Spatial overlap, proximity, and habitat use of individual wolves within the same packs

Packs are the basic social and breeding groups of wolf ( Canis spp.) populations and are often the sampling unit for wolf research. Researchers commonly assume, either explicitly or implicitly, that telemetry data from ≥1 individual wolf can be used to represent the space use, distribution, presence, and resource selection of the pack. We tested these critical assumptions using Global Positioning System telemetry by directly comparing home range size, probability of spatial overlap, seasonal proximity, and habitat use of individuals within wolf packs in central and northern Ontario, Canada, 2006–2010. Space use was similar and probability of overlap was high for wolves within packs for individual 95% home‐range contours. Variation was greater for 50% contours, indicating that individual wolves may use space differently within territories. Wolves within packs spent more time <100 m and <1 km from each other during winter ( = 66 and 75%, respectively) than during other seasons ( = 33 and 40%, respectively) supporting earlier findings that pack cohesion was highest during winter. Individuals within all packs exhibited differences in the use of specific resource variables when separated by >100 m. Use of habitat variables was more similar when we compared resource selection of individuals within packs using all locations (regardless of proximity), although we still detected differences within most packs. Our results suggest that telemetry data from individual wolves can be used to reliably estimate territories for packs, but that researchers should be cautious when making pack‐level inferences regarding finer scale space and habitat use within home ranges based on data from individual animals.