Editing Wolf (section)

=== Social structure ===

{{See also|Pack (canine)#Pack behavior in grey wolves}}
[[File:Canis lupus pallipes Mysore Zoo 2.jpg|thumb|alt=Photograph of three wolves running and biting each other|Indian wolves at the [[Mysore Zoo]]]]

The wolf is a [[Sociality|social animal]].{{sfn|Heptner|Naumov|1998|pp=164–270}} Its populations consist of packs and lone wolves, most lone wolves being temporarily alone while they disperse from packs to form their own or join another one.{{sfn|Mech|Boitani|2003|p=164}} The wolf's basic social unit is the [[nuclear family]] consisting of a [[mated pair]] accompanied by their offspring.{{sfn|Heptner|Naumov|1998|pp=164–270}} The average pack size in North America is eight wolves and 5.5 in Europe.<ref name=Miklosi2015/> The average pack across Eurasia consists of a family of eight wolves (two adults, juveniles, and yearlings),{{sfn|Heptner|Naumov|1998|pp=164–270}} or sometimes two or three such families,<ref name=Paquet2003/> with examples of exceptionally large packs consisting of up to 42 wolves being known.{{sfn|Mech|Boitani|2003|pp=2–3, 28}} [[Cortisol]] levels in wolves rise significantly when a pack member dies, indicating the presence of stress.<ref name=Molnar2015/> During times of prey abundance caused by calving or migration, different wolf packs may join together temporarily.{{sfn|Heptner|Naumov|1998|pp=164–270}}

Offspring typically stay in the pack for 10–54 months before dispersing.{{sfn|Mech|Boitani|2003|pp=1–2}} Triggers for dispersal include the onset of [[sexual maturity]] and competition within the pack for food.{{sfn|Mech|Boitani|2003|pp=12–13}} The distance travelled by dispersing wolves varies widely; some stay in the vicinity of the parental group, while other individuals may travel great distances of upwards of {{convert|206|km|mi|abbr=on}}, {{convert|390|km|mi|abbr=on}}, and {{convert|670|km|mi|abbr=on}} from their natal (birth) packs.<ref name=Nowak1983/> A new pack is usually founded by an unrelated dispersing male and female, travelling together in search of an area devoid of other hostile packs.{{sfn|Mech|Boitani|2003|p=38}} Wolf packs rarely adopt other wolves into their fold and typically kill them. In the rare cases where other wolves are adopted, the adoptee is almost invariably an immature animal of one to three years old, and unlikely to compete for breeding rights with the mated pair. This usually occurs between the months of February and May. Adopted males may mate with an available pack female and then form their own pack. In some cases, a lone wolf is adopted into a pack to replace a deceased breeder.{{sfn|Mech|Boitani|2003|pp=2–3, 28}}

Wolves are [[Territory (animal)|territorial]] and generally establish territories far larger than they require to survive assuring a steady supply of prey. Territory size depends largely on the amount of prey available and the age of the pack's pups. They tend to increase in size in areas with low prey populations,<ref name=Jedrzejewski2007/> or when the pups reach the age of six months when they have the same nutritional needs as adults.{{sfn|Mech|Boitani|2003|pp=19–26}} Wolf packs travel constantly in search of prey, covering roughly 9% of their territory per day, on average {{cvt|25|km/d}}. The core of their territory is on average {{cvt|35|km2}} where they spend 50% of their time.<ref name=Jedrzejewski2007/> Prey density tends to be much higher on the territory's periphery. Wolves tend to avoid hunting on the fringes of their range to avoid fatal confrontations with neighbouring packs.<ref name=Mech1977/> The smallest territory on record was held by a pack of six wolves in northeastern Minnesota, which occupied an estimated {{cvt|33|km2}}, while the largest was held by an Alaskan pack of ten wolves encompassing {{cvt|6,272|km2}}.{{sfn|Mech|Boitani|2003|pp=19–26}} Wolf packs are typically settled, and usually leave their accustomed ranges only during severe food shortages.{{sfn|Heptner|Naumov|1998|pp=164–270}} Territorial fights are among the principal causes of wolf mortality, one study concluding that 14–65% of wolf deaths in Minnesota and the [[Denali National Park and Preserve]] were due to other wolves.<ref name=Mech2003/>