The Pack
The Pack
Wolves are extremely social animals. They travel and hunt in a group and perform almost all other activities in the company of their pack. The pack is usually a family group. It is made up of animals related to each other by blood and family ties of affection and mutual aid. The core of a pack is a mated pair of wolves - an adult male and female that have bred and produced young. The other members of the pack are their offspring: young wolves ranging in age from pups to two and three-year-olds. Pack sizes vary, most packs have 6 or 7 members, although some may include as many as 15 wolves. The size depends on many variables including the current numbers of the wolf population, the abundance of food, and social factors within the wolf pack. Within each pack is an elaborate hierarchy. It may consist of a single breeding pair, the Alpha male and female, a lower group consisting of non-breeding adults, each with its own ranking, a group of outcasts, and a group of immature wolves on their way up. Some of the younger wolves of the pack may leave to find vacant territory and a mate. The parent wolves are the leaders of the pack - the alpha male and alpha female. (Alpha is the first letter in the Greek alphabet.) The alpha male and female are the oldest members of the pack and the ones with the most experience in hunting, defending territory, and other important activities. The other pack members respect their positions and follow their leadership in almost all things. The young adult wolves are the grown-up offspring of the alpha pair, and have their own special roles under the leadership or their parents. Dominant wolves in the pack usually have more aggressive and forceful personalities than their relatives of the same age. Wolves under two years old do not occupy permanent positions within the pack hierarchy
The gestation period for the wolf is 63 days
Wolf pups are born in April and May
The average litter size for the wolf is 4 to 7 pups
Mortality rates for wolf pups can be as high as 50%
Communication
Wolves use body language and facial expressions to communicate with each other. Dominant wolves will freely look other animals directly in the eye, this declares and reinforces their superior rank. A subordinate wolf will cringe towards the leader with tail low and bent legs, ears back and down, in a submissive nature. At other times, active submission involves a group of subordinate wolves surrounding the dominant wolf with their noses up against it. Various facial muscles, eyes, ears and the nose are extremely important when wolves are expressing their feelings. Bared teeth, an open mouth, ears erect and pointed forward indicate a threat by a dominant wolf. Wolves are also very territorial animals and do not readily share it with wolves who are not members of their pack. Wolves communicate and mark their territories by scent. They often do this by urinating near the edges of their territory, and on stumps, rocks and logs that are within their territory. The dominant wolves do most of this, usually the alpha male.
Feeding
Wolves are carnivores (meat eaters) but they will eat other foods as well. Their diet ranges from big game, such as elk and moose, to earthworms, berries and grasshoppers. To avoid using too much energy catching their food, wolves prey on weaker members of a herd, such as old, young or sick animals. In summer, when the herds migrate, wolves eat mice, birds and even fish. They may also eat carrion. Wolves eat their food very quickly, probably to protect it from being stolen, and to decrease the chance of attack from other predators. They eat the best parts first, and come back later for the remainder, as they can't afford to be wasteful. They will hide food in the snow, or icy soil, which helps to preserve it, and protect it from scavengers. Wolves can eat every 5-6 hours when there is plenty of food available, or they can fast and live on scraps for 2 weeks when there is less food around. Their digestion is very efficient, with all but 5 percent of large meat feeds able to be digested. Any splinters of bone that are not broken down somehow become wrapped in undigested hair, which protects the intestines from injury. The adults who disgorge fresh meat from their stomachs, or carry back fresh pieces of meat to the den feed pups.
Odd Facts
In America, Wolves served as models for hunting and played a significant role in the religious lives of the plains tribes and other groups of North American Indians. The powerful and courageous wolves were seen as representatives of important natural forces or spirits. Other native American hunters who have known the wolf intimately are the Eskimos. Today as in the past, groups of Eskimos share their homeland on the cold northern tundra with wolf packs, hunting the same prey and leading the same kind of nomadic life. Indians of earlier times and the Eskimos of today, respect the wolf for its skill as a predator. They also admire the wolf's dedication to the welfare of its companions, a model of social behaviour for humans as well as animals. Eskimos like Indians, sometimes kill wolves for their skins or for other specific reasons, but they believe that they are taking the life of an equal, not slaughtering an enemy. Today the wolf is classified as an endangered species in most parts of the United States. This classification means that the killing of wolves is strictly controlled by federal law. For most wolves, such protection has come too late. The killing has already taken place, and the millions of animals slaughtered in the past cannot be brought back to life. Ironically, most people now agree that the world is a poorer place because of their loss.
The wolf has 42 teeth
The wolf has extremely powerful jaws capable of generating 1,500 psi pressure
The wolf has one of the widest ranges of size, shape and color of any mammal in North America
Wolves communicate with each other more by harmony and integration rather than by aggression and submission
There are two species of the wolf in North America, the Gray Wolf (Canis lupus ) and the Red Wolf (Canis rufus )
In North America there are 10 recognized sub-species of the wolf
Kingdom - Animalia (all animals)
Phylum - chordata (animals with notochords)
Subphylum - Vertebrata (animals with a skeleton of bone or cartilage)
Class - Mammalia (Mammals)
subclass - Eutheria (placental mammals)
Order - Carnivora (carnivores. Eg: cats, dogs,bears.)
Family - Canidae (dog family)
Genus - Canis (dogs)
Grey Wolf - Canis Lupis
Red Wolf - Canis Rufus
Domestic Dog - Canis Familiaris. (Some believe the domestic dog is the same as the Grey Wolf (Canis lupus))
Dingo - Canis familiaris dingo
Coyote - Canis latrans
Facts acquired from Wolf Web: www.wolfweb.com/facts.html
