Description - The Grey Wolf is known as the Timber Wolf in North America and the White Wolf in the
Arctic and is also referred to as the Common Wolf. The Grey Wolf has a territory that ranges from
approximately 250-750 square kilometers. Wolves are not overly fast with a top speed of about 45km/h
but they are known for their endurance and will follow prey all day and night if necessary.
Habitat & Behaviors – The Grey Wolf populates a variety of habitats, including forests, tundra, deserts, plains and mountains.
The wolf tends to live in packs. Each pack is typically made up of an alpha pair (the dominant male and female) and their cubs, as well as offspring from previous years. Within the pack, there is a clear hierarchy that determines, among other things, which animals eat first. Generally, only the alpha pair mates, but every member of the pack helps raise the new pups. Lesser-ranked wolves are often designated “babysitters” while the rest of the pack is out hunting. Grey wolves usually mate for life.
Rank is communicated among the pack through facial expressions and body language, including crouching, flattening or straightening the ears, tucking in the tail and rolling over to show the underbelly. A pack can include up to 36 wolves when prey is plentiful but more commonly numbers between 5 and 12, although pairs and lone wolves do occur.
An opportunistic carnivore, the grey wolf prefers large ungulates, such as deer, moose, elk, caribou, muskox, mountain sheep and mountain goats. Since most of its prey can outrun it, the pack relies on a co-operative hunting strategy and surprise attacks. Pack members either take turns chasing the prey to tire it or split up and drive it into an ambush. Wolves help keep prey populations healthy by targeting the weak, old and sick.
A wolf’s mournful howl is one of its most distinguishing characteristics — the unequivocal call of the wild. Through howling, pack members can communicate with one another when separated, warn other packs away and form social bonds.
The information above for this section is from Canadian Geographic. And I chose this as I found this to be very useful information.
Interesting Facts – Below are some interesting facts from https://www.factretriever.com/wolves-facts
• In order for a new Wolf cub to urinate, its mother has to massage its belly with her warm tongue
• A Wolf pup’s eyes are blue at birth. Their eyes turn yellow by the time they are eight months old
• Lower-ranking males do not mate and often suffer from a condition of stress and inhibition that has been referred to as “psychological castration.” Lower-ranking females are sometimes so afraid of the alpha female that they do not even go into heat
• Wolves can swim distances of up to 8 miles (13 kilometers) aided by small webs between their toes.
• Wolf gestation is around 65 days. Wolf pups are born both deaf and blind and weigh only one pound
• Unlike other animals, Wolves have a variety of distinctive facial expressions they use to communicate and maintain pack unity.
• The smallest Wolves live in the Middle East, where they may weigh only 30 pounds. The largest Wolves inhabit Canada, Alaska, and the Soviet Union, where they can reach 175 pounds
• Wolves howl to contact separated members of their group, to rally the group before hunting, or to warn rival Wolf packs to keep away. Lone Wolves will howl to attract mates or just because they are alone. Each Wolf howls for only about five seconds, but howls can seem much longer when the entire pack joins in
• Where there are Wolves, there are often ravens (sometimes known as “Wolf-birds”). Ravens often follow Wolves to grab leftovers from the hunt—and to tease the Wolves. They play with the Wolves by diving at them and then speeding away or pecking their tails to try to get the Wolves to chase them
• Biologists have found that Wolves will respond to humans imitating their howls. The International Wolf Center in Minnesota even sponsors “howl nights” on which people can howl in the wilderness and hope for an answering howl.
• A Wolf pack may contain just two or three animals, or it may be 10 times as large
• A male and female that mate usually stay together for life. They are devoted parents and maintain sophisticated family ties• Immense power is concentrated in a Wolf’s jaw. It has a crushing pressure of nearly 1,500 pound per square inch (compared with around 750 for a large dog). The jaws themselves are massive, bearing 42 teeth specialized for stabbing, shearing, and crunching bones. Their jaws also open farther than those of a dog.• Wolves run on their toes, which helps them to stop and turn quickly and to prevent their paw pads from wearing down.
Tracks and Scat
Key Features – The Grey Wolf is the world’s largest wild dog species, with the male generally taller than the female. Northern populations tend to be bigger than their southern counterparts.
The Grey Wolf resembles a domestic dog, such as a German shepherd or a sled dog, but has longer legs, bigger paws and a narrower chest. Its thick coat consists of an outer layer of coarse guard hairs and a soft undercoat that protects the wolf against the cold. The most common coat colour is a mottled grey, but it can vary from white to red, brown or black.
Although capable of sprinting at up to 70 kilometers per hour, the wolf excels at long-distance running, averaging 5 to 10 kilometers per hour. A wolf can travel up to 70 kilometers a day while on the hunt.
The information above for this section is from Canadian Geographic. I chose this as I found this to be very useful information.
Signs of Animal Activity / Warning Signs - In addition to knowledge of Wolf behavior, recognizing Wolf signs including the following may help you understand that you are a near reproductive wolf pack:
• Scats (droppings) of various sizes (the scat of adult wolves is similar in size to that of a large dog, often with hair visible),
• Concentrated tracks
• Chewed up bones or litter (wolves will gnaw on bones and plastic garbage much like domestic dogs do),• Vocalizations such as barking or repeated howling,• An obvious den, often in an embankment or under snag trees and typically 1.5-2 feet in diameter.
Most Active Time - Wolves tend to be most active during dusk as well as during the night, and will usually return to their dens near or before sunrise. However, if cubs are present they can also be active during daylight hours.
Diet – A Wolfs diet is dominated by ungulates and medium-sized mammals. Wolves have also been known to eat blueberries, raspberries and grass as well as rodents, hares and smaller carnivores. Wolfs can smell prey up to 2.5km away. During the summer wolves have been known to hunt individually, and ambushing their prey as opposed to pursuing them.
Did you know during harsh winters, cannibalism is not uncommon, packs will often attack weak or injured wolves and may eat the bodies of dead pack members.
Knowing that wolves are strongly tied to their breeding areas, if you’re seeing or hearing this level of Wolf activity, I suggest slowly and calmly leaving the area, either by backing away or by making a wide berth around the area of activity.
The Alaska Department of Fish and Wildlife, a state home to more than 11,000 Wolves, also lists recommendations for Wolf encounters, including:
• Do not run or turn your back toward an aggressive Wolf or Wolves• Retreat slowly while facing a Wolf and act aggressively, maintain eye contact if possible.
• If you are with a companion and more than one wolf is present, place yourselves back to back and slowly move away from the wolves.
• Use air horns or other noisemakers.
• Aggressively use poles, rocks, limbs, or other handy items to discourage wolves from approaching.
• Stand your ground if a Wolf attacks you and fight with any means possible (use sticks, rocks, ski poles, fishing rods or whatever you can find).
• Climb a tree if necessary; Wolves cannot climb trees
Keep your dog well-tended and under control. This is an important point to stress, and one I emphasize as someone with an active canine companion. Wolves perceive other canines as competitors, and Wolf attacks on domestic, herding and hunting dogs are not uncommon.
I believe it is best to have your dog(s) on leash while in Wolf country.
The information above for this section is from Conservation Northwest I chose this as I found this to be very useful information.
Did you know that single Wolves and mated pairs are known to have a higher chance of success that do packs when its comes to hunting and taking down prey.
Warning Signs - Cougars are known to scrape the ground with their hind feet, and then proceed to urinate over the area. This particular marking is usually associated with kill sites.
Did you know - Cougars can bound 40 feet while running, leap 15 feet up into a tree, climb a 12 foot fence, and sprint at speeds up to 50 mph. It is also a good swimmer but prefers not to enter the water.
