May isn’t just the time of year when leaves start sprouting on trees after a long winter—it’s also the month when many animals reproduce, maximizing as much of the summer as possible to raise their offspring.
Wolves are no different, giving birth to litters in late April and early May. These new pups are almost unbearably adorable as they stumble around learning how to be wolves.
Of course, no wolf pack is complete without a good howl, and so these young ones are testing out their vocal chords early. While they might not yet understand the value of this intrinsic compulsion to howl at the sky, it will serve them well in communicating with their pack and establishing territory separate from other wolves.
The pups in this video are extremely young, and barely able to leave the safety of their mother’s side. While they are all offspring of the alpha female, even at this early stage the young wolves are exhibiting personality traits that will determine their social rank in the pack.
Ontario residents interested in watching wolves in the semi-wild can check out the Haliburton Wolf Centre, a not-for-profit organization that allows visitors to observe their 15 unsocialized wolves from a shielded viewing area.
