HABITAT AND RANGE:
The wolf largely occupies forested
regions, although it is also found on
the arctic tundra, in the mountains, and
on the plains. They once ranged
throughout North America from Mexico to
northeast Greenland; only the arid
Southwest and the coastal section of
California were without them. Today
their range has been reduced to Canada,
Alaska and a few isolated areas in
Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS:
The gray wolf looks like a husky
German Shepherd with shaggy hair and
shorter ears. Unlike domestic dogs, the
eyes are slanted giving the wolf a very
expressive face. The muzzle is long,
broad, and very powerful. The long legs
and narrow chest are specifically
designed for running. In coloration,
wolves vary from white, cream, grey,
brown, orangish-black to coal black. The
most common color is gray with darker
markings on the back. Wolves molt in
late spring. The new short summer pelage
grows into the long winter coat. An
average full grown adult measures 1.4 to
2m (4.5 to 6.5 feet) including the tail,
stands .65 to .8m (26 to 32 inches) high
at the shoulder and weighs 34 to 50 kg
(75 to 110 lbs.). Male wolves are larger
than females. Wolves possess acute
hearing and a keen sense of smell, but
their vision is less sharp.
ADAPTATIONS:
Wolves have complex social instincts.
The social unit is the pack which
usually numbers 7-8 members. The
dominant, or alpha, male and his mate
regulate the pack and their activities.
This male is usually the largest and
strongest male. Wolves may hunt during
the day or night, however, they often
sleep during the warmest part of the
day. They trot or run with a lumbering
gait and are not particularly fast,
however, their endurance is remarkable.
Wolves are territorial and may occupy a
fixed home range near the den of 100 to
260 square miles. Wolves have an
elaborate system of communication which
utilizes visual, auditory, and olfactory
signals. They are friendly and playful.
Wolves live 10 to 12 years in the wild
while in captivity their longevity may
be as much as 18 years.
DIET:
The wolf is carnivorous. Working as a
unit, the pack is able to bring down
large prey such as moose or caribou.
They commonly gorge on 18 to 20 pounds
of meat and then sleep for 15 to 20
hours. The carcass of a large animal is
revisited until all is eaten except
skin, hair, and the contents of the
stomach. They may not hunt again for 2
to 4 days or until hungry. In spring and
summer, the wolf feeds on readily
available small animals such as grouse,
ptarmigans, varying hares, marmots,
ducks, geese, small birds and their
eggs, mice, and voles. At the zoo the
pack is fed a meat diet supplemented
with vitamins and calcium. They
occasionally receive a whole deer
carcass which has been picked up as a
road kill.
REPRODUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT:
The dominant male and female are
generally the ones that breed. They tend
to mate for life. The single breeding
season extends from late February to
mid-March. After a gestation period of
63 days an average of 6 pups are born.
The female remains with the pups
continuously for the first week while
the dominant male brings her food. Blind
at birth, the pups’ eyes open in 5-9
days. Pups begin venturing outside the
den at 3 weeks of age and are weaned
when 6-8 weeks old. At 3 months, the
pups join the adults in their first
hunting lessons. Females become sexually
mature at 2 years of age and males in
their third year.
STATUS IN WILD:
The wolf is a species threatened
with extinction. Man has applied
constant pressure on the wolf out of
fear and the threat to domestic
livestock. Centuries of trapping,
gunning, and poisoning – usually for a
bounty – have erased several subspecies
and backed the rest into an ecological
corner.
