WOLVES 101: Gray Wolf

With their piercing looks and spine-tingling howls, wolves inspire both adoration and controversy around the world. Find out how many wolf species exist, the characteristics that make each wolf's howl unique, and how the wolf population in the continental United States nearly became extinct.











COMMON NAME: Gray Wolf
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Canis lupus
TYPE: Mammals
DIET: Carnivore
GROUP NAME: Pack
AVERAGE LIFE SPAN IN THE WILD: 6 to 8 years
SIZE: Head and body: 36 to 63 inches; tail: 13 to 20 inches
WEIGHT: 40 to 175 pounds
SIZE RELATIVE TO A 6-FT MAN:


IUCN RED LIST STATUS:?
Least Concern
LC
NT
VU
EN
CR
EW
EX
LEAST CONCERNEXTINCT
CURRENT POPULATION TREND: Stable 

ABOUT the grey WOLF

Wolves are legendary due to their spine-tingling howl, which they use to speak. A loner howls to draw in the eye of his pack, while communal howls may send territorial messages from one pack to a different. Some howls are confrontational. very similar to barking puppies, wolves may simply begin howling because a close-by wolf has already begun.

Population and Conservation

Wolves are the most important members of the dog family. Adaptable gray wolves are far and away from the foremost common and were once found everywhere the hemisphere. But wolves and humans have an extended adversarial history. Though they seldom attack humans, wolves are considered one among the animal world's most fearsome natural villains. they are doing attack livestock, and countless wolves are shot, trapped, and poisoned due to this tendency.

In the lower 48 states, gray wolves were hunted to close extinction, though some populations survived et al. have since been reintroduced. Few gray wolves survive in Europe, though many sleep in Alaska, Canada, and Asia.

Wolf Pack Behavior

Wolves live and hunt in packs of around six to 10 animals. they're known to roam large distances, perhaps 12 miles during a single day. These social animals cooperate on their preferred prey—large animals like deer, elk, and moose. once they are successful, wolves don't dine in moderation. one animal can consume 20 pounds of meat at a sitting. Wolves also eat smaller mammals, birds, fish, lizards, snakes, and fruit.

Wolfpacks are established consistent with a strict hierarchy, with a dominant male at the highest and his mate shortly behind. Usually this male and feminine are the sole animals of the pack to breed. All of a pack's adults help to worry for young pups by bringing them food and watching them while others hunt.