Page 164 - Present Day Wildlife_Float

The wolf (Canis lupus; plural: Wolves), often referred to as the Grey wolf, is a medium to large
carnivorous canine and is a member of the genus Canis – which also includes the domestic dog and
golden jackal – in the subfamily Caninae, found in the dog family Canidae. There are 25 extant* sub-
species of the wolf, dispersed across Eurasia and North America. The size of wolves can vary dramati-
cally across the areas they inhabit, but in general the larger of the species are normally found in Cana-
da, Alaska, and across northern Asia. On average they stand around 80 to 85 cm tall at the shoulders
and about 105 to 160 cm in length, with a tail measuring 29 to 50 cm long. The smaller of the species
are usually found in the southern part of Asia in the Middle East, Arabia, and India, with the Arabian
or Indian wolf often referred to as the smallest, being around 64 to 66 cm tall at the shoulders and
measuring on average 20 cm in length and weighing
about 23 kg.

The wolf is a lean but powerfully built canine. It has
a relatively short torso with a long tail. Its head is large,
with a broad forehead, short triangular ears, large sharp
oval shaped eyes, and a long blunted snout. It has strong
jaws lined with large teeth, capable of crushing large
bones. Those wolves living in the cold Northern regions
tend to have longer legs than those in the warmer south-
ern areas. The extra-long legs enable Northern wolves to
move freely and swiftly through deep snow. The wolf’s
heavy fur coat is often a mixture of several colours such
as white, brown, grey, and black, with some having pre-
dominantly grey coats and others a more blackish colour,
*Extant Species with the colour tone being much lighter for those in the
Tundra wolf warm Southern regions. Wolves in arctic regions have
Arabian wolf white coats, helping them to merge with the snowy background making them
almost invisible to their intended prey.
Steppe wolf
Himalayan wolf Wolves are sociable animals, and normally live in a pack consisting of a
Mongolian wolf mating pair and their young, which can amount to two generations of cubs.
Italian wolf With females giving birth to a possible eight young a year this could make a
Eurasian wolf family pack numbering ten or more wolves. They are also very territorial,
(nominate subspe- marking it with urine, feces, scents and scratchings. Their territories can be
cies) huge, reflecting the food requirements of the pack; the bigger the pack the
Indian wolf larger the territory. Wolves defend their territories aggressively even to the
Iberian wolf point of killing an interloper. When hunting, packs can cover vast distances,
sometimes up to 12km a day. Wolves communicate with one another,
Arctic wolf through howling, body posturing, scent, and touch. The moon has nothing to
Mexican wolf do with the wolf’s howl. Each wolf has its own personal howl, known by the
British Columbian others in the pack. It’s used to locate one another, to call the pack together or
wolf to announce contact with prey. Wolves hearing the howl, know exactly what
Vancouver Island action they should take.
wolf
Hudson Bay wolf The wolf is primarily a carnivore but will also eat certain fruits like ap-
Northern Rocky ples, pears, blueberries and raspberries to provide it with vitamins missing in
Mountain wolf its regular diet. It will also eat grass to encourage vomiting, and rid its self of
intestinal parasites or long guard hairs. They are not fussy eaters but with the
Labrador wolf species being spread widely across the globe its daily diet will differ and will
Alexander Archipela- depend on what is available. In general they will eat large wild hooved mam-
go wolf mals, like deer and elk as well as smaller animals such as beavers, hares and
Eastern wolf carrion. Wolves have no natural predators wishing to eat them, though they
Mackenzie River wolf are known to be killed, not eaten, by some large wild cats. Man is the wolf’s
Baffin Island wolf most prolific predator. His motivation is usually superstition and fear,
North western wolf though wolves do kill farm animals, they do so only because man moves into
its area and like all wild animals they see farm animals as food. Wolves nor-
Greenland wolf mally try to avoid contact with man, and they certainly do not deliberately
Alaskan Interior wolf attack humans, but they do get accustom to man being around, and it’s that
Great Plains wolf customisation that leads to close contact with man. Driven by superstition
Red wolf and fear, man’s frenzied response is to slaughter the wolf.
Alaskan tundra wolf