderRaj<\/p>\n

This extended family structure is why we see non-breeding adult wolves bringing meat to the pups once weaned \u2013 in fact, they literally regurgitate it<\/a> out of their stomachs to feed them, which none of our aunts and uncles ever did for us. Before that, they bring the food to the mother wolf, to sustain her while she cares for the newborns; later, helper wolves will even babysit the pack\u2019s pups, playing with them and teaching them to hunt.<\/p>\n

Of course, maybe it\u2019s not so surprising that a pup\u2019s second-degree relatives also have an interest in seeing the children survive. After all, \u201cpack size is one of the most important factors in the social dynamics of wolves,\u201d SunderRaj points out. \u201cLarger packs typically win territorial battles (which are the leading cause of death for wolves in Yellowstone National Park), are more successful hunting bison, and have resistance against sarcoptic mange, amongst other things.\u201d<\/p>\n

But what\u2019s really surprising is just how far this caring instinct extends \u2013 not just to their siblings\u2019 offspring, but to pups they\u2019ve never met before at all.<\/p>\n

The logic of adoption<\/p>\n

Wolf<\/a> societies are complex \u2013 \u201cway more complicated than most people believe,\u201d per SunderRaj. Nevertheless, there\u2019s one constant that seems to cut through the hierarchies: you care for pups.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s such a strong instinct that, sometimes, it can override pack loyalty itself. Packs will, \u201cin very specific circumstances,\u201d SunderRaj says, adopt in pups from rival families, accepting them for all intents and purposes as their own offspring.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey usually aren’t second tier,\u201d SunderRaj confirms. \u201cAll pups, adopted and not, are the same.\u201d<\/p>\n

For those more familiar with the cut-throat family politics of, say, lions<\/a>, it might sound unbelievable. But it works, and the reason why \u201cis actually pretty interesting,\u201d SunderRaj tells IFLScience. \u201cThe big difference between wolves and lions is that lionesses will come into heat as soon as their cubs are killed. Therefore, it’s in the intruding male’s best interest to kill the cubs so he can breed and produce his own offspring.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

But \u201cwolves are different,\u201d he explains. \u201cThey only breed once a year, typically in mid to late February in Yellowstone<\/a>.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Killing off your rival\u2019s pups, therefore, is a losing game. Keep them alive, on the other hand, and you do two things: first, you increase your pack\u2019s size and strength; second \u2013 and remember, this is a situation where only one pair has the right to breed and most everyone around is related to each other in some way \u2013 you help keep the gene pool fresh.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWolves avoid breeding with close relatives,\u201d SunderRaj tells IFLScience, \u201cand an intruding male can usually breed with the female pups eventually.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

“Physiology plays a role”<\/p>\n

Helping pups flourish, even when they\u2019re not yours, makes obvious logical sense. But it\u2019s more than just a tactical decision for the adoptive pack: put simply, the wolves just can\u2019t help but look out for the new little ones. \u201cPhysiology plays a role,\u201d Narv\u00e1ez Rivera tells IFLScience. \u201cWolves secrete a hormone called prolactin that is very helpful for triggering those nurturing behaviors towards pups.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe hormone is at its peak right around pup-rearing season in early spring through summer when they are busiest caring for pups,\u201d she explains \u2013 and \u201call pack members will experience this surge in prolactin.\u201d<\/p>\n

Put together, it\u2019s more than just an adorable quirk. In the wild, the phenomenon most often occurs when a new breeding male takes over a rival pack \u2013 but under the guidance of conservationists, the instinct can be exploited to help struggling species recover and thrive.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In our experience, adults are very nurturing and accepting of those pups as part of their pack.<\/p>\n

Giselle Narv\u00e1ez Rivera<\/p>\n

Called \u201ccross-fostering\u201d, it involves taking pups from a litter bred in captivity and popping them into the litter of a wild pack. It has to happen early \u2013 like, before the pups are ten days old \u2013 and requires a lot of planning and some slightly smelly preparations<\/a> to ensure the newcomers are welcomed in. But in Narv\u00e1ez Rivera\u2019s experience, it\u2019s usually a success: \u201cIt is a long process,\u201d she admits, \u201cbut we take advantage of prolactin secretion and in our experience, adults are very nurturing and accepting of those pups as part of their pack.\u201d<\/p>\n

The result is a boon<\/a> for both the wolves individually, and the species as a whole. The pups are brought up learning wild habits, protected by a successful pack and living in a natural environment; in return, the pack receives increased genetic diversity and, frankly, improved raw numbers for species that are often struggling.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you put that pup in the den and walk away, you know you\u2019ve done something serious for the conservation of the Mexican wolf,\u201d said Jim Devos, Mexican wolf coordinator for the Arizona Game and Fish Department, back in 2023<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Taken to an extreme, wolves don\u2019t even have to be faced with their own species for their nurturing instinct to take over. At least, that\u2019s the lesson from history: the cases are extremely isolated, yes, but there\u2019s more than one story<\/a> of human children being raised by wolves<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s vanishingly rare, however. Even among other canids, \u201cI have not heard of other species being adopted by wolves in Yellowstone,\u201d SunderRaj tells IFLScience. Evidently, there is a limit to how welcoming the animals will be.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, whether it\u2019s the mythological founding of the Roman empire<\/a> or the very real recovery of their own species, it\u2019s clear that for wolves, strength lies in softness.<\/p>\n

\u201cWolves [\u2026] have strong parental instincts,\u201d SunderRaj tells IFLScience. \u201cIt works.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Nature, as majestic as it is, can be extremely cruel \u2013 especially to stepchildren. Lions that take over…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":331088,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[64,63,128,338],"class_list":{"0":"post-331087","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-science","11":"tag-wildlife"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/331087","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=331087"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/331087\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/331088"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=331087"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=331087"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=331087"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}