Could a Female and her pup join another wolf pack?

[jupiterdog]

Could a female wolf and her pup join a wolf pack?

[Canidae]

Wolf packs will generally only care for pups that were born within their own pack, and it's also unusual for a dispersal wolf to join another wolf pack. The chances of both a lone wolf and her pup being accepted into a wolf pack are slim to none.

[jaguartail]

this article may help:http://mammals.suite101.com/article.cfm ... f-behavior

[Blightwolf]

Exceptions are always possible although rare. Cani already explained the basic structure of a wolf pack and its system... Generally, the answer is no. An unrelated female and her offspring would cause disruptions in the pack. It might escalate s e x u a l and genetic competition and like Cani said, wolves only tend to care for their own pups, not the unrelated offspring of another lone wolf.

[Razorfang]

Most likely, the pup and the female will be driven off, or killed. After all, they are "competitors", if not "enemy's" of the involving pack of wolves.

[Overcast]

So it is unlikely that a wolf pack would surrogate an abandoned pup from another pack? What if the pup was not weaned off its original mother yet? Is it still unlikely?

[Blightwolf]

Exceptions are always possible although rare. Cani already explained the basic structure of a wolf pack and its system... Generally, the answer is no. An unrelated female and her offspring would cause disruptions in the pack. It might escalate s e x u a l and genetic competition and like Cani said, wolves only tend to care for their own pups, not the unrelated offspring of another lone wolf.

I would like to add something based on what I wrote on my previous post (quoted above): If an unrelated rogue female wolf and her pup would encroach the territory of a wolf pack, the other wolves - wolves being highly territorial animals in general - would most likely drive off this female and kill her offspring, or both. Lone wolves which display submission towards the dominant wolves have a higher chance getting accepted into a pack, but as stated in the older post I made, an unrelated subordinate female would cause hormonal rivalry, and by bringing her own pup into a strange pack, also pose a "genetic threat" to the offspring of the original breeding pair and their bloodline.

The answer for this question is still "no", in my opinion. At least, it is highly unlikely.

[Overcast]

OK, thanks for the speedy reply Blightwolf! I was asking for the purpose of my story. Looks like I will have to tweak a few details! Again, thanks for the information!

[Masika]

Hello,

Since both of the questions asked have been answered enough, I'll be locking this ^^ Thanks to those who helped out!

-Thread Locked-

EDIT: Adding a quick comment from CLBaileyi:

An adult and pup being accepted into a strange pack. As others have said, it is unusual, but it does happen. I think the thing to remember is that, especially in cases where one of the breeding pair is missing (killed, died, etc) then a pack will often allow another adult and that animal's offspring to join into the new pack. This has happened several times in the Mexican wolf program, and others as well.