Within the pack, there are very defined rankings of individual animals. The pack is led by a dominant male and female who do most of the breeding. Members of the pack communicate between each other by using a variety of sounds including howls, whines, yelps, and growls and also by the use of various facial expressions and body postures. Wolves feed on a variety of different prey, both large and small, including rodents, rabbits, and deer. In taking larger prey, the wolf pack works as a team to coordinate its efforts to make the kill.
Wolves normally prey mostly on the old, sick, or weakest animals which are the easiest to catch.
By their selective hunting, wolves help to maintain strong and healthy populations of their prey. Wolves begin breeding when they are 2 to 3 years old, during late winter. The pups, averaging 6 to a litter, are born during the spring in a den dug in the ground. All the members of the pack help to care for the young. The wolf pups are weaned in about five weeks a'nd by fall, are large enough to join the pack.