:-: First let’s put to rest the old wives tale of the “Big Bad Wolf”. Wolves are not man killers. They, in fact, avoid humans whenever possible and it is rare to go out on an afternoon hike and ever spot a wolf in its natural habitat. There has never been a recorded attack on a human by a healthy wolf in the wild.

:-: It is a common misconception that there are four species of wolves, Red, Gray, Timber, and Arctic. In truth there are only two species of wolf, Red and Gray. Beneath the Red Wolf and the Gray Wolf are subspecies (32 recognized subspecies of the Gray Wolf have been recognized). I’ll list some of the Gray Wolf subspecies here:
Subspecies of the Gray Wolf
Eastern Timber Wolf
Great Plains Wolf
Arctic Wolf
Alaskan Tundra Wolf
Eastern Mexican Wolf
Melville Island Wolf
Buffalo Wolf
Rocky Mountain Wolf

:-: Wolves are canines and their classification is as follows:
Kingdom - Animalia (animals)
Phylum - chordata (animals which have notochords)
Subphylum - Vertebrata (animals which have a skeleton of bones or cartilage)
Class - Mammalia (mammals)
Subclass - Eutheria (placental mammals)
Order - Carnivora (carnivores. Eg: dogs & cats.)
Family - Canidae (dog family)
Genus - Canis (dogs)
Grey Wolf - Canis Lupis
Red Wolf - Canis Rufus

:-: In the wild wolves will generally live to around 6, 7, or 8 years of age but can live to be 13. In captivity they can live up to 16 years. A prime wolf is usually about 4 or 5 years old and this is the time in which they can become Alpha.

:-: The normal fur color for a wolf is a grayish brown or a dark gray, depending upon the season. They can also be black or white however a black phase wolf in the wild is very rare and white wolves are generally arctic wolves.

:-: Alpha wolves are born not made. Alpha wolves are generally the biggest and strongest wolves with the most dominant personality.

:-: Wolves have large paws which allow them to walk over the snow like snowshoes.

:-: A wolf coat consists of two layers, the downy hair and the guard hairs. The down hair is soft and insolates warmth for the wolf in winter. In summer the downy hair will be shed and all that’s left is the course guard hair which remains all year long. The guard hair helps to keep their skin protected from external elements such as water, snow, and ice.

:-: Wolf pups are born with blue eyes which will turn either yellow or brown as they age. If the eyes stay blue the wolf will most likely go blind in early age.

:-: Wolves are pack animals whose packs consist mainly of family. A pack can range from 2 to 30 or more members though generally a pack will be made up of about 6 or 7 wolves connected by blood lines.

:-: The pack is centered around a mating pair called the Alphas. They are the ones who mate and produce the pups. The pups in turn will either stay in the pack or leave once they have turned about two to three years old. However, every once in a while a Beta wolf will mate with an Alpha wolf, though this doesn’t often happen.

:-: Alphas dominate over their genders. Which means that the Alpha female dominates over the females and the Alpha male dominates over the males. However, if enforced to do so by the Alpha of its gender a lower ranking wolf will submit to the opposite gender’s Alpha. Also, normally the females will submit to the Alpha male if they are threatened to do so by the Alpha male.

:-: Below the Alpha wolves are middle ranking wolves called Betas, there will either be one to two of them. The Beta’s role in the pack is to enforce the Alpha wolf’s leadership, if it is a female it will enforce the Alpha female’s role and if it is a male it will enforce the Alpha male’s position. Beta wolves are normally the second strongest in the pack, they will be the most dominant of their litter and if it wasn’t for the Alphas they would be Alphas themselves.

:-: Below the Betas are the normal pack members. Within the pack members are smaller shows of dominance and submitting (normally kept within a certain age group). However, within the general members one day a wolf can be dominating another and the next day the wolf who was being dominated over can be showing a high tail to the wolf who was making it submit the other day. Positions within the general pack (not including Alphas and Betas) change often.

:-: The size of a pack depends upon how much land their territory occupies. If they have a larger territory that usually means they have more prey roaming in their territory therefore the pack will have more members.

:-: Wolf pups will not gain a determined position in the pack until they reach and age around 2. Until then they must obey their parents and their older siblings. While they are young the litter-mates will test each others skills and strength in play fights to determine who will be the dominant wolf of their age group.

:-: One of the ways of communication between wolves is by way of howling. Wolves howl for many reasons. One is to begin a hunt and to call the members of the pack together throughout their territory. Wolves will also howl just for the fun of it. Sometimes a pup or a younger member will begin to howl and the rest of the pack will join in.

:-: Another form of communication is body language and facial expressions. Alpha and dominant wolves will look others in the eyes to reinforce their dominant position. A high tail, or a flagged tail, also shows dominance. A tail tucked between the back legs means submitting. A tail held at a lazy and normal position shows no rank and means that the wolf is content. Ears that are perked and thrust strait forward show dominance and/or threat. Ears that are folded back also mean a lower form of a threat or can, in some cases, mean that the wolf is submitting depending upon the posture of the wolf. Ears that are splayed outward to the sides mean affection and playfulness. Ears that are normally perked up to swiveling to the side show no rank. A show of teeth can either mean dominance, if the lips are thoroughly curled back and showing the gums or if the wolf's mouth is open. If the wolf is only baring its teeth this sometimes can mean that the wolf is submitting depending upon the wolf’s posture. Also, bent legs indicate a submitting wolf.

:-: Wolves generally do not show kindness to wolves outside their pack and normally don’t share with them. Instead they will try to run the outsider down and out of the pack territory.

:-: Wolves communicate their territory by urinating near the borders of their territory on trees, logs, rocks, boulders, or other items like this. Normally it is the Alpha male who does this, however, the Alpha female will sometimes do this as well.

:-: Wolves are not fully carnivorous, though they are carnivores. Wolves will eat other types of food than meat, normally berries and such. However, a sick wolf will sometimes eat grass in order to make themselves throw up.

:-: Young pups are fed by all members of the pack by regurgitation. The adult wolf will salivate and lick its lips, as will the pup lick the adult’s lips and under the chin, to make the adult regurgitate food for the pup.

:-: Wolves prey on the sick, weak, old, and younger members of prey herds. This is done so that they wont expend so much energy while hunting.

:-: Wolves eat their food very fast so they it is not stolen then leave the remainder behind in food caches. These caches can be hidden in the snow, mud, dirt, or wherever the find room.

:-: Wolves can eat around every 7 hours but can also live for 2 weeks off scraps. Wolves can go for about half a week to a week without any food depending upon their condition.