Hunting Handbook

How old are wolves when they open their eyes?

and when their mother starts to teach then how to hunt, and when they leave the den to fend for themselves?

Public Comments

1. Baby wolves first open their eyes at about twelve days. By 7 to 8 months of age, when they are almost fully-grown, the young wolves begin hunting with the adults. When they are fully capable of hunting, and know how to hunt for animals, they can leave the den to fend for themselves.
2. Wolf cubs' eyes open at between one and two weeks of age. They leave the den at about two months, and are moved to a rendezvous site, where they are left with one or more adults to guard them while the rest of the pack hunts. They feed the cubs and cubsitters by regurgitating partly-digested food for them on their return. The cubs begin to accompany the adults at between four and six months of age, but they do not yet participate in the hunt - they simply watch and learn. They do not join in until they are at least eight months old. They will stay with their birth pack until they are at least two years old, when they are sexually mature. Some will then leave to seek a mate and pack of their own, but some will stay with the pack they were born into all their lives.