Abstract
In 1998, the pack of 7 wolvesCanis lupus Linnaeus, 1758, radio-tracked in Białowieża Primeval Forest, East Poland, split into 2 packs (2 and 5 wolves), when an 8-year-old alpha female ceased breeding. The two sister-packs subdivided their original territory, but their ranges overlapped extensively (49%) for one year after the split, except for May-June, when both new packs reared pups. We propose that food related factors could have been the ultimate cause of splitting of a large pack. In European temperate forests, pack size of 5–6 wolves is optimal for the consumption of the red deerCervus elaphus.
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Associate Editor was Andrzej Zalewski.
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Jędrzejewski, W., Schmidt, K., Jędrzejewska, B. et al. The process of a wolf pack splitting in Białowieża Primeval Forest, Poland. Acta Theriol 49, 275–280 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03192527
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03192527