Gray Wolf

Gray Wolf emily bowen

Scientific name

Canis lupus

Range

Habitat and Range. Wolves can thrive in a diversity of habitats from the tundra to woodlands, forests, grasslands and deserts. Today, gray wolves have populations in Alaska, northern Michigan, northern Wisconsin, western Montana, northern Idaho, northeast Oregon and the Yellowstone area of Wyoming.

Diet

Wolves eat ungulates, or large hoofed mammals, like elk, deer, moose and caribou, as well as beaver, rabbits and other small prey. Wolves are also scavengers and often eat animals that have died due to other causes.

Physical description

Physical description. Keen senses, large canine teeth, powerful jaws, and the ability to pursue prey at 60 km (37 miles) per hour equip the gray wolf well for a predatory way of life. A typical northern male may be about 2 metres (6.6 feet) long, including the bushy half-metre-long tail.

Breeding info

There are an estimated 7,000 to 11,200 gray wolves in Alaska, 3,700 in the Great Lakes region and 1,675 in the Northern Rockies.

special behavior/unique anatomy

Wolves live, travel and hunt in packs of 7 to 8 animals on average. Packs include the mother and father wolves (called the alphas), their pups and older offspring. The alpha female and male are typically the pack leaders that track and hunt prey, choose den sites and establish the pack's territory. Wolves develop strong social bonds within their packs.

weird/interesting info

Wolf pups are born blind and deaf, and must be cared for until they mature at around ten months of age.Social creatures, gray wolves have a complex communication system that involves body language, barking, growling, “dancing,” howling and scent making.

video

Appreciate

Credits:

Created with images by Arne_von_Brill - "Grey Wolf" • Arne_von_Brill - "Grey Wolf" • USDAgov - "gray_wolf_photo" • U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Midwest Region - "gray wolf" • U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Midwest Region - "gray wolf" • Just chaos - "Grey Wolf" • Lennart Tange - "Wolf" • Lennart Tange - "Wolf" • Vilmos.Vincze - "Nelson, grey wolf..."

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