Will wolves adopt orphaned pups?
As old man says, within a pack all the wolves help to raise the cubs. If the mother or father dies, the rest of the pack will continue to care for them. Most wolves in the pack are related to the alpha pair – they will be their siblings, or offspring from previous litters – so they are helping to ensure the survival of their own genes by caring for their nieces and nephews/sisters and brothers. However, I think you may be referring to wolves adopting cubs from another pack. This is quite rare, because all the adults in that pack would have to be killed or removed from the area before the cubs would have no-one to care for them, but it has happened on occasion. All wolves love cubs and are programmed to protect and nurture them – this can extend to cubs that are not related to themselves, especially if the adopting pack has cubs of its own already.
