The pride of any Gray Wolf pack is its new pups. When two adult Gray Wolves succesfully mate, usually between December and April, there is a period of gestation that lasts 63 days. After this period is over, a litter of 4 to 14 pups is born. All the pack members play their part in raising the litter, while at the same time sacrificing their food, and sometimes even dying for the pups. The Gray Wolves take turns babysitting and entertaining the "hyper" pups. They like to play with their mother's tail, and nip at her ears, while at the same time practicing valuable skills that will be needed in the future to survive. One of the hunting wolves will eat twice what it usually does, so he can bring it to the pups, and regurgitate (yummy) the meat for the pups. They also get other nutrients from their mother's milk. When the pup reaches the age of 2 to 3 years, it becomes sexualy mature, and ready to go out in hopes of starting its own pack, or it can stay with the pack it's in right then.