Parenting   Home Habitat Hunting and Food Social Behavior Communication Howling Courtship and Mating Birthing and Maturation Parenting Management Literature Parents are very protective of their pups, as is the rest of the pack. Often the pups will be left with a "baby-sitter" while the parents are off on a hunt with rest of the pack, or at night while sleeping the pups are watched by the entire pack, most especially the females. Any adult can be coerced into regurgitating food for pups even if they aren’t theirs (Mech 142). The male has been shown to vigorously protect his pups in captivity, but it has also been observed that the female will not even let the alpha male near her babies. Communal responsibilities include defending the pups from forays by predators e.g. bears, and also playing with the pups once they are of that age (Mech 142-146)