Here are some quick facts and general information about arctic wolves, the great white wolf of the far north. See the wolf species index for more information specific to other species and subspecies of wolves.
Able to tolerate years of sub-zero temperatures, up to five months of darkness a year, and weeks without food, the arctic wolf lives in one of the few places on earth where it is safe from the greatest threat of all - man. Arctic wolves inhabit some of the most inhospitable terrain in the world. In April, the air temperature rarely rises above -22° F. The ground is permanently frozen. The arctic wolf is one of the few mammals that can tolerate these conditions. Details of the animal's life through much of the year are virtually unknown.
Wolves usually live in small packs or family groups consisting of a breeding pair, their cubs, and their unmated offspring from the prior several seasons. The dominant, or breeding, pair are known as the alpha male and alpha female. They are respected by the rest of the pack. All adults in the pack cooperate in feeding and caring for the young.
Throughout the Fall and Winter, arctic wolves remain on the move. After mating in March, the pregnant female leaves the pack to find a den to give birth to her cubs. She may dig a new one. However, if the ground is frozen, she will be forced to return to an old den in a cave or rock cleft. The cubs are born deaf, blind, and helpless. They are totally dependent on their mother, and she in turn relies on her mate to bring her the food she needs. After a month, the cubs are able to eat meat. From then on, the whole pack shares the job of feeding them with regurgitatied meat from a kill. The cubs may stike out on their own the following year.
The arctic wolf preys on lemmings and arctic hare, but its most substantial source of food is musk oxen and caribou. Because of the scarcity of grazing plants, animals must roam a large area in order to find enough food to survive.
They will kill virtually any animal they can catch, and eat every part of it, including skin, fur, and bones. Canis arctos packs range up to 800 square miles in search of prey. When Winter temperatures plummet, the wolves may follow migrating caribou South.
