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Description
Right now, I can hear you wolfaboos out there, sharpening yer steely knives (...I suspect that you CAN kill the beast in this case) as I make a point against one of the niggling little things that bug me about unpleasant wolf fans. "ZOMG NOEZ, WOLVES MATE 4 LIFE AND LURVE EACCHUTTER MOAR THAN PEEPLE DOOOOOO." Indeed, one of the key points that wolfhumpers make in their defense of this creature is that they are noble animals who mate for life. Naturally, such a wanky and fanboy-ridden reaction irked me so much that I had to see if it was true.

And it wasn't!!! ...Well, sort of.

While it IS true that breeding wolf pairs tend to last for the lifespan of one of the wolves in question, it is rather significantly less romantic than you would expect. According to Wikipedia and (always cite multiple sources, kids!), there is usually only one extant breeding pair in each pack of wolves, and when one of the wolves die, another wolf comes in to take its place and reestablish the breeding pair quickly.

There is no love between these wolves, none of the romantic affection one would expect from those with monogamy in breeding. Black swans truly mate for life, and even humans have a legitimate go at it better than wolves; at least we have a mourning period after our significant others die. Indeed, the reasons for this small number of breeding pairs staying together is actually fairly pragmatic: limiting the number of extant breeding pairs by mating for an extended period of time keeps the population in a controlled, manageable amount, and a small number of wolves breeding can be reestablished easily if one wolf dies. No mess, no fuss, very efficient, and no love lost at all.

Here's hoping I just took a bit of luster off of the wolfaboos so that people can enjoy the badass creatures without all the damn wank. XP

Description
Right now, I can hear you wolfaboos out there, sharpening yer steely knives (...I suspect that you CAN kill the beast in this case) as I make a point against one of the niggling little things that bug me about unpleasant wolf fans. "ZOMG NOEZ, WOLVES MATE 4 LIFE AND LURVE EACCHUTTER MOAR THAN PEEPLE DOOOOOO." Indeed, one of the key points that wolfhumpers make in their defense of this creature is that they are noble animals who mate for life. Naturally, such a wanky and fanboy-ridden reaction irked me so much that I had to see if it was true.

And it wasn't!!! ...Well, sort of.

While it IS true that breeding wolf pairs tend to last for the lifespan of one of the wolves in question, it is rather significantly less romantic than you would expect. According to Wikipedia and (always cite multiple sources, kids!), there is usually only one extant breeding pair in each pack of wolves, and when one of the wolves die, another wolf comes in to take its place and reestablish the breeding pair quickly.

There is no love between these wolves, none of the romantic affection one would expect from those with monogamy in breeding. Black swans truly mate for life, and even humans have a legitimate go at it better than wolves; at least we have a mourning period after our significant others die. Indeed, the reasons for this small number of breeding pairs staying together is actually fairly pragmatic: limiting the number of extant breeding pairs by mating for an extended period of time keeps the population in a controlled, manageable amount, and a small number of wolves breeding can be reestablished easily if one wolf dies. No mess, no fuss, very efficient, and no love lost at all.

Here's hoping I just took a bit of luster off of the wolfaboos so that people can enjoy the badass creatures without all the damn wank. XP