Wolves

Wolves are very interesting animals. Wolves are from the kingdom animalia, phylum chordata, class mammalia, order carnivore, family cavesnidae, genus canis, and species lupus. They come in many subspecies and inhabit a wide variety of habitats in North America and Eurasia including the arctic, tundra, temperate zones, desserts, forests, taiga, and sometimes even urban areas. (www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolves). Wolves have survived through the ice age. An ancient form of primitive wolf may have originated seven hundred fifty thousand years ago in the eastern part of North America which are thought to be the ancestors of the Eastern Wolf and Red Wolf. Wolves have been in folklore, myths, and cave paintings throughout history. In some cultures wolves were respected and revered, but in other cultures they were feared or looked down upon. Their behaviors have frequently been misunderstood by people. The wolf was once the most widely distributed mammal in the world. Their decline in population and reduction in territory is due to people destroying their habitats and killing them. There were once about fifty subspecies recognized, but the list can be condensed to about thirteen-fifteen general subspecies due to DNA testing, anatomy, distribution, and migration. In 2005, thirty-seven subspecies existed including the dingo and the dog. Some subspecies are extinct or endangered. Some subspecies have been saved by conservation efforts and are being repopulated into the wild through breeding programs. In the following paragraphs, I will discuss several subspecies including the Red Wolf, Mexican Gray Wolf, the Eastern Wolf, and the Arctic Wolf. I will explore their physiology, range, habitat, diet, social structures, reproduction, communication, body language, and behaviors. (www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolves, www.wolf.org, and www.defenders.org/defenders_and_habitat/wildlife/wolf_gray ). The Red Wolf (canis lupus rufus) usually has brownish or black fur with red casts that gives them their name. They will have varying fur patterns with gray and black shading; a few even have white or yellowish shading. Red wolves have a height of about one to one and one-half feet at the shoulders and length of four to five and one-half feet. They weigh about forty to seventy pounds. The paws are two and one-half to three inches. They shed once per year in the winter. Red wolves have large ears which help them stay cool in the hot humid climate of the southeastern United States. Red wolves use to range from Pennsylvania to Florida and as far west as Texas. Their range has greatly diminished to the eastern part of North Carolina. They inhabit swamplands, grasslands, and wooded areas. They are highly endangered with repopulation efforts on islands off of North Carolina, Mississippi, and Florida. Reintroduction in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park was attempted and originally successful, but they were moved for fear of being killed by humans. Other Red Wolves are in captivity in breeding projects such as the Wild Canid Center near Eureka, Missouri. Red wolves are carnivores who hunt daily primarily at dawn, dusk, or during the night. They are an apex predator that eat rabbits, nutria, rats, muskrats, raccoons, and white-tailed deer. Red wolves are omnivores they are known to eat certain types of berries and other foliage. They have rarely attacked livestock and have never attacked living humans, but have been reported to scavenge on corpses during the Mexican-American war. They live in extended family packs of two to twelve with a dominant or “alpha” breeding pair and young from prior litters. The gestation period of the pups is sixty-one to sixty-three days and pups are usually born in March or April. Usually one litter of one to ten pups is born each year. They reach sexually maturity at about twenty-two months and young usually disperse by two years of age. They can interbreed with other wolf subspecies which is a risk as reintroduced in the wild. They usually live six to ten years in the wild and sometimes twice as long in captivity. Red wolves are currently critically endangered. They are actually one of the world’s most endangered canids. Red wolves were hunted nearly to extinction in 1980. In an attempt to save the subspecies the U.S fish and Wildlife center stepped in and started a captive breeding program. They were only able to find and capture twenty full blooded adult red wolves, which they put in the captive breeding program. Thanks to years of work there are currently about 100 wild red wolves roaming eastern North Carolina, and nearly 200 in captive breeding programs and zoos. Hopefully the red wolf population will continue to increase so this wonderful canid can come off the endangered species list

The Mexican Gray Wolf or El Lobo (Canis lupis baileyi) is one of the smallest in size of the gray wolf subspecies at about fifty to eighty pounds in weight, forty-seven to fifty-nine inches in length, and height no more than thirty-one inches. They are about the size of a German Shepherd. The coats are grizzled gray to brown or black. Their original habitats were the Southwestern desserts and natural range included the higher range of the Sonoran Dessert and Chihuahan Desserts of central Mexico to western Texas to southern New Mexico and central Arizona. The Mexican gray wolf almost went extinct in the 1950’s due to reported attacks on livestock after their natural prey ( mostly ungulates i.e. large hoofed animals but also, javelinas, rabbits, and other small mammals) had been greatly reduced by human population and hunting. They were completely eliminated in the United States with only small numbers remaining in Mexico. They survived in zoos and captive breeding facilities in low numbers. They were classified as endangered in 1976 and still have this classification. Breeding continued in captivity with about three hundred wolves in forty-nine facilities in the United States and Mexico. Repopulation efforts in the wild began in 1997 with the first Mexican Gray wolves reintroduced into the Blue Range area of Arizona. The goal was to reintroduce at least 100 into Apache and Gila National Forests of Arizona and New Mexico by 2005. However, wild Mexican Gray Wolf population in the wild is estimated at approximately seventy-five as of 2012 data making them the most endangered species of wolf. They live in family packs as do other gray wolves with an alpha breeding pair. Gestation period is about sixty-sixty-three days with litters of five-six pups born each year in March or April. Litters of as many as ten have been reported in captivity. They live six to ten years in the wild, but may live twice as long in captivity. The Mexican Gray wolf has not had a reported human attack since reintroduction in 1998 The Arctic wolf (Canis lupis arctos) is a subspecies of the Gray wolf (canis lupis), and is the only subspecies that can still be found entirely across its original habitat (arctic regions of Greenland and North America). The arctic wolves are also called tundra wolves. Arctic wolves are three to six feet long from the tip of the tail to the tip of the muzzle, twenty-five to thirty inches tall at the shoulders, one hundred to one hundred seventy pounds, and the males are often larger than the females. They have shorter muzzles, smaller ears (to minimize heat loss), and thicker coats then other wolf species so they can stay warmer in their cold habitat (upper parts of Canada and Greenland) where it is not uncommon to get to fifty degrees below zero Fahrenheit. This thicker coat is actually a double coat. Arctic wolves have an undercoat of soft fur and a top coat of guard hairs that are water resistant. This allows snow, ice, or water to bead up and be shaken off while the wolf stays warm and dry underneath. Arctic wolves hunt in packs and mostly eat caribou, musk oxen, and moose, but will also hunt arctic hairs, ptarmigan, seals, lemmings, waterfowl, and reindeer. Due to the scarce grassy planes, they have been known to follow an animal herd long distances. The permafrost in the arctic makes it hard for them to dig in the ground so they often use rock outcroppings, caves and even small depressions in the ground for dens. Arctic wolf packs also usually have an “alpha” breeding pair, but others may mate in larger packs. The gestation period is sixty-three to seventy-five days with only two to three pups born in late May or early June. The arctic wolf is the only subspecies of wolf that is not endangered. This difference from gray wolves is thought to be due to the scarcity of food. Arctic wolves in the wild live seven to ten years, but can live more than seventeen years in captivity. (www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arctic_Wolf, and www.boomerwolf.com)

Eastern wolves (Canis lupis lycaon) are officially considered a subspecies of the gray wolf, but there is some controversy about them being their own species of wolf altogether (canis lycaon). They are thought to be closely related to Red wolves. Eastern wolves are usually much smaller then gray wolves and arctic wolves and are more similar in size to Red wolves. Eastern wolves weigh sixty to one-hundred pounds. They have a gray-brown fur color with black hairs on the back and sides and red or cinnamon color behind their ears. They have large ears and narrow muzzles. The Eastern wolf is considered “at risk.” A big reason for the decline in population of the Eastern wolf is breeding with coyotes. Coyotes are smaller so a male wolf will accept a female coyote, but a female wolf will not usually accept the smaller coyote male. The wolf/coyote hybrids are not considered to be wolves and counted in wolf populations. The Eastern wolves range includes in around central Ontario and goes into southern Quebec, Canada. The largest protected group is in Algonquin Provincial Park in Ontario. These wolves have also been in Minnesota and Manitoba, but due to hunting of the wolf they have been completely exterminated out of the United States of America. Human exploitation is their second biggest threat. The exact number of Eastern wolves is unknown in Canada. The Eastern wolf hunts in packs and hunts large animals such as moose, white tailed deer, lagomorphs, and small animals such as beaver, mice, and muskrat. In one report, the Eastern wolf preyed on American Black Bears. Their gestation period is about 63 days and they have litters of three to seven pups born in late April or early May. They only live about 6-8 years in the wild. (www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Wolf and www.petandwildlife.com/wolf-species/eastern-wolf-fact-sheet )

Wolves live in family groups called packs and are very social animals. Typically, a pack consists of two-twenty wolves (average of eight) that consist of the breeding pair, the offspring from a current litter, and the offspring from a previous litter. The pack leaders or the “alpha” wolves are the leaders or the ones in charge. There is only one male and one female “alpha” and they are usually the only ones that are allowed to have pups in the pack. Usually wolves stay with the same mate their whole lives. If a wolf wants to be an “alpha,” they either have to beat the current leader of a pack or go start a new pack. In the wild, wolf offspring usually remain submissive to the parents and will leave to start a new pack before challenging the parents. The young wolves play important roles in hunting and disciplining and raising the pups of younger litters. A young wild wolf may leave the pack at two to three years of age to search out a nonrelated member of the opposite sex to start a new pack and breed with. In captivity since wolves cannot leave the pack, social structure becomes more complicated with “beta” wolves and an “omega” that serves as a scapegoat. Occasionally lone wolves will be adopted by other packs where they will not have breeding privileges or the breeding pair will die leaving the alpha position open. Then, the social structure that occurs in captivity is more likely to be seen in the wild. Wolves will usually not mate with other wolves of the same parentage. (www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolves, www.wolf.org, and www.defenders.org/wildlife_and_habitat/wildlife/wolf_gray )
Wolves communicate both vocally and non-vocally. Vocal communication includes -barking, bark-howling, growling, yipping, yelping, snarling, and howling. They bark to communicate non-aggressively to warn other wolves of danger or indicate nervousness. Bark-howling is a bark with a short howl at the end and is mostly by pups to indicate need for food, attention, or care. Wolves growl to warn and threaten other animals. They will yip to say “I want to play” or to say “I’m scared.” They yelp to say “I’m hurt.” They snarl to indicate “I’m angry.” They howl to communicate with other wolves in their pack where they are or to say where a herd of prey is located. They also howl to warn other packs that it is their territory and to stay out. Wolves will howl at varying tones and pitches to try to confuse other wolf packs about the size of the pack. They also use non-vocal ways to communicate such as scent marking, facial expressions, and tail and body postures. Alpha wolves scent mark their territory so other wolves that are not pack members stay out and so pack members recognize their own territories. They may also scent mark their kills. Wolves have scent glands in between their toes, at the base of their tails, in their eyes, genitalia, and skin. They also urinate or defecate to scent mark. Usually a combination of facial expressions and body postures are used to communicate. A wolf can say “I’m happy” by tail wagging and a tongue hanging out of the mouth. A wolf can indicate anger or aggression by erect ears, fur standing on end, pulling the lips back so the teeth can be seen, arching the back, or snarling. If the wolf is getting ready to attack prey, the anger behavior may be accompanied by crouching. A wolf can indicate playfulness by holding the tail high and wagging it, dancing around, or bowing the front end while holding the back end up with tail wagging high. A wolf indicates dominance by ears erect and forward, body tall and still, tail vertical and back, fur may stand on end slightly and may stare at or pin down the submissive wolf. The actively submissive wolf will lower their entire body, lips and ears are drawn down and back, tuck their tail partly between the rear legs, arch their back, and do muzzle licking. A fearful wolf will lock similar to the actively submissive wolf. A passively submissive wolf will go even further and roll over exposing the vulnerable throat and belly with paws drawn in to body whimpering. A defensive wolf will flatten their ears against their head. A wolf is suspicious when the eyes are narrowed, ears are pulled back, and tail is pointed straight out. Tension or hunting may also be exhibited with the tail straight out and the body crouched. Relaxation is shown by the tail drooping down and sometimes wagging. If the tail of an animal in a pack is up it means that it is the “alpha,” but if it is all the way down it means that that they are low ranking members of the pack. (www.wikipedia.org/wiki/wolves)
Wolves are usually timid around humans and try to stay away from them. Wolves rarely attack humans and the rare attacks have resulted from rabies, provocation by the human, mistaken identity, hybridization with dogs, teaching cubs how to hunt, and prey scarcity. Women and children are more likely to be attacked by an unprovoked wolf. Wolves have been known to attack livestock when grazing in open unfamiliar land and occasionally in fenced enclosures. Such attacks are more frequent in September and October when the young are being taught how to hunt. Cattle and turkeys are the usual victims in North America. Sheep and goats are more frequently killed in Europe. In the United States, loss of livestock to wolves is low compared to other reasons for losses. If the USDA Wildlife Services confirms that an animal has been killed by wolves, then Defenders of Wildlife with reimburse the owner one hundred percent of the market value of that animal. In the case of a probable wolf kill, then owner will get fifty percent. Pets may occasionally also be killed by wolves, especially dogs who are seen by wolves as rivals. In Wisconsin, more has been paid out for loss of dogs to wolves than for loss of livestock. Dogs guarding livestock may intimidate wolves, but are not usually effective at fighting them. (www.wikipedia.org/wiki/wolves)
Wolves are very fascinating animals and we still have much to learn about their history, their subspecies, their behavior, their communication, and the reasons behind their rare attacks on humans. Humans have proven to be the worst threat to wolf populations throughout the world. As stated previously, the arctic wolf is the least affected in its range because of the scarcity of people in the arctic. However, many groups are working to save endangered or threatened subspecies and repopulate natural ranges where possible. My family and I support the Defenders of Wildlife and the Wild Canid Center in repopulation efforts. I hope you will consider helping the wolves too! (www.wikipedia.org/wiki/wolves, www.wolf.org, www.wildcanidcenter.org/Home, and www.defenders.org/wildlife_and_habitat ). . (www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Wolf, www.fws.gov/redwolf, and www.defenders.org/wildlife_and_habitat/wildlife/red_wolf) . (www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican_Wolf, www.desertusa.com, and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican_Wolf )