Parental Care of Offspring in Three

Canidae Species

Cassandra Miller
 Types of Parental Care

 Parenting is not the same for all species

– Different roles per species
– Maternal
– Paternal
– Bi-parental
Social Mating Systems and Parenting

 Many different kinds of mating systems

– monogamous, polygamous
 See more bi-parental care in monogamous
systems
 Canis lupus and Canis latrans
Social Systems

 Wolves and coyotes are pack animals

 Both have a dominant breeding pair that is monogamous
 The pack consists of the dominant breeding pair, the current
litter and offspring from previous litters
 The older offspring act as helpers
 Offspring are born in dens
 Bi-parental care
 Vulpes vulpes
Social System

 More flexible mating systems

 Can be monogamous or polygamous
 Birth pups in dens
 May have helpers or may raise alone
 May form a pack or may not
Parental Care in the Grey Wolf

 Pups stay in the den for about 2 months

 The pack forms a home base at the den
 The mother provides milk for the pups for the first 2-
3 weeks
– She will not leave the den during this time
 The male and helpers hunt and bring food for the
female
 The female hunts for herself and the pups after 3
weeks
 The male and helpers start providing food for the
pups
 Both parents work together to wean the pups off the mother’s
milk
– The mother avoids pups or take body stances that don’t allow the
pups access to her nipples
– The father will push pups away or growl at them
 The father also teaches pups the proper social behaviour
– He is the dominant male in the pack
– Teaches the pups how to be submissive to him and others that are
in a higher position
Parental Care in the Coyote

 Coyotes are pack animals that hunt alone

 Raise offspring within a pack
 Pups are born in dens and live there until 21-28
days after birth
 Fully weaned by age 35 days
 Mother provides milk while father hunts and
guards den
 Helpers also provide food for mother and pups
– Sometimes helpers don’t provide much food
– Helpers very important in territory protection and
scent marking
Parental Care in Red Foxes

 Pups are born in dens and live in them for about 4-5 weeks
 Dens may be occupied by more than one female, depending on
social system
 Pups are weaned by 8-10 weeks
 May leave parents by age1
– Usually females stay
 Paternal care is not so clear in this species
– Males do provide the female with food
– Older studies state that there is little paternal care of offspring
– Recent studies show that males provide food
 Helpers may not provide much beneficial care
– May only feed siblings when resources are plentiful
– However, one case of a non-breeding female raising another’s
pups
End