What are Wolves?
Wolves are large, powerful, graceful wild canines which were once
common throughout North America, Europe, and Asia, but now live
mostly in remote wilderness.
There are two species of wolves in North America:
The smaller red wolf (Canis rufus) was once found throughout the
southeastern United States. By the late 1960's, their numbers had
dwindled to small populations in Texas and Louisiana and they
could not find enough mates of their own species, they started
interbreeding with coyotes. The US Fish and Wildlife Service
captured a number of animals and selected ones they believed to
be pure red wolves. They started a captive breeding program to
increase their numbers, and then reintroduced red wolves in the
Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge on the North Carolina coast,
and in Great Smokey Mountains National Park in southern
Tennessee.
The larger gray wolf (Canis lupus) can actually range in color from
almost pure black to almost completely white, and often is golden
brown, but the individual guard hairs are banded
light-dark-light-dark. This is called agouti banding, and is found in
a number of wild species.
There are a number of different races or subspecies of gray wolf
living in various terrain, from the frozen tundra of the Arctic wolves
to the dense forests where wolves live in Minnesota, and even in
the mountainous Southwest, where the Mexican wolf (Canis lupus
baileyi) once lived.
Are Wolves Endangered?
In the United States, both red and gray wolves are listed as an
endangered species, except in Minnesota where the gray wolf is
listed as threatened, and in Alaska where the gray wolf is not
currently listed at all.
Of all the subspecies of gray wolves, the Mexican wolf is the most
endangered. Unlike many animals whose decline was due mostly to
habitat loss from human settlement, the Mexican wolf was the
target of a deliberate trapping and poisoning campaign carried out
in the early part of the 20th century by the federal government,
which considered them pests. This has been the fate of many
subspecies of gray wolves and has resulted in their status as
endangered in many areas.
Fortunately, today many people understand how beneficial wolves
are, weeding out weak and diseased prey animals, which helps to
balance the ecosystem.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has a captive breeding program
for the Mexican wolf, and several facilities in Mexico are helping
also. Sadly, even after years of captive breeding, there are only a
few over 60 Mexican wolves in the entire United States, all in
captivity. There is a plan to reintroduce them in New Mexico,
currently undergoing review for an Environmental Impact
Statement.
Other wolves in the United States are doing better. There are
between 4,000 and 7,000 wolves in Alaska. Unfortunately, there
has been a recent wolf reduction program in progress there,
involving the killing of 50 to 75 percent of the wolf population in a
localized area. Although the wolf population as a whole in Alaska
will not be affected by the program, many biologists and others
strongly oppose what they feel is a politically motivated,
completely unjustified program.
There are about 1500 to 1900 wolves in Minnesota, mostly in the
northeast. About 30 to 50 live in Wisconsin, a dozen or so on the
upper peninsula of Michigan along with an additional 12 on Isle
Royale (also in Michigan), and about 100 in Montana. Isolated
reports of a few individuals have been made in Idaho, Washington,
North Dakota, and a few other states. Currently, there is a
reintroduction program in progress to reinstate wolves into the
Yellowstone National Park area, where they are the only animals
lacking in what will soon be a complete ecosystem.
How Big are Wolves?
Most adult male wolves weigh between 80 to 110 pounds, with
females usually weighing 10 to 20 pounds less. They may stand up
to 32 inches high at the shoulder, and are often 6 to 6 1/2 feet
from nose to tail. They usually weigh 15 to 20 pounds more in the
winter than in the summer due to a heavier fur coat, among other
things.
How Do Wolves Stay Warm Outside All the Time?
Wolves have a double layer of fur. A wooly underfur grows very
thick in the fall and winter and keeps the wolf warm, while an outer
layer of guard hairs repels snow and water, and keeps the underfur
dry so it can trap air as an insulator. When a storm arrives, a wolf
will often lie down behind a fallen tree or brush pile (using it as a
wind break), curl up and tuck its nose under its bushy tail. In this
way, it can easily survive temperatures will below zero. During the
spring, the thick underfur sheds so the wolf can survive the heat.
Do Wolves Live Alone?
Wolves are social animals, living together in family groups called
packs. In order to live together peacefully, they have an elaborate
system of rank order. Just as an Army private has to obey
sergeants, and both of them follow orders from a general,
low-ranking wolves must defer or submit to higher-ranking ones.
This keeps order within the pack and minimizes fighting.
Why Do Wolves Howl?
Wolves howl for a variety of reasons. A pack will howl to advertise
their presence and mark their territory (they will also use urine to
scent-mark their territory). Pack members can recognize each
other's howls, so when they are separated, they can locate each
other. A group howl will often lead to a rally, where pack members
gather around, nuzzle, and greet a high-ranking wolf -- most often
the alpha male or female. Sometimes wolves just howl for reasons
we don't fully understand.
What Does Rank Order Mean?
Each pack has a top male, called the alpha male, who submits to
no one and to whom all the other males defer. Likewise, there is an
alpha female, to whom all other females must submit. Next in rank
to the alphas are the beta male and beta female. For each
gender, every wolf has a rank or place in line where they must
submit to anyone higher than they are, but can bully or dominate
the wolves lower in rank. At the bottom there is an omega male
and omega female. These wolves have no one under them and
may be harassed to the point where they disperse, or leave the
pack. If they are very lucky and find a mate, and if there is enough
territory available for them, they might be able to start a new pack
of their own.
Within the pack, wolves will constantly demonstrate their rank.
When two wolves in the pak meet, the higher-ranking one will show
aggression and confidence by raising its tail, putting its ears
forward, lifting its lips in a snarl, and making itself look as big and
threatening as possible. The hackles, the fur along the top of its
back, will go up automatically when a wolf is threatening a
lower-ranking one. The subordinate, or lower-ranking wolf, tries to
make itself look small and non-threatening. Its tail will be tucked
under its belly, ears laid back flat, and it will roll over and submit
to the higher-ranking wolf, licking its muzzle and "letting it know
that it's boss." In almost all cases, this ritual substitutes for actual
fighting. If wolves often fought and hurt each other, they might be
too injured to be able to hunt and survive.
What Do Wolves Eat?
Wolves are carnivores, which means they eat meat. They hunt
mostly large hoofed animals, called ungulates (such as deer, elk,
moose, bison, and caribou). Because most of the prey animals that
wolves hunt are much bigger than the wolves themselves, it is only
by hunting in groups and cooperating that wolves can catch enough
food to survive.
Even working together, it is difficult for wolves to catch their prey.
Healthy deer can easily outrun wolves, while large animals like
moose or bison often stand their ground until the wolves give up.
Typically, wolves do not waste a lot of time going after obviously
healthy prey. Instead, they are skilled at noticing weaknesses,
testing animals by getting them to run and seeing which ones
appear old or sick. Some studies by biologists have shown that
when wolves hunt deer, an average of 84 to 87 deer out of 100
escape. The ones that are caught are usually either old, sick, or
very young, not fit ones in the prime of life.
After catching and killing their food, wolves sometimes eat up to 20
percent of their body weight in meat. For a typical 100 pound adult
male wolf, that is like eating 80 quarter-pound hamburgers in one
sitting! Other times food is scarce and wolves can go several weeks
without eating at all. On average, adult wolves need about 5
pounds of meat per day in the winter, and about half that in the
summer. Pups and juveniles need much more food for their body
weight than adults.
When pups are young, the adults eat a lot at the kill site, then
bring the food back inside their stomachs to the pups. When the
pups greet the adults by licking and biting at the corners of their
mouths, the big wolves regurgitate (or throw up) some of the partly
digested food, which the pups eagerly gobble up.
When Are Pups Born?
Usually in April. Wolves have one breeding season each year, from
mid- January to the end of February. Sixty-three days after mating,
the mother wolf will have an average of four to six pups, born in an
underground den she has dug. The pups weigh only about one
pound each at birth, and cannot see, hear, smell, or keep warm by
themselves. The mother feeds them her milk, and other pack
members bring food to the den for her to eat.
The pups' eyes open after about 10 days. Around three weeks after
birth, the pups begin to explore outside the den. Sometimes the
mother carries the pups to another den to guard them from harm.
When the pups are a little older, they are left at rendezvous sites,
usually with an adult "baby-sitter," while the rest of the pack hunts
for food. By fall, the pups are about 80 percent of their adult size,
and are able to travel with the pack as they hunt throughout the
winter.
Are Wolves Dangerous To People?
No. Wolves are very shy animals, and are afraid of people, avoiding
us whenever possible. Even though people are expanding into the
few remaining areas where wolves are found in large numbers,
there has *never* been a documented case of a healthy wild wolf
deliberately attacking a person in North America.
Some people try to keep wolves, or wolf-dog mixes known as "wolf
hybrids," as pets. Many think that if they raise a wolf pup with love
and treat it like a dog, it will grow up to be a loyal pet and fierce
watchdog.
The problem is that they see the many similarities between wolves
and dogs, and ignore the vital differences. Although dogs originally
developed from wolves, it occurred by selective breeding for
thousands of generations that actually altered the genetic makeup
of the animal. This changed the animal's innate or "built-in"
behavior to make it suitable for living with people in a home. The
behavior of wolves, and of many wolf hybrids, which enables them
to survive in the wild, makes them unsuitable as a pet.
Dishonest people often sell northern-breed dog mixes as
"wolf-hybrids" when they actually have little or no wolf in them.
Because these dogs may be wonderful pets, many people refuse to
believe that wolf hybrids need special handling. Sometimes these
misguided people later get a real hybrid and cannot safely handle
it.
Often, when people do try to treat them as if they were dogs, the
animals end up in a situation where their normal behavior results in
an attack, sometimes fatally injuring someone. The animals are
almost invariably killed, and the image of an entire endangered
species suffers.
How Can I Learn More About Wolves?
There are a number of facilities that have captive wolves, and
many zoos have wolf exhibits. If you have a chance to visit such
places, spend some time watching the wolves and try to figure out
their rank order by noticing which wolves submit to others, and
which submit to no other wolves. Try to visit either as soon as the
facility opens or in the late afternoon/early evening, since wolves
are crepuscular, meaning that they are most active around dawn
and dusk, and often rest during most of the middle of the day and
night.
Why Do Some People Dislike Wolves?
Many people fear and hate wolves. Ranchers worry that wolves will
kill their livestock. In areas like Yellowstone National Park, where
people killed off the existing wolf population and where a
reintroduction of gray wolves is beginning, private groups have set
up funds to compensate ranchers for any proven stock losses to
wolves. In Minnesota, where wolves live in close proximity to
livestock already, fewer than one percent of farms report any losses
at all. With proper livestock management techniques, including the
use of livestock guarding dogs, wolves can be reintroduced without
economic hardship to farmers and ranchers.
Unfortunately, people still believe old stories and fables about
wolves. Tales like "Little Red Riding Hood" and contemporary
werewolf horror films paint the wolf in a negative manner and only
increase fear and hatred for those who cannot separate the
fictional image from the real animal.
What Can I Do To Help Save Wolves?
Learn more about them. Read books and watch videos about
wolves.
An excellent list of all kinds of wolf books, videos, and
organizations is in the booklet, "Beyond Little Red Riding Hood - A
Resource Directory for Teaching about Wolves," developed by the
Timber Wolf Alliance
Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute
Northland College
Ashland, WI 54806
.
Write to:
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
(Division of Endangered Species)
PO Box 1306
Albuquerque, NM 87103
and ask them for information on wolf recovery programs.
Donate money to organizations working to restore wolves and
teach people about them. If you don't have enough money yourself
to donate, consider classroom, club, company, or other group
fund-raisers. Many students hold bake sales or collect aluminum
cans to help wolves.
Write your elected officials and tell them you think wolves are an
important part of nature and ask them to support wolf recovery in
Yellowstone and elsewhere, especially Mexican wolf reintroduction.
Talk to your family, friends, and coworkers and ask them to get
involved too.
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