Project Introduction: Timber Wolves

Timber Wolves may be the most loyal and faithful mates in the animal kingdom. When Wolves mate, they stay together for life, sometimes never taking another partner, even if the other one dies. Wolves mate February-March, and after a gestation of 63 days, a litter of 1-11 pups are born April-June.
The Timber Wolf only uses a shelter as a maternity den. During a blizzard, it will curl its tail over its paws and nose and wait for the snow to completely cover its entire body. The snow acts as an insulator from the cold. Once a den has been established, the Wolf often returns to the same one annually. All members of the pack help to care for the young. At three weeks, pups emerge from the den to explore the world, but only a small bit because they still remain nearby the den and are always guarded carefully by an adult. At about two months the pups are mock-fighting and wrestling with each other as they practice their hunting skills. By late summer, they will be hunting with the adults.

The wolf is a wild member of the dog family. Wolves once roamed all over North America, Europe, and Asia. People have long tried to kill wolves near their settlements. Today, wolves are found only in the mountains and forests where few people live. Fearsome stories are told of wolves attacking people, but North American wolves are usually afraid of people, and no report of a wolf attack has ever been proved in North America. Ranchers claim that wolves kill their sheep and cattle. Usually only starving wolves will come close enough to human settlements to kill domestic