Animalia Life

Wolves are wild relatives of dogs and are represented by two species, the gray and red wolf, with variations within each species for a total of thirtytwo described subspecies. At one time, wolves lived throughout Europe, Asia, and North America. The gray wolf, also called the timber wolf, is the most common wolf species living in North America and can be found mostly in Canada and Alaska. Considered extinct in western Europe, with a few exceptions, gray wolves live in Russia, southeastern Europe, and Asia. Wolves’ ranges have decreased due to urbanization. Most wolves live in sparsely populated forest, tundra, wilderness, and mountain regions and tend to avoid people, approaching settled areas only when they are starving or when natural crises, such as floods, fires, and blizzards, cause their migration to populated places to seek emergency food sources. Gray wolves can attain a body length (from nose to base of the tail) of 1.2 meters (4 feet) and height of 90 centimeters (3 feet) at the shoulder. They average forty-five kilograms (one hundred pounds) in weight, with some wolves weighing twice that amount, and have sharp teeth, thick coats, tall legs, and bushy tails. Gray wolves have primarily gray coats with some black, yellow, and brown fur, although some gray wolves are solid black or white, particularly in the Arctic. An endangered species, red wolves live in the forests and brush of the south central United States and can be colored a hue ranging from reddish gray to black. Hunting of gray wolves escalated as farmers and ranchers penetrated wolf territory, their livestock offering easy targets for the wolves. Humans’ retribution threatened decimation of the gray wolf population. Efforts to replenish the number of wolves include the reintroduction of gray wolves toYellowstone National Park in 1995.

Pack Behavior
Hunting alone and in packs, wolves usually roam over large territories with a family group consisting of parent wolves and their offspring. Zoologists believe that wolves mate with the same partner for life, producing from three to nine cubs annually in late winter. Digging an underground den or appropriating a cave or hollow tree, wolves give birth and raise their cubs in this space, where the parents bring food until the cubs attain sufficient maturity to hunt. During winter and other stressful conditions, wolf families occasionally establish a larger pack of as many as thirty animals. The leader of a wolf pack, known as the alpha male, disciplines pack members. Wolves prey on both large and small animals, including deer, moose, rabbits, birds, and mice and also eat vegetables, fruit, and carrion. They tend to hunt at night and can leap over obstacles 4.9 meters (16 feet) high, and travel up to fifty-six kilometers per hour (thirty-five miles per hour) to capture prey, sustaining thirty-two kilometers per hour (twenty miles per hour) for several hours when endurance is necessary to wear down elusive prey. Wolves migrate to follow prey to other areas. Scientists hypothesize that wolves howl in order to communicate with other wolf packs.

Wolf Facts

Classification:
Kingdom: Animalia
Subkingdom: Metazoa
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Mammalia
Subclass: Eutheria
Order: Carnivora
Suborder: Canoidea
Family: Canidae
Genus and species: Ten genera and thirty-five species, including C. lupus (gray wolf), C. rufus (red wolf)
Geographical location: Wolves are not found in Africa, South America, and Australia
Habitat: Mostly prairies, forests, and mountains
Gestational period: Approximately two months
Life span: Ranges from an average of eight to twelve years, longer in captivity or domestication

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