PetandWildlife.com Your pet center and wildlife information source for wolves
Wolf facts, subspecies, stories, and news about wolves is included in this pet and wildlife megasite. Buy wolf pictures, fine art prints, posters, t-shirts and other wolf themed merchandise.
[an error occurred while processing this directive]
Here are some quick facts and general information about wolves. See the wolf species index for more information specific to particular subspecies of wolves.
The dog lineage began approximately 37 million years ago. From there, it branched out into a variety of species from wolves, domestic dogs, foxes, coyotes and many other canines that are common to today's world. Unfortunately, due to excessive hunting by man, wolves have become an endangered species in many areas of the world. It is estimated that at one time in history there were at least 30 different species of wolves. All have become extinct except for 5 surviving species today. Most wolves are found in North America, a few in Russia and China, and in some scattered areas in Europe.
By 1500 A.D. wolves had become extinct in England. Scotland followed soon after in the 1700's when it killed its last wolf. The wolves found in North America generally reside in Alaska and Canada, with a few in the upper United States due to the recent successful reintroduction of captive wolves back into the wild. The most famous of these are the Yellowstone Wolves.
Wolves are social animals and have a certain hierarchy within their packs. The alpha pair consists of a male wolf and female wolf who dominate the pack. Only the alpha pair mate and reproduce offspring. The alpha wolves find suitable dens and lead the hunt for food. Below the alpha wolves are the mature subordinate wolves who are subservient to the alpha pair. They are called the beta wolves. There is also an order of ranking within this subservient group. The more mature wolves are higher in level than the newly joined juveniles. The third category in the wolf pack hierarchy are the outcasts called omega wolves. There are usually one or two of this type of wolf in most wolf packs. Omegas are often mistreated by the other wolves in the pack.
Last in the ranks are the juveniles. These are the young wolf pups that have not yet secured a positon for themselves within the pack. This usually occurs around two years of age. In the meantime, the wolf pups will often "play-fight", which helps to determine their later positions. Positions in the hierarchy can change during mating season, when the wolves have both more friendly, and more aggressive, interactions with others.
Wolves on average eat five to twelve pounds of meat each day. Their diets consist of deer, elk, moose, caribou, reindeer, beaver, and small rodents. Wolves will also fish by wading into streams and herding salmon, artic grayling or white fish into shallow ponds where they become trapped. Wolves eat everything from their kill, leaving behind only a few bones and some tufts of fur. The alpha wolves and their pups will eat from the kill first, followed by the beta wolves, and then the omega's get whatever is left. If an omega wolf tries to eat before the others have finished, one of the alpha wolves will usually warn it away.
Wolves usually mate in January or February (although in the far North, the mating season is in March) and the female gives birth in early spring to an average of five or six wolf pups after a 60-65 day gestation period. All wolf pups have blue eyes upon birth which slowly change to yellow, green or brownish. Out of the half dozen wolf pups born, usually only one or two survive to adulthood.
All adult wolves in the pack share responsibility in raising the pups. When the wolf pups reach around two years of age, they will often leave the pack to find a mate and establish a new pack with their own territory.
Wolves have a variety of ways to communicate. They'll use facial expressions, body postures, a sort of barking (which sounds more like the cartoon character, Scooby Doo, than a dog's bark), scent-marking, growls, whimpers, yips and howls to communicate with one another. Not only do they communicate within the pack, they use these same signals to communicate with other wolves in the wild. A wolf's howl can be heard from up to six miles away.
Wolves are very affectionate with one another. They often will play-wrestle, rub cheeks, rub noses, nip gently, nuzzle and lick one another. The wolf is a fascinating creature and more needs to be done to protect this noble and brave animal.
It's only through recent conservation efforts that the wolf has been reintroduced to the lower 48 states of the US. At the turn of the century, wolves were nearly extinct in the United States, except for Alaska.
