WOLVES!!

The Largest Dogs!!

By: TB

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INTRODUCTION

Scientific name for wolf is canis lupus.

Largest member of the dog family.

There is really only one wolf, the grey wolf. The timber wolf, red wolf, and the artic wolf are similar to the grey wolf, but they are called different names depending on where they live.

• • • Gray wolves are the most common Artic wolves live in very cold places Eastern wolves are mostly found in Canada • Red wolves live in the southeastern US Wolves live in packs that can have up to 20 members.

Eastern Wolf Gray Wolf Red Wolves Artic Wolf

PHYSICAL FEATURES OF WOLF

       Wolves are very similar to each other in how they look and act.

Average 26 -38 inches in height and 57 to 76 inches in length.

Weigh 70 – 115 pounds.

Body is massive with legs longer than dogs.

Front feet are larger than its hind feet.

Tail is long and bushy and usually carried down or straight out.

Eyes are yellow and fur color is black, white, all shades of gray, tan or reddish tan. They also have grizzled coats.

Long, bushy tail Yellow eyes Big body Long legs

LIFESPAN

    Wolves live 6 - 10 years in the wild and up to 20 years in zoos.

There are between 50,000 to 60,000 wolves in the world.

While gray wolves are no longer endangered, the red wolves still are.

Today about 100 red wolves survive in the wild.

Gray Wolves in the wild Wolf in a zoo

HABITAT AND LANDFORMS

     Most wolves live in the Northern part of the world, especially Alaska, Canada, Russia, China, Minnesota, Idaho and Wyoming.

Wolves can live in many types of places such as a forest, swampy areas, arctic areas and tundras.

Wolves like to live in mountains and areas of cover such as caves, where they can hide.

Some species like to live where there are not a lot of humans, just plenty of smaller animals for eating.

Others prefer the cold regions of the Arctic where they are able to live on large animals.

Forest in Wyoming Rocky Mountains Covered Area

CLIMATE

    Wolves live in almost any kind of climate.

However, they are not often found in deserts or tropical rain forests.

They prefer cold temperatures.

They also prefer climates that have lots of trees and bushes for hiding.

Arctic Forest

FOODS WOLVES EAT

      Wolves are meat eaters, eating large animals like moose, deer, bear and elk and smaller animals like beavers, rabbits, raccoons, squirrels, mice and birds. They will eat other food such as berries, insects and grass so they don’t starve.

Wolves eat there food very fast to avoid it from being stolen.

They eat the best parts of the animal first then come back to eat the other parts later.

A male wolf can eat about 20 pounds of food at a time.

Wolves need 1 to 3 quarts of water a day, based on its size and where it lives.

Eating Elk Eating berries

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PREY AND PREDATORS Prey Predators

Bear Goats Moose Rabbits Squirrels • • • • • Sheep Deer Bison Beaver Birds • • • Humans Other wolf packs when fighting for food Other large cats or canines when fighting for food Eating a bear Eating a squirrel

BEHAVIOR – HOW THEY ACT

   Wolves live and hunt in packs of around 6 to 10.

 Their hunting area can be from 50 square miles to over 1,000.

 They hunt all day and find animals mostly by smell and tracking. Wolves howl to talk to each other.

 A wolf howls to attract the attention of his pack or just because another wolf begins to howl Wolves almost never attack humans, just animals for food.

Wolf pack Howling

BABIES

     Wolf babies are called puppies or pups.

Wolf mothers give birth in an underground den that she has either dug or stolen from another animal.

The pups can weigh up to 1 pound at birth.

The mother will stay in the den with the pup for up to the first 6 weeks of life until the pup is old enough to learn about the outside world.

The entire pack of wolves are responsible for taking care of the babies.

PHYSICAL ADAPTATIONS

     Wolves’ paws are large and have claws for traction that can spread to provide better support in the snow.

Wolves have a reflective retina that enhances their night vision Wolves have very strong legs with long bones so they can run faster and longer. The color of their coat helps them hide at night or in the dark to help them hunt and makes it easier to sneak up on prey. Have very good hearing, which makes it easier for them to communicate over long distances and helps them hear prey

PHYSIOLOGICAL ADAPTATIONS

 I n cold climates, wolves can reduce the flow of blood near their skin to conserve body heat.

   The wolf’s jaw can crush over 500 pounds per square inch which gives them the ability to kill large animals. Wolves’ coat is made of several layers of fur to protect against the cold and long hairs to keep out moisture.

 Can handle different temperatures by shedding their inner layer of fur in the spring and growing it back in the fall.

Wolves can eat every 5 to 6 hours when there is a lot of prey or can live on scraps, plants or berries for months when there is less.

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BEHAVIORAL ADAPTATIONS

Wolves hunt in packs so they can corner their prey Wolf packs are set up according to a hierarchy with a male leader at the top  Leader chooses and tracks prey and picks den site Only one male and female wolf in a pack have babies but the whole pack is responsible for taking care of the babies, including feeding and teaching them to hunt. Wolves are very athletic and have a lot of stamina to capture their prey   Can run very fast, climb and swim Have different hunting methods to get prey such as hiding, stalking or using tricks.

WOLF FUN FACTS

    Adult gray wolves have 42 teeth compared to 32 for adult humans.

While wolves can run up to 40 miles per hour in short periods of time, they normally travel about 5 miles per hour.

A wolf has a sense of smell that is 100 times better and hearing 20 times sharper then a human. Wolves can’t see color.

Wolves can run very fast Wolves have smell and hear very well