Gray wolf with begging pup, Montana

© Tim Fitzharris/Minden Picture

Welcome to the pack

This fuzzy pup is a young grey wolf, the largest member of the dog family (Canidae). Grey wolf pups are born between March and May, blind and deaf, but after about three weeks they're ready to leave the den and begin exploring their surroundings for the first time. It doesn’t take long–around 6 months–before they’ve grown enough to join their pack on hunts.

After decades of declining numbers due to habitat loss and hunting, grey wolf populations today have stabilised in the US, at around 18,000. In India, the Indian grey wolf is an endangered species, with its population between two and three thousand only.