September 28 2006
Wolves walk, trot, lope, or gallop. They walk at about 4 miles (6.4 kilometers) per hour, and can reach speeds of 35 mph during a chase. Their usual mode of travel is to trot, which they do at various speeds, usually between 8 to 10 miles (12.8 to 16 kilometers) per hour. They do not run at full speed until they get as close to their prey as possible. At that point, they make a high-speed chase. Wolves can keep up this pace for hours on end and have been known to cover 60 miles (96 kilometers) in a single night. They have been clocked at speeds of over 40 miles (64 kilometers) per hour for a distance of several miles.
http://www.wolfcountry.net/ September 29 2006
The wolf has very strong jaws. According to Barry Lopez in Of Wolves and Men, the jaws of a wolf have a "crushing pressure of perhaps 1, 500 (lbs/square inch) compared to 740 (lbs/square inch) for a German Shepherd." The dentition of the wolf consists of twenty-two teeth: twelve incisors, four canines, sixteen pre molars, and ten carnassials and molars. The canines of the wolf are 1-inch (2.54 centimeters) long, strong, sharp, and slightly curved. These are the teeth used for grasping prey. The wolf does not chew its food, using its carnassials to scissor off a piece of meat that can then be swallowed in a manageable chunk. Having strong jaws allows the wolf to crush bones to get to the soft marrow, it also helps the wolf eat most of its prey leaving very little waste.
http://www.wolfcountry.net/ September 30 2006
Howling. Wolves howl when they are lonely, when they are happy, when their sad, to try to contact one another, to keep other packs away, and even to scare off an intruder. They have different howls for each and the most common we hear now would be the lonely howl. There aren't enough wolves to need the confrontational howl or the howling to remind other packs that there in another packs territory. Now if they howl its usualy sadness, loneliness, or if your optimistic, a pup talking to its mother.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/wolves/howl.html October 1 2006
A wolf's most undoglike feature is his tail. He run's with his tail, thinks with it, marks his mood with it, even controls with it. "They run with there tails as much as with their spine" -Cris. The tail floats. The one position its never in is up and curled like a sled dogs tail. The higher a wolfs spirits the higher his tail. You glance at his tail to learn his mood. A typical tail position for a cheerful wolf is out an inch, then down. Since wolves have complete "differental relaxation" they don't wag their tails quite as dogs do. They wag them on about the same occasions but take the trouble to start only the the base of the tail. The rest of the tail follows through, drifting languidly in a Delsarte gesture, the stump starting east while the tip drifts west. When the tail is not in use the wolf withdraws every ounce of residual tension; the tail hangs like a great tassel, subject only to the wind and gravity. On the other hand, Wolves use their tails strongly and controllingly, like fifth arms. A wolf will flap his tail strongly over the back of another wolf running alongside.
Artic Wild
October 2 2006
Wolves obtain the majority of their food from large mammals such as deer, moose and elk.They also eat smaller mammals, including mice, ground squirrels, and birds, but larger mammals are their staple fare. A wolf needs 5 to 12 pounds of meat per day throughout the year. Consumption is usually higher in winter because prey is more easily captured then, and energy demands are high.Not all portions of a kill are always consumed.This carrion is not wasted, however, as it is an important food source for magpies, ravens, and other scavengers, as demonstrated by studies in Yellowstone.How often a pack kills depends on the size of the pack, the hunting skill of the pack, the size of the predominant prey species, the density and condition of prey animals, and the availability of carrion.Wolf packs preying mostly on deer and elk kill one big-game animal every two to eight days during winter.This averages out to one prey animal per wolf every 23 days, or the equivalent of about 12 adult cow elk per wolf per year.
Wolves in the Southern Rockies:
Principles, Problems, and Prospects
October 3 2006
Wolves belong to family groups called packs, they usually consist of eight to fifteen-members. The rare exception is what is popularly know as a "lone wolf", this wolf would most likely be the lowest member of a pack (the omega) that was driven out of the pack, if it is lucky, the "lone wolf" may find a mate and start a new pack. A pack is usually made up of a male parent, a female parent, their pups and a few other adult wolves who are the older brothers and sisters. The pack works together to hunt for food and to take care of the pups.
http://www.wolfcountry.net/ October 4 2006
The alpha pair has the greatest amount of social freedom among all the pack members, but they are not "leaders" in the human sense of the term. The alphas do not give the other wolves orders; rather, they simply have the most freedom in choosing where to go, what to do, and when to do it. The rest of the pack usually follows. While most alpha pairs are monogamous with each other, there are exceptions. An alpha animal may preferentially mate with a lower-ranking animal, especially if the other alpha is closely related (a brother or sister, for example). The death of one alpha does not affect the status of the other alpha, who will quickly take another mate. Usually, only the alpha pair is able to successfully rear a litter of pups (other wolves in a pack may breed, and may even produce pups, but usually they lack the freedom or the resources to raise the pups to maturity). All the wolves in the pack assist in raising wolf pups. Some mature individuals, usually females, may choose to stay in the original pack so as to reinforce it and help rear more pups. Most, males particularly, will disperse, however.
http://www.wolfcountry.net/ October 5 2006
In larger packs, there may be also be a beta wolf or wolves - a "second-in-command" to the alphas. In addition, one wolf typically assumes the role of omega, the lowest-ranking member of a pack. These individuals absorb the greatest amount of aggression from the rest of the pack, and consequently enjoy comparatively few individual privileges. There are also various subordinates, who dominate the omega. The omega is the lowest. It is the baby-sitter and usually more puppy than wolf.
http://www.wolfcountry.net/ October 6 2006
Rank order is established and maintained through a series of ritualized fights and posturing best described as ritual bluffing. Wolves prefer psychological warfare to physical confrontations, meaning that high-ranking status is based more on personality or attitude than on size or physical strength. Rank, who holds it, and how it is enforced varies widely between packs and between individual animals. In large packs full of easygoing wolves, or in a group of juvenile wolves, rank order may shift almost constantly, or even be circular (e.g., animal A dominates animal B, who dominates animal C, who dominates animal A).
http://www.wolfcountry.net/ October 7 2006
Loss of rank can happen gradually or suddenly. An older wolf may simply choose to give way when an ambitious challenger presents itself, yielding its position without bloodshed. On the other hand, the challenged individual may choose to fight back, with varying degrees of intensity. While the majority of wolf aggression is non-damaging and ritualized, a high-stakes fight can easily result in injury for either or both parties. The loser of such a confrontation is frequently chased away from the pack or, rarely, may be killed as other aggressive wolves contribute to the insurgency. This kind of dominance encounter is more common in the winter months, when mating occurs.
http://www.wolfcountry.net/ October 8 2006
In the wild wolves can live up to 13 years or more, in a protected wolf park or a controlled area of land, a wolf can live to be up to 16 years old. But most wolves usually live to be to around 8 years of age. The record wolf life span is about 20 years of age. Life in the wild is difficult for the wolf, with human population taking up more and more wolf habitat, and with those who would kill the wolf, a long life span is unlikely. In a controlled environment they can live longer because they are safe from the outside dangers of traps, snares, enemies and poisons.
http://www.wolfcountry.net/ October 9 2006
The Determination of subspecies is much in debate among modern biologists. A subspecies is a group of individuals within a species which share a unique geographic area or habitat, unique physical characteristics, or a unique history.
Gray Wolf Classification:
Kingdom: Animala(all animals)
Phylum: Chordata (animal with notochords)
Subphylum: Vertebrata (animals with a skeleton of bone or cartlage)
Class: Mammalia (Mammals)
Subclass: Eutheria (placental mammals)
Family: Canidae
Species: Lupis
http://www.wolfcountry.net/ October 10 2006
Wolves are carnivores (meat eaters) but they will eat other foods as well. Their diet ranges from big game, such as elk and moose, to earthworms, berries and grasshoppers. To avoid using too much energy catching their food, wolves prey on weaker members of a herd, such as old, young or sick animals. In summer, when the herds migrate, wolves eat mice, birds and even fish. They may also eat carrion. Wolves eat their food very quickly, probably to protect it from being stolen, and to decrease the chance of attack from other predators. They eat the best parts first, and come back later for the remainder, as they can''''t afford to be wasteful. They will hide food in the snow, or icy soil, which helps to preserve it, and protect it from scavengers. Wolves can eat every 5-6 hours when there is plenty of food available, or they can fast and live on scraps for 2 weeks when there is less food around. Their digestion is very efficient, with all but 5 percent of large meat feeds able to be digested. Any splinters of bone that are not broken down somehow become wrapped in undigested hair, which protects the intestines from injury. Pups are fed by the adults who disgorge fresh meat from their stomachs, or carry back fresh pieces of meat to the den.
http://wolfweb.com/ October 11 2006
Hardly anyone realizes what wolves look like. Only two artists, Olaus Murie and Bill Berry, who draw real wolves. The rest draw myths, stocky and brutally muzzled. Real wolves are slender, invincibly aristocratic-looking. They are slender all over and as sinuous as and graceful as cats. Bodies are long, and carried high on long legs. Paws and legs are unlike that of dogs. Legs are twined "nervously" with veins and sinews. Paws are nervous too. Not mere clumps like dog paws but long fingered and spreading.
Arctic Wild
October 12 2006
Beside a wolf , the most graceful dog looks wooden. Wolves have a fineness and delicacy of articulation lost to dogs through centuries of breeding. In motion they ripple, they flow. Even in walking, the spine has a slight sideways ripple. And how wolves leap! Lifting leaps, Straight up, all bushy and flowing, to the tip of the tail. Straight down. That is their way of participating in gaiety. They leap upwards as if pulled by the shoulders by a skyhook. Or they leap perpendicular, standing straight up in the air: that is the "observation leap." They leap sideways. They leap backwards. They twirl into a doughnut in midair and wind up the incredible act with a flourish, chest to ground, paws spread, and an inimitable, flashing wolf toss of the head. Heads to are slender long.
Arctic Wild
October 13 2006
The wolf is the largest member of the canine family. On average, wolves stand 26 to 32 inches at the shoulder and weigh 55 to 115 pounds. Females are usually slightly smaller than males.
Defenders of Wildlife-Kids Zone
October 14 2006
Wolves use body language and facial expressions to communicate with each other. Dominant wolves will freely look other animals directly in the eye, this declares and reinforces their superior rank. A subordinate wolf will cringe towards the leader with tail low and bent legs, ears back and down, in a submissive nature. At other times, active submission involves a group of subordinate wolves surrounding the dominant wolf with their noses up against it
http://www.wolfcountry.net/ October 15 2006
Alpha males will use Raised-leg urination primarily, Female and subordinate males use the squat-position. Females wolves also scent mark less than males. The Alpha wolf will direct urine at stumps, rocks, or trees this marks the packs presents to the members of the pack and other wolves. Wolves from rival packs may mark over the existing scent mark to obscure its odor. The marks may also be used as a boundary or fence post acting as a direction system. Lone wolves don't use Raised-leg urination (captive wolves have been known to urinate in ponds or streams).
http://www.wolfcountry.net/ -Wolf Brother(Me)
