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Wolf "Facilitates grounding and nurtures a sense of divine Presence. For accessing one's ability to know the truth. Assists in defining relationships and setting healthy boundaries with others. Encourages kinship and a sense of community. Encourages right action. For cultivating a joyful spirit, strength of character, integrity, and honoring lifetime commitments."
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Interesting Wolf Facts
Kingdom Animalia (all animals) Phylum Chordata (animals with notochords) Subphylum Vertebrata (animals with a skeleton of bone or cartilage) Class Mammalia (mammals) Subclass Eutheria (placental mammals) Order Carnivora (carnivores) Family Canidae (dog family) Genus Canis (dogs) Species lupus (gray wolves) rufus (red wolves) simensis (Abyssinian or Ethiopian wolf, which some scientists think is a jackal) Other Canid Species latrans (coyote) aureus (golden jackal) mesomelas (black-backed jackal) adustus (side-striped jackal) dingo (dingo) familiaris (domestic dog) What is a Wolf Pack? Wolves live in family units called packs. Wolf packs usually consist of the breeding pair or parents and their offspring of varying ages. It is not uncommon for unrelated wolves to join a family or pack. What does Alpha wolf mean? The parent wolves in a pack are often referred to as the “alpha pair,” consisting of an alpha male and alpha female. While “alpha” is still widely used, most scientists prefer to identify the parents of the pack as the breeding pair or simply as the pack parents. Wolves in North America are born during the months of April, May and the first week of June in the far north. |
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How many pups are born in a wolf litter?
For gray wolves the average litter size is 4 – 6 pups. Different environmental pressures can determine the litter size. In areas where the prey density is low, the average litter size is smaller. What is the gestation period for wolves? The gestation period (length of pregnancy) for wolves and dogs is 63 days. How often do wolves breed? Wolves are “mom-estrus” breeding just once a year between the months of January and March. Why do wolves howl? Wolves howl to communicate with one another over long distances. Wolves can hear one another howl up to 10 miles away in open terrain. Wolves can howl to locate other wolves, advertize the size of their pack or territory, and to warn other packmates of danger. Each wolf has a unique howl and when every member of the pack joins in, the individual howls and their harmonies give the listener the impression that pack is larger than it actually is. How many teeth do wolves have? Adult wolves have 42 teeth, the same amount of teeth a dog has. A wolf’s teeth are highly specialized to hunt and cut through meat. The smaller front teeth, the incisors, are used to nibble meat off the bone. The longer canine teeth are used to grasp and hold their prey. The black teeth, the carnassials, are extremely sharp and used to cut through meat like a knife. |
A Brief Synopsis of the Wolf
There are three species of wolves in the world: the gray wolf (Canis lupus), the red wolf (Canis rufus), and the Ethiopian wolf (Canis simensis) sometimes referred to as the Abyssinian wolf, although there is still some scientific debate about whether the Ethiopian wolf is truly a wold or a member of the jackal family.
In North America there are two species of wolf: the gray wolf (Canis lupus), the smaller red wolf (Canis rufus). Red wolves range in size from 45 pounds to 80 pounds and are mostly brown and tan with black along their backs and red behind the ears while gray wolves can be entirely black, white and any natural combination in between. Facial features of the red wolf are pointier than those of the gray wolf, and their howls are higher in pitch and more screechy than their cousin. While the smaller wolf eats a combination of white-tailed deer, raccoons, rabbits and other rodents such as mice and nutria, the larger gray wolf diet includes elk, moose, mule deer, white-tailed deer, bison, caribou, mountain goats, beaver, rabbits and musk oxen from the arctic.
The gray wolf occupies diverse regions of the northern hemisphere, while the red wolf lives only in the United States. Both red wolves and gray wolves are meat eaters (carnivores). The red wolf diet is comprised of a combination of white-tailed deer, raccoons, rabbits and other rodents such as mice and nutria. The gray wolf diet includes elk, moose, mule deer, white-tailed deer, bison, caribou, mountain goats, beaver, rabbits and musk oxen from the arctic. There are five subspecies of the gray wolf (Canis lupus) in North America. - Canis lupus baileyi - the Mexican wolf or lobo. - Canis lupus nubilus - the Great Plains or buffalo wolf. - Canis lupus occidentalis - the Canadian or Rocky Mountain wolf. - Canis lupus lycaon - the eastern or Algonquin wolf. Some scientists believe this wolf is a separate species, Canis lycaon. - Canis lupus arctos- the arctic wolf
Historically, red wolves ranged throughout the southeastern United States from Pennsylvania to Florida and as far west as Texas but is now listed as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act. Nearly hunted to extinction, In 1980 fewer than 20 red wolves were rounded up by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to be bred in captivity and officially declared extinct in the wild. By 1987, enough animals had been bred to begin a reintroduction program. Thanks to these programs, there are currently 50 to 80 red wolves in the wild roaming free in the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge and nearby Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge in North Carolina. Only certain populations of gray wolves share this same status.
In North America there are two species of wolf: the gray wolf (Canis lupus), the smaller red wolf (Canis rufus). Red wolves range in size from 45 pounds to 80 pounds and are mostly brown and tan with black along their backs and red behind the ears while gray wolves can be entirely black, white and any natural combination in between. Facial features of the red wolf are pointier than those of the gray wolf, and their howls are higher in pitch and more screechy than their cousin. While the smaller wolf eats a combination of white-tailed deer, raccoons, rabbits and other rodents such as mice and nutria, the larger gray wolf diet includes elk, moose, mule deer, white-tailed deer, bison, caribou, mountain goats, beaver, rabbits and musk oxen from the arctic.
The gray wolf occupies diverse regions of the northern hemisphere, while the red wolf lives only in the United States. Both red wolves and gray wolves are meat eaters (carnivores). The red wolf diet is comprised of a combination of white-tailed deer, raccoons, rabbits and other rodents such as mice and nutria. The gray wolf diet includes elk, moose, mule deer, white-tailed deer, bison, caribou, mountain goats, beaver, rabbits and musk oxen from the arctic. There are five subspecies of the gray wolf (Canis lupus) in North America. - Canis lupus baileyi - the Mexican wolf or lobo. - Canis lupus nubilus - the Great Plains or buffalo wolf. - Canis lupus occidentalis - the Canadian or Rocky Mountain wolf. - Canis lupus lycaon - the eastern or Algonquin wolf. Some scientists believe this wolf is a separate species, Canis lycaon. - Canis lupus arctos- the arctic wolf
Historically, red wolves ranged throughout the southeastern United States from Pennsylvania to Florida and as far west as Texas but is now listed as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act. Nearly hunted to extinction, In 1980 fewer than 20 red wolves were rounded up by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to be bred in captivity and officially declared extinct in the wild. By 1987, enough animals had been bred to begin a reintroduction program. Thanks to these programs, there are currently 50 to 80 red wolves in the wild roaming free in the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge and nearby Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge in North Carolina. Only certain populations of gray wolves share this same status.