I got the idea for this painting while watching a wolf documentary, seeing the alpha male doting on his mate while she was expecting her pups and giving birth. He would go hunting and bring her his quarry and lay it outside the den to nourish her and their pups.  I found it quite touching to see him sitting outside the den in a strong, protective manner. Then I gathered my reference material at The Wolf Sanctuary of Pennsylvania where I was afforded plenty of time to take as many photographs as I wanted of this beautiful creature. 

Mating season can be anywhere from January to April with the alpha female having only five to seven days of estrus. During this time, the alpha pair may move out of the pack temporarily to prevent interruption from other pack members. Also the alpha pair is almost always the only pair to mate, to avoid over population.  Usually the alpha male has dominance over the entire pack including the alpha female. But this not always true. During the mating season the alpha female takes total dominance even while the pups are still in the den. This is for the rest of the pack to know that she is the one to serve. She also decides were the den will be. With this in the packs mind, they go in search of food and bring it back to the den either for the hungry, laborious female or for the pups. (www.wolfcountry.net)