Parental death destabilizes wolf packs despite the benefits of larger pack size
1. Cooperative breeding is a fundamental feature of many animal family groups. However, few studies have quantified whether variation in group size meaningfully buffers social and reproductive consequences following parental death. 2. Using 17 years of data from a gray wolf (Canis lupus) population in Oregon, USA, we evaluated how parental death (the death of one or both parents) influenced pack…
Parental death can disrupt wolf packs, even though larger pack sizes offer some protective benefits, according to research on gray wolves in Oregon, USA. Over a 17-year period, scientists examined the impact of one or both parents dying on pack dynamics. They found that in 69 out of 303 pack-years, parental death led to 39 pack dissolutions and 112 reproductive failures.
Packs that lost parents were nearly five times more likely to dissolve and nearly 16 times more likely to fail in reproduction compared to packs where both parents survived. Additionally, these packs recruited 66% fewer pups. While larger packs generally had better demographic outcomes, these advantages were not enough to counteract the increased risks linked to parental death.
The findings reveal that although many individuals in the pack can help maintain overall stability, they cannot completely replace the roles of the parents. This study emphasizes the need to consider social structure alongside population size when assessing the implications of parental death in a cooperatively breeding species like wolves.
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