Food is so hard to find this far north
that a wolf pack must search hundreds of square kilometres
if it’s to be successful…
and success means raising the next generation.
To do that here, the wolves must work together.
So, the young are raised not only by their parents…
but by their aunts and uncles as well.
Together, they try to ensure that each pup reaches near-adult size
before the snow returns.
A growing pup needs more than just a few leverets.
The wolves need bigger prey and, to catch that…
they must hunt as a pack.
Adult hares may be easy to spot…
but they are far from easy to catch.
They run at 60 kilometres an hour.
To catch one, the wolves work as a team.
One of them gets close enough to bite the hare’s tail.
But a hare can change direction in an instant.
If it can continue to sidestep and jink, it may ultimately outlast them.
Finally, it gets away.
For the next hare, the whole pack gives chase.
Now, numbers count.
The lead wolves keep up the pace.
Others run on either side, so the hare can’t change direction.
A tiny meal for a whole pack.
