At only a week old pups begin to fight over milk and the food delivered to them to establish dominance. Males participate in fights, but only for ranking within the family, which loses its importance when they leave to establish their own territories. Once the pups have established a hierarchy, fighting becomes play and teaches them to chase and pounce on prey. Pups reach young adulthood by autumn. Behavior Culpeo society is hierarchical and matriarchal in the sense that female foxes of a litter fight for dominance.
Dominant females inherit the territory of their parents, while males leave their natal territory.
Intraspecific competition is dealt with through the social hierarchy, with the dominant, or alpha, female eating first. The dominant female of each territory also has exclusive breeding rights. Submissive females must leave and establish their own territory in order to breed. Courtship is an important ritual for culpeos, it takes place during the winter months. Only dominant females mate, and only after a lengthy ritual involving mock fighting and bipedal wrestling where each fox's forelimbs rest on the other's shoulders.