Grey Wolf

This week we are looking at the wolf, also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a canine native to Eurasia and North America. This is the most common wolf in the world.

A Grey wolve is about twice the size of a coyote. They measure up to 6 feet(183cm) in length, including tail, and about 30 inches (80-85cm) in height at the shoulder. Female wolves weigh around 70 – 80 pounds (31-36kg), while males weigh around 95 – 100 pounds, (43-45kg)

The life spans of wild wolves vary dramatically. Although the average lifespan is between 6 and 8 years, many will die sooner, and some can reach 13. Wolves in captivity can live up to 17 years.

Wolves rarely act aggressively toward people, but there have been instances in Alaska and Canada where wolves have attacked people. The first case of wild healthy wolves killing a human in modern North America occurred in Saskatchewan in 2005; a second person was killed in 2010 in Alaska.

Wolves are carnivores—they prefer to eat large-hoofed mammals such as deer, elk, bison, and moose. They also hunt smaller mammals such as beavers, rodents, and hares. Adults can eat 20 pounds of meat in a single meal.

Pups are born in early spring and are cared for by the entire pack. They depend on their mother’s milk for the first month, and then they are gradually weaned and fed regurgitated meat by other pack members. By 7 to 8 months of age, when almost fully grown, the pups begin traveling with the adults.

In a grey wolf pack, it is usually only the male and female alpha who are allowed to breed, the pair mate for life as a way to cement their position as pack leaders, producing a new litter each year and ensuring the stability of the rest of the pack.

Wolves’ vocalizations can be separated into four categories: barking, whimpering, growling, and howling. Sounds created by the wolf may actually be a combination of sounds such as a bark-howl or growl-bark. Barking is used as a warning.

Next week we will look at the Red Wolf.