Question

I have just watched a documentary on a female wolf raising her cubs in the Alps. I found various aspects of the programme less than convincing, but one in particular puzzled me. The alpha male of the pack is killed, and his eldest son takes over as alpha. Whilst the alpha female remains with her dying mate, the programme stated she could not rejoin her pack, as her place had been taken by her daughter. This would mean a brother-sister mating - the female became pregnant very soon - which I find highly unlikely, although perhaps not impossible.

Wikipedia simply states:

Wolves are monogamous, mated pairs usually remaining together for life. Should one of the pair die, another mate is found quickly. With wolves in the wild, inbreeding does not occur where outbreeding is possible.

Wondering if there are any wolf experts on here?

Answer 1

Monogamy in gray wolves can last a lifetime and is believed to be advantageous for several reasons.

Step-by-step explanation:

In monogamous systems, one male and one female are paired for at least one breeding season. In some animals, such as the gray wolf, these associations can last much longer, even a lifetime. Several explanations have been proposed for this type of mating system.

The mate-guarding hypothesis states that males stay with the female to prevent other males from mating with her. This behavior is advantageous in such situations where mates are scarce and difficult to find. Monogamy is observed in many bird populations where, in addition to the parental care from the female, the male is also a major provider of parental care for the chicks.

A third explanation for the evolutionary advantages of monogamy is the female-enforcement hypothesis. In this scenario, the female ensures that the male does not have other offspring that might compete with her own, so she actively interferes with the male's signaling to attract other mates.