Everyone remembers the fairy tale about the gray wolf that we were told in childhood. So who exactly is a wolf? An image from a fairy tale or a dangerous animal? The common wolf is a large predator of the Canidae family. The gray wolf is the master of the tundra and taiga, hardy and very smart beast. In this article you will find a description and photo of a wolf and learn a lot of interesting things about the harsh life of this formidable predator.
Externally, the common gray wolf is very similar to a dog, which is not surprising, because these animals have common ancestors. However, the wolf looks much larger. The body length of a wolf can reach 110-160 cm, the tail length can be up to 52 cm, the height at the withers ranges from 60 to 90 cm, and the body weight of a wild predator can reach up to 80 kg.
There were cases when the weight of individual individuals exceeded 92 kg. The average weight of wolves varies from 30 to 65 kg. The size and weight of wolves depend on geographic location. The colder the climate, the larger the animal. Males are always larger than females.
The wolf animal has thick, rather long and warm fur, which consists of two layers, which makes the wolf look larger. The first layer of the common wolf's fur is tougher and protects against dirt. The second is a waterproof undercoat that protects the wolf from cold and various extreme conditions nature. The gray wolf animal is very hardy.
The wolf looks menacing and dangerous beast, has a strong muscular body, high strong paws and a large broad-browed head with sharp ears. The elongated and large muzzle with dark stripes is combined with almost white cheeks and light spots in the eye area. The massive muzzle of the wolf is also very expressive. The gray wolf's tail is quite long and usually hangs down. By its movement and position one can judge the mood of the predator.
The common wolf has completely different colors, depending on its habitat. In forests it is a gray-brown color. In the tundra it is lighter, almost white. In the desert – grayish-reddish. There are even white individuals that are found in the Arctic, as well as red or almost black ones. The animal's undercoat is always gray.
How is a wolf different from a dog? The common wolf differs from the dog not only in appearance, but also in its tracks. The track of the gray wolf's tracks is smoother than that of dogs and forms an almost straight line. Also, the wolf has a different track length, which is 9-11 cm, and the width is 6-7 cm; for the she-wolf it is 7-9 cm and 5-6 cm. The two middle fingers of the wolf’s paw are more forward, the fingers are not spread out and form a significantly more prominent print than that of a dog.
Where do wolves live?
The wolf is an animal that is the most common land predator. This wild animal has a wide habitat. The wolf lives mainly in cold countries and in various landscapes. In forests, steppes, deserts, taiga, tundra, forest-steppe and at the foot of the mountains.
Wolves live in many areas of Europe (from Russia to Portugal), Asia (from Korea to Georgia) and North America(from Alaska to Mexico). Large individuals inhabit the tundra, and small ones inhabit the southern regions. It is curious that in Russia the wolf is absent only on the island of Sakhalin.
The common wolf is a territorial animal. Packs of wolves live in conquered areas, the boundaries of which are marked with marks. In summer, when the wolf pack breaks up, the occupied territory is divided into several sections. The best of them is occupied by the main pair, and the rest of the wolves switch to a nomadic lifestyle.
How do wolves live?
The common wolf is a social animal. That's why wolves live in packs, they hunt, play and even howl together. A wolf pack is a family group that consists of animals different ages and can number from 3 to 40 individuals. The pack is controlled by a leader or a seasoned wolf - the dominant male. This is the smartest, wisest and strongest male in the wolf pack. The leader of the pack has a girlfriend - a dominant female. Together they form a pair, thereby uniting other wolves around themselves - this is a wolf pack.
A pack of wolves has its own hierarchy. The leader of the pack has unquestionable authority. This is a wise leader and he is friendly towards all members of the pack. But the seasoned wolf greets strangers exceptionally aggressively. A beta male is often present in a pack - the most likely successor to the leader. Usually this is the common son of the leading couple or the brother of the leading male. The contender for the position of head of the pack periodically demonstrates aggression towards the alpha male, as if checking his status, since he is ready to take his place at any moment.
A wolf that has left the pack on its own or has been driven out is called a lone wolf. Such animals have every chance to create their own pack.
Wolves live relying on their feelings. They use these senses to hunt and communicate with other wolves. The beast's excellent hearing allows you to hear a howling wolf at a distance of seven kilometers. Their sense of smell is 100 times stronger than that of humans. The gray wolf can run at a speed of 55 km/h.
Wolves live in packs and each pack has its own hunting area, which the animals carefully guard from other wolves. In a pack where the leader keeps order, wolves live peacefully and do not fight. Skirmishes occur with strangers and lone wolves who have violated the boundaries of the site. Each wolf pack has its own territory and hunts only on it.
The owners carefully guard and mark their territory, leaving scratches on fallen trees or old stumps. Thus, they make it clear that it is better to stay away. Unexpected guests are punished as follows cruel laws wolf pack. Wolf howl, which is heard around - a way of notifying that the territory is already occupied.
The size of the common wolf's family territory depends on the landscape and ranges from 50 to 1500 km². The survival of the pack depends on the size of its hunting grounds, so wolves carefully protect them. If the food is on the family hunting area more than enough, then several generations of wolves will live in one area. The largest hunting grounds of wolves are found in open landscapes of the tundra and steppe and amount to 1000-1250 km². In the forest zone they are much smaller in size - 200-250 km².
When wolves do not have small cubs, they wander. Wolves travel both in packs and alone. As a result of wandering, animals sometimes appear in areas where wolves have not been seen for several years. Nomadic wolves run up to 70 kilometers in one night.
Gray wolves gather in packs in winter. If the snow is deep, the wolves in the pack move in single file. Each animal follows each other, stepping in the same tracks whenever possible. The common wolf is very cunning. Therefore, it is very difficult to find out from the tracks how many wolves a pack consists of.
Why do wolves howl? Wolves howl because howling is their way of communicating with each other. With the help of howls, wolves find out where their family members are, announce the capture of prey and seizure of territory, or simply to communicate with their relatives. Wolves usually howl in the late evening hours. During the year, wolves howl most often in winter, when the number of pack members reaches its maximum. Wolves begin to howl more actively towards the end of summer and the beginning of autumn, as well as when the puppies begin to develop the family plot and begin to move into its territory.
What does a wolf eat and how does it hunt?
The wolf is a picky predator. The main diet of the common wolf includes large ungulates: deer, elk, saigas, sheep and goats. But the wolf also eats hares, various rodents and birds, because he is not picky. Sometimes wolves can eat dead members of the pack.
Large concentrations of livestock attract wild and predatory wolves. Therefore, it is common to encounter a gray wolf near farms. The wolf eats meat, so on average the animal requires 3-4.5 kg of meat per day. Wolves store their food. Having had enough, the animal wolf buries the remaining pieces of meat. Wolves can go without food for more than two weeks. In the summer, the diet of the common wolf includes plant foods, so in the summer the wolf also eats fruits and berries.
The principles of wolf hunting are very diverse. In winter, wolves hunt collectively for large ungulates. Wolves use this type of hunting in winter. The main advantage of a wolf's winter hunting is the presence of snow cover, on which it can easily move. Snow makes it much more difficult for ungulates to escape from a wolf, a wild and predatory animal.
It is curious that the collective hunting of wolves involves the distribution of responsibilities: part of the pack participates in the pursuit of prey, while the other cuts off the path of the prey. When hunting, the wolf's nose is the main adviser. He tells the wild predator where to look for prey. Wolves can smell even a small animal that is a couple of kilometers away from them. It is with the help of their acute sense of smell that wolves can follow the tracks of their prey. The wolf hunts almost silently.
The wolf's main weapon is its teeth. With sharp fangs 5 cm long, the wolf holds and drags the victim, and with the remaining teeth it cuts up the game. A wolf’s teeth are not only its weapon, but also its protection, so their loss is disastrous for the animal.
Wolves kill especially large ungulates by attacking as a whole pack and attack until their prey falls. At the same time, the primacy to feast on the prey rightfully belongs to the leader and his female; they eat the best pieces of the carcass.
The wolf hunts very carefully. Stealthily sneaking up on the animal, with a deft leap he grabs it by the throat and throws it to the ground. It can sit in ambush for hours and wait for prey all day long. Often they can follow a herd of ungulates; predators do not give away their presence, but wait for the right moment to attack.
Wolves are very cunning; in pursuit they stop pursuing, allowing the prey to go far ahead. When the victim slows down, the wolf attacks again. Wolves often attack foxes. But most often they don't eat them. By attacking a herd of livestock, wolves can distract dogs. Part of the wolf pack attacks the dogs, and the rest attacks the herd.
Wolves are very good at navigating the terrain. Many packs use the same areas of territory to drive prey into a dead end. When hunting rodents, the wolf jumps on the prey, crushes it with its paw and eats it. This hunting technique is common for wolves in the summer.
In summer, the flock splits up and predators live alone or in small groups. Wolves feed on a variety of animals, using well-established hunting techniques. In the summer, the wolf most often feeds on hares. But even with all the calculated moves and deft maneuvers in the hunt, it does not always end successfully.
Wolf cubs - birth of puppies. How does a pack raise wolf cubs?
A wolf's lair is a hole where a she-wolf raises wolf cubs. Wolves make their dens in secluded places. In this case, there should be a place good review. Wolves often use empty burrows of other animals as dens.
Wolves breed annually in January-February, the first breeding period begins at the age of 2-3 years. The duration of pregnancy for a she-wolf is about two months. In the spring, wolf cubs are born in the den. Typically, a female gives birth to 4 to 8 wolf cubs. Wolf puppies are born deaf and blind; during the first days of the babies' lives, the she-wolf is constantly nearby. They begin to see and hear at about 10-12 days of life.
After three weeks, the wolf cubs leave the den for the first time and begin to taste meat at the same time. The entire pack takes part in raising and raising wolf cubs. Wolves bring the best meat to the den with their babies.
In small wolf cubs, the color has a grayish-brown tint, which changes with age. At the age of 2 months, the wolf cubs leave the den, but still stay close to the hole. Such places are protected by vegetation from prying eyes. Wolf puppies learn the basics of hunting and attack shrews and mice.
Wolf cubs grow rapidly and their weight increases almost 30 times in the first four months. Newborn wolf cubs have blue eyes. At the age of 8 months, the cubs' eyes change to yellow. By the end of the first winter after birth, the wolf cubs reach adult size. The common wolf lives 12-15 years.
Are wolves necessary and why?
Why are wolves needed, because for humans, a wolf is an enemy. It is dangerous to people and destroys livestock. Gradually, the fight between people and wolves led to a reduction in their numbers. But the wild predatory animal the common wolf plays important role in the balance of the ecological system.
Wolves are needed to regulate the population of large ungulates. Wolves are also a kind of “orderlies”, since by destroying sick animals, wolves prevent diseases from spreading. Hunting weak animals promotes the survival of the strongest.
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Wolf, or gray wolf, or common wolf - carnivorous mammal canine family. Together with the coyote and the jackal, it forms a small genus of wolves. In addition, as shown by the results of DNA sequence studies and genetic drift, it is the direct ancestor of the domestic dog, which is usually considered a subspecies of the wolf. The wolf is the largest animal in its family: its body length (without tail) can reach 160 cm, tail up to 52 cm, height at the withers up to 90 cm; body weight up to 86 kg. The wolf was once much more widespread in Eurasia and North America. In our time, its range and the total number of animals have noticeably decreased, mainly as a result of human activity: changes in natural landscapes, urbanization and mass extermination. In many regions of the world, the wolf is on the verge of complete extinction, although in the north of the continents its population still remains stable. Despite the fact that the wolf population continues to decline, it is still hunted in many places as a representative potential danger for humans and livestock, or for entertainment. As one of the key predators, wolves play a very important role in the balance of ecosystems in biomes such as temperate forests, taiga, tundra, mountain systems and steppes. In total, there are approximately 32 subspecies of wolves, differing in size and shades of fur. On the territory of the Russian Federation, common and tundra wolves are most often found. The Slavic word wolf goes back to Proto-Indo-European vocabulary.
The structure of a wolf's teeth is an important characteristic that determines the lifestyle of this predator. The upper jaw has 6 incisors, 2 canines, 8 premolars and 4 molars. The lower jaw contains 2 more molars. The fourth upper premolars and the first lower molars constitute carnivorous teeth, which play a major role in cutting up game. The fangs with which the predator holds and drags the prey also play an important role. A wolf's teeth can withstand a load of more than 10 megapascals and are both its main weapon and means of defense. Their loss is disastrous for the wolf and leads to hunger and loss of capacity. The tail is quite long, thick and, unlike a dog's, is always lowered; hunters call it “log”. The tail is the expressive “language” of the wolf. By its position and movement one can judge the mood of the wolf, if he is calm or afraid, his position in the pack. Wolves' fur is thick, quite long and consists of two layers, which is why sometimes the animal looks larger than it actually is. The first layer of wool consists of hard guard hairs that repel water and dirt. The second layer, called the undercoat, contains waterproof down that keeps the animal warm. Late spring or in early summer, fluff peels off from the body in clumps (molting), while animals rub against stones or tree branches to facilitate this process. There are significant differences in coloration between wolf subspecies, often according to environment. Forest wolves are gray-brown. Tundra - light, almost white. Desert ones are grayish-reddish. In the highlands Central Asia Wolves are bright ocher in color. In addition, there are pure white, red or almost black individuals. In wolf cubs, the color is uniform, dark and lightens with age, and the blue iris of the eyes usually becomes golden yellow or orange after 8-16 weeks of life. IN in rare cases Wolves' eyes remain blue throughout their lives. Within the same population, coat color can also vary among individuals or have mixed shades. The differences relate only to the outer layer of the coat - the undercoat is always gray. It is often believed that the color of the coat is intended to blend the animal with its environment, that is, it acts as camouflage; however, this is not entirely true: some scientists point out that mixed colors enhance the individuality of a particular individual. Wolf tracks are distinguishable from dog tracks by several features: the side fingers (index and little fingers) are set back more than the middle fingers (middle and ring fingers); if you draw a straight line from the tip of the little finger to the tip of the index finger, then the back ends of the middle fingers will only slightly go beyond this line, whereas the dog will have about a third of the length of the pads of the middle fingers behind the line. Also, the wolf keeps its paw “in a ball”, so the print is more prominent, and therefore the wolf’s footprint is somewhat smaller than the footprint of a dog of the same size. In addition, the track of a wolf’s tracks is much straighter than the track of a dog’s tracks, which serves as a reliable “identification mark.” Track seasoned wolf has a length of 9.5 - 10.5 cm, a width of 6-7 cm; the she-wolf is 8.5-9.5 cm and 5-6 cm.
They are active mainly at night. Wolves often make their presence known with a loud howl, which differs greatly among mature males, female wolves and young animals. Of the external senses, the wolf has the best developed hearing, a little worse - the sense of smell; vision is much weaker. Well developed higher nervous activity In wolves, it is combined with strength, agility, speed and other physical characteristics that increase the chances of this predator in the struggle for existence. If necessary, the wolf reaches speeds of up to 55-60 km/h and is capable of traveling up to 60-80 km per night. And it accelerates to a gallop in a few seconds, covering 4 meters, after which it rushes at full speed. When attacking a herd, wolves often kill several animals, tearing out their throats or ripping open their bellies. Wolves keep uneaten meat in reserve. There have been cases of wolf attacks on humans. Mentally, the wolf is highly developed. This is expressed in the ability to navigate the environment and avoid danger, as well as in hunting methods. There are known cases when a pack of wolves was divided, and one part remained in ambush, while the other caught prey. In a pack chasing an elk or deer, often some wolves run on the heels of the victim, while others run across them or cowardly slowly and, having rested, replace the leading ones until they starve the victim out. Cases of almost human intelligence in wolves have also been observed. For example, there was a case when hunters in a helicopter drove wolves into a grove. At first they could not be found, but then, when the hunters got off the helicopter and entered the grove on foot, it turned out that the wolves stood on their hind legs and pressed themselves against the tree trunks, clasping them with their front paws, so it was extremely difficult to notice them from the helicopter.
There are about seven distinct species of wolves, and another seventeen (or so) varieties of gray wolf, making a total of about 24 species that can be found throughout the world.
Wolf- a typical predator that obtains food independently by actively searching for and pursuing victims. Everywhere, the basis of wolves' diet is made up of ungulates: in the tundra - wild and domestic reindeer; in the forest zone - elk, roe deer, wild pigs, domestic sheep, cows, horses; near the steppe and desert - antelopes different types and sheep; in the mountains there are wild and domestic goats.
Arctic (Polar) wolf
polar Wolf (Canis lupus tundrarum) is one of the rarest animals
on our planet. The polar wolf's habitat is the Arctic. The wolf is well adapted to the harsh Arctic climate. Its thick, warm, windproof coat helps it survive in extreme temperatures. The wolf has keen eyesight and an excellent sense of smell, which are indispensable in hunting the small living creatures that inhabit these harsh places. Meager supplies of biological food and difficulties in obtaining food lead to the fact that the wolf eats its prey entirely, leaving neither the skin nor bones of the caught animals after the meal. Having average weight from 60 to 80 kg with a height of up to 80 centimeters, the polar wolf is able to survive without food for several weeks in the event of an unsuccessful hunt, but then can eat up to 10 kilograms of meat at one time. Polar wolves live in packs of up to 10 individuals and hunt polar hares, reindeer and other animals. In one litter of a she-wolf, approximately 3 to 5 cubs are born. The unique fur of the polar wolf has always attracted increased attention from hunters, which has brought the polar wolf to the brink of extinction. Due to global warming and the melting of polar ice, the number of polar wolves continues to decline due to drastic changes in its climate familiar places a habitat. Currently, the polar wolf is listed in the Red Book, and hunting it is prohibited. Red Wolf
Red Wolf– a rare species included in the IUCN Red Book and the Red Book of the Russian Federation. In Russia it is endangered. Hunting is allowed in India, but only with licenses. Externally, this animal has a peculiar appearance - the features of a gray wolf, fox and jackal are mixed. Body length 76-103 cm, tail – 40-48 cm, weight – 14-21 kg. The red wolf has thick, long, reddish-red fur on its back and sides, and on its chest, belly, and the inside of its legs, which are cream-colored. The long fluffy tail is similar to a fox's, it is darker than the rest of the body, almost black at the end. The head shows a dark pattern around the eyes and on the nose. The red wolf is a predator; it feeds mainly on wild animals, but in the summer it also consumes plant foods, namely mountain rhubarb. This plant is always found in dens with puppies. It is believed that wolves feed them to small wolf cubs, regurgitating half-digested rhubarb inflorescences. Sometimes they eat carrion. Wolves hunt in packs of 15-20 individuals and act very harmoniously, which allows them to catch even a large animal, for example, a buffalo. Thanks to their endurance, they drive their prey to exhaustion, after which its fate is sealed. Red wolves are quite talkative animals. Wakeful animals almost constantly emit a quiet whine, apparently maintaining communication with other members of the pack. In India, red caps reproduce within six months. The duration of pregnancy in females is 60-68 days. The average litter size is 4-6 puppies. The wolf cubs are dark brown in color, blind, weighing 200-350 g. The pups leave the hole at 70-80 days, and at seven months they already participate in collective hunting. Sexual maturity occurs at 2-3 years. Life expectancy in captivity is about 16 years. In captivity this period is much shorter.
Tasmanian marsupial wolf
Marsupial wolf or thylacine, as it is otherwise known, is officially considered an extinct animal. According to official data, the last wild representative This species was killed in 1930, and the last one kept in captivity in a private zoo died of old age in 1936. But there is still a possibility that the marsupial wolf still managed to survive in the wilderness of Tasmania (where it once thrived). But so far not a single animal has been caught or even photographed. But scientists do not lose hope. In 1999, scientists from the National Australian Museum, based in Sydney, issued a press statement announcing the beginning grandiose project to create a thylacine clone. The scientists intended to use the DNA of marsupial wolf pups that had been preserved in alcohol. DNA was extracted, but, alas, the samples turned out to be damaged and unsuitable for the experiment. The project was suspended. But in 2008, scientists managed to “revive” one of the marsupial wolf genes and “embed” it into a mouse embryo. So who is this marsupial wolf? The marsupial wolf (Tasmanian wolf or marsupial tiger) is a mammal, the only one in the thylacine family. Its first studies and descriptions date back to 1808. These descriptions were made by a certain Harris, he was an amateur naturalist. His work was published by the Linnean Society of London. The thylacine was one of the largest carnivorous marsupials in the world. The length of its body reached one and a half meters, and even more with its tail. Height at the withers is approximately sixty centimeters. The weight of the marsupial wolf was twenty to twenty-five kilograms. But the most amazing thing about his appearance was his mouth - elongated and elongated, it could open as much as 120 degrees. An interesting fact is known that when a wolf yawned, its jaws formed a straight line (well, almost a straight line).
Maned wolf
Maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus) or guar, aguarachai gets its name from the long hair that adorns its shoulders and neck, reminiscent of a horse's mane. The maned wolf's habitat is primarily the savannas of South America, but it can also be found in Brazil, Paraguay, Bolivia, Uruguay and Northern Argentina, where it lives in the pampas and along the edges of swamps overgrown with tall grass. Lean and light, the maned wolf has red fur, an elongated muzzle and big ears, which makes him look vaguely like a very large fox. The body length of the maned wolf, from the tip of the nose to the tip of the tail, is approximately 160 cm, the height of the wolf at the shoulders reaches, on average, 75 cm, and the weight varies from 20 to 23 kilograms. Aguarachai is the tallest-legged of all known wolf species. The long legs help the maned wolf locate prey over the tall grasses that cover savannas and wetlands. The wolf hunts, as a rule, alone, and its prey is mainly small animals, such as agouti, pacu, various birds and reptiles. The wolf also eats fruits and other plant foods, carries poultry, and is capable of attacking sheep when gathering in flocks. Auarachai live in pairs, but rarely contact each other. Maned wolf cubs have a black coat color and are born in winter, 2-3 cubs per litter. Aguarachai or maned wolves are listed as endangered on the International Red List of Threatened Species. Currently, there is no immediate threat of extinction, but the maned wolf still remains a very rare animal.
Melville Island wolf
Melville Island wolf (Canis lupus arctos), also called Ellesmere or arctic wolf, lives in North America on a group of Arctic islands and in the northern part of Greenland. The Melville Island wolf is slightly smaller in size than the common wolf, and its length, from ears to tip of tail, varies from 90 to 180 cm. The wolf reaches a maximum height of 69-79 cm, with a weight of about 45 kg, although especially large , adult males can weigh about 80 kg. The Melville Island wolf's fur is typically light white or grayish. A wolf's ears are small, which helps it efficiently expend heat in low temperatures. For more successful hunting, Melville wolves unite in packs of 5-10 individuals. The main objects of hunting for the Melville Island wolf are reindeer and musk oxen, to which the wolf pack uses driven hunting tactics, attacking mainly weakened prey that cannot offer strong resistance. The wolf's food also includes arctic hares, lemmings and, occasionally, moose. Permafrost is a significant obstacle that makes it difficult for a wolf to set up and dig a den, so wolves use the natural landscape and place their homes in rock ledges, caves or small depressions. The Melville Island wolf gives birth to few cubs, 2-3 cubs per litter, which is largely due to the harsh living conditions in the Arctic climate.
Japanese wolf
Japanese wolfbelongs to the class of mammals and the order of carnivores. The name Japanese wolf comes from two subspecies of the common wolf family (Canis lupus), which once lived on the islands of Japan. In the worldwide classification, the Japanese wolf belongs to the Hokkaido wolf (Canis lupus hattai). He is also known as Ezo, a wolf who lived on the island of Hokkaido. And the second subspecies is the Hondos wolf or Honshu wolf (Canis lupus hodophilax). Today, both species are considered extinct. By external dimensions Hokkaido was much larger than a wolf Honshu, and in parameters approaching the size of an ordinary wolf. In 1889, this subspecies became extinct due to the increased settlement of the island for the construction of farms, during the Meiji restoration. The existing Meiji Government determined a reward for anyone who brought the head of a killed wolf, thereby organizing a campaign to exterminate them.
Lyry Wolf
Lyre wolffound exclusively in South America
Newfoundland Wolf - Officially extinct in 1911
Newfoundland Wolf (Canis lupus beothucus) The Newfoundland wolf lived on an island off Newfoundland on the east coast of Canada. The color was light with a dark stripe along the ridge. Dimensions were an average of 5.5 feet (from nose to tip of tail). Diet consisted of: Caribou (as reindeer are called in Canada), beavers, voles and other rodents. Hunting and fur trapping in the region led to the complete extinction of this species in 1911. The extinction was also influenced by factors such as a severe food shortage in 1900, which led to a sharp decline in the caribou population.
Ethiopian Wolf
Ethiopian Wolf- a wolf, very similar to a fox. This species is endangered; for its fur, which has no analogues (the color of the fur can reach yellow), this animal is widely hunted.
Mackensen Wolf
Mackensen Wolf- also known as the Mountain Wolf, Alaskan or Canadian Forest Wolf. A direct relative of our timber wolf, but due to specific habitat conditions it has thicker fur and a whitish color that remains even in summer.
There are six subspecies of wolves found in Russia:
Tundra wolf, Central Russian forest wolf, Siberian forest wolf, Steppe wolf, Caucasian wolf, Mongolian wolf.
Central Russian forest wolf
Contrary to popular belief, it is this wolf that reaches its maximum size on the Eurasian continent, and not the tundra one. The coloring is classic, and not lightened, like the tundra. Body length of adult Central Russian forest wolves can exceed 160 cm, and the height at the shoulders reaches 1 meter. Of course, such dimensions can only apply to very large individuals. It is generally accepted that on average an adult male weighs 40 - 45 kg, a mature male (about 1 year and 8 months old) weighs about 35 kg, and a mature male (8 months old) weighs 25 kg. She-wolves weigh 15 - 20% less. Anyone who is familiar with old hunting literature, or who has been to “wolf” corners and talked with local residents, has probably read or heard about huge wolves. How much weight can wolves reach? For Central Russia Scientific works indicate a maximum weight in the range of 69 - 80 kg. (Ognev, Zvorykin). And here are the results of weighing specific animals. For the Moscow region - a male weighing 76 kg, the largest of the 250 wolves caught by the wolf hunter V.M. Hartuleri, famous in the thirties and forties of the last century. For Altai - a male weighing 72 kg. The wolf, stuffed of which is in the Moscow State University zoo museum, weighed 80 kg (5 pounds). According to N.D. Sysoev, head of the state hunting inspection of the Vladimir region, in the period from 1951 to 1963, 641 wolves were killed, of which 17 were especially large. Among these animals greatest mass had: from males - 79 kg, caught in the Sobinsky region, from females - 62 kg. The footprint of the right front paw of this huge, almost eighty-kilogram animal had a length of 16 and a width of 10 cm. It must be said that wolves of even larger sizes are indicated for Ukraine - 92 kg from the Lugansk region and 96 kg from the Chernigov region, but the conditions for determining the mass of these animals are unknown. The Central Russian forest wolf lives throughout the forest and forest-steppe zones of the European part of Russia, and probably penetrates into Western Siberia. In the north, it is quite possible for it to enter the forest-tundra, however, in the same way as the tundra into the taiga.
Through DNA research, it was discovered that there are about four genealogical lines of the wolf. African, which arose in the late Pleistocene, is considered the most ancient. All other lines belong to the Indian subcontinent. During major geological and climate change the Himalayan wolf lineage appeared. Indian separated from it approximately 400,000 years ago. The Tibetan wolf, an inhabitant of Kashmir, is the most recent lineage. Its other name is the Holarctic clade.
The large Siberian wolf lived in Japan and the Korean Peninsula in the Pleistocene. The Sangar Strait separated Hokkaido and Honshu in the Holocene, causing climate change. They led to the extinction of large ungulates in this area. Lack of sufficient food led to insular dwarfism in the Japanese wolf.
Hokkaido, thanks to a constant supply of food and genetic interchange with large Siberian wolves, was significantly larger than the Hondo Japanese wolf.
Due to the disappearance of large prey, the dire wolf became extinct about 8,000 years ago. This process was accelerated by competition for the remaining food with the emerging common wolf.
In what regions does the wolf live?
Currently, the habitat of wolves has been significantly reduced. This is due to their uncontrolled extermination in the past. Most of predators are located in the territory:
- Russia;
- Belarus;
- Ukraine;
- northern part of the Arabian Peninsula;
- Afghanistan;
- Georgia;
- China;
- Korea;
- Iran;
- Hindustan;
- Iraq;
- Azerbaijan;
- Scandinavia;
- Baltics;
- Balkans;
- Italy;
- Poland;
- Spain;
- Portugal.
From Mexico to Alaska, the animals are common in North America. In Russia they live everywhere, except for the taiga, Kuril Islands and Sakhalin. In Japan, predators have become completely extinct.
Wolves are able to live in a variety of terrain, but they give preference to places with weak forest cover. They often live close to humans. In the taiga, they accompany him and settle in the territory cleared of forest by people.
In the mountains, predators live as far as alpine meadows, where areas have little ruggedness.
The wolf is a territorial animal. During the cold season, flocks live sedentary. The boundaries of the territory in which they live are marked with odorous marks. In winter, the area occupied by predators is up to 44 km. However, as spring approaches, the flock breaks up into pairs. The strongest representatives remain on their territory, and single individuals lead a nomadic life. Wolves often accompany herds of livestock and deer.
To breed offspring, animals make dens. Most often they are natural shelters - thickets of bushes, depressions in the rocks. In some cases, wolves occupy the burrows of other animals - badgers, arctic foxes, marmots. It is extremely rare to dig them yourself. The she-wolf is most closely attached to the den during the period of raising the litter. The male does not use it. Puppies grow in well-hidden places: on hills, in ravines, near the shores of lakes covered with thick reeds, and in dense bushes. Wolves never hunt near their lair. After the puppies are strong enough for long journeys, the animals leave their shelter. For rest, they look for new, but well-protected places every time. The cubs look like dog puppies and have brown fur.
How long does a wolf live?
Since wolves belong to the canine family, they live approximately the same amount of time as dogs. But the lifestyle of wolves in the wild is very harsh and wolves die from disease, injury or lack of food before their time. In the wild, on average, wolves live 10-15 years. But when good care and with proper nutrition they can live up to 20 years.
What does a wolf eat?
The wolf is a predator that stalks prey. The main types of animals that it feeds on are:
- antelope;
- roe deer;
- moose;
- wild boars;
- deer.
Lone wolves catch mouse-like rodents, gophers and hares. In summer, waterfowl, representatives of grouse, and domestic geese become prey. In rare cases, a wolf attacks sleeping bears, raccoon dogs, and foxes. Predators often attack wounded or weakened animals.
Wolves often return to the remains of animals they have caught. Also, in times of famine, predators do not disdain carrion: carcasses thrown onto coastline, seals, livestock corpses.
In addition to meat, animals eat melons, watermelons, mushrooms, fruits, and berries. More often this is caused not by hunger, but by thirst. Wolves need frequent, abundant water, which is sometimes difficult to find.
Cannibalism is a phenomenon that occurs in a flock. Sick and wounded animals are often eaten by stronger relatives.
Wolves are most active at night. Their communication occurs through vocal signals. The range of sound waves that a wolf is capable of producing is many times greater than the capabilities of most animals. The only exceptions are bats and people. Animals are capable of barking, squealing, yelping, growling, grumbling, whimpering, howling. Absolutely every sound made by an animal has a wide range of variations.
Experts note that wolves react consciously to sounds made by their relatives. Thanks to sounds, the flock transmits various messages to their members, indicate the location of the game. At first, wolves listen to the information received from their relatives, and then throw their heads back and howl with a vibrating voice. At first their voice is low, and then moves to high notes that are heard by humans.
Only the leader of the pack can give the signal to attack. The sound is reminiscent of the growling of an angry dog.
You can hear the howling of wolves at dusk or dawn, but not every day. First, the leader howls loudly, and then the rest of the pack. The howling most often ends with a joint shrill bark. Wolves' songs are a sign of the social life of wolves. They have an emotional basis and enhance the cohesion of animals. In addition, the howl allows you to find lost members of the pack and communicate with representatives of other groups.
Wolves have a very developed sense of smell. The sense of smell allows predators to detect prey at a great distance. Wolves can distinguish approximately 199 million shades of scent. Animals receive most of their information through their sense of smell. Marking, sniffing partners, transmitting and receiving information through smell play an important role in the life of predators. Sources of receipt necessary information Wolves use feces, urine and saliva. Feces indicate that the animal belongs to a certain species and its gender. The number of marks increases significantly during the rut and the formation of new pairs. In this case, the males leave their mark on top of the female’s mark. Such behavior strengthens couples and enhances sexual activity.
Experts have concluded that in 89% of cases, wolves detect their prey by smell, and not by hearing.
In the process of evolution, wolves have developed a number of physiological characteristics that allow them to travel long distances in search of food. Animals easily run a distance of several kilometers at a speed of about 9 km/h. During a chase, it increases to 66. At the same time, dogs are able to jump up to 4 meters without stopping running.
Physiological characteristics:
- sloping back;
- streamlined chest area;
- strong legs;
- membranes between the fingers reduce the load on the surface. Thanks to this, the wolf can quickly move across the snowy ground.
- When moving, predators rely solely on their toes, and not on the entire foot. This method of movement makes it possible to balance the mass.
- Hind legs shorter than the front ones. They lack the fifth additional toe on the metatarsal side.
- Blunt claws and bristly fur prevent falling from slippery surfaces.
- Special blood vessels warms paws from the cold.
- There are scent glands between the toes. When moving, the predator leaves scent trails. They make it possible to navigate the terrain and inform members of the pack about the movement of the leader.
- The low thermal conductivity of fur allows the animal to live even in harsh climates.
When a pack attacks a victim, wolves simultaneously kill several animals. At the same time, they rip out their throats or rip open their bellies. First of all, predators eat the most valuable things in the carcass, and leave the rest as a reserve.
The wolf is a highly developed creature. He uses special tactics when hunting. Hunting for livestock, they wait for him in ambush. Some of the predators wait in the bushes, and the rest of the flock drives the prey there. When chasing large ungulates, for example, elk, they starve it to death. Several wolves run after the prey, the rest of the pack minces behind. When the predators participating in the chase get tired, they are replaced by their full-strength relatives.
Relations in the pack are altruistic in nature. Each animal completely subordinates its interests to common needs. Otherwise, the predator community would not have survived. Not only physical data, but also psychological characteristics affect the rank of the animal. This is explained by the fact that the leader must take charge of organizing the hunt and divide the food obtained among his relatives. Older wolves are responsible for the younger ones. Juveniles unquestioningly obey the demands of their older relatives.
There are seven ranks in the pack. Community members are managed without forceful influence. A clear organization, distribution of roles, complete freedom of choice to be or not to be in the pack - all this makes the wolf family a highly organized, well-coordinated mechanism. Social status in wolves it is associated with the age and sex of the animals. However, these indicators serve only to achieve the set goals. Having caught prey, wolves will never hunt again as long as they have food.
Unit in the pack:
- The leader plays the leading role. He bears full responsibility for the rest of his relatives. Its main tasks are a clear distribution of roles in the family, organization of actions, protection, selection of habitat, and management of hunting. The leader has the right to start eating first, but this rule can be violated by him. In some cases, an adult animal shares prey with puppies. This situation often occurs when there is a lack of food. Puppies are the future of the pack and the leader must take care of them.
The flock never disputes the right to the first piece of food. A weakened leader will not be able to provide security to his relatives.
The leader has no right to protection. In times of danger, only he decides how to act; the pack always listens to him.
- Warriors are the backbone of the pack. They provide food and safety for their relatives. When there is an external threat, only warriors enter into battle. This rank can be occupied by wolves of both sexes. However, a female with puppies never participates in guarding and obtaining food.
A senior warrior can replace the leader if he dies or for some reason cannot lead the pack. He, along with the main wolf, organizes protection and hunting.
- An adult female with experience raising wolf cubs is a mother. Its main functions are to take care of the pack's puppies. A female who has whelped does not automatically occupy this rank. When a flock is attacked, it is the mother who takes all weak relatives to safety while the warriors repel the attack.
The eldest female never competes with the main warrior, but if necessary, she takes the place of the leader. When the head of the pack dies, the most worthy animal begins to play his role. At the same time, there are no fights to identify the best contender for the status of leader.
During feeding and raising puppies, all mothers of the pack are under special care.
Reproduction occupies a special place in the life of animals. Once a year, the flock splits into pairs to reproduce. All members of the flock can reproduce. The main condition for this is awareness of one’s role in the pack. Those wolves who did not get a mate help their relatives raise their young and hunt. Pairs are always created for life. If one of the pair dies, the surviving wolf never looks for a partner again.
- A guardian is an animal that controls the wolf cubs. There are two subranks. Pestun is a young wolf who is not currently capable of becoming a warrior due to his age or is a young wolf from a previous litter. These animals completely obey their mother and follow her orders. This is how they learn to handle wolf cubs. Being a caregiver is the first stage of education that allows you to acquire the skills you need for life.
- Uncle is a male dog with no family. Helps raise young fish.
- The signalman is the eyes of the pack. It is he who alerts her to the impending threat. The received information is analyzed by more experienced wolves. Only after this is a decision made on further actions.
- The puppy bears no responsibility. His main task is complete obedience. Adult animals show him special care and guardianship.
- A disabled person is an elderly person who has the right to protection and food. Wolves always take care of their old relatives.
Wolves breeding
Once formed, a couple is never separated. If one of the partners dies, the second one never looks for a new one. Wolves always live in large families, numbering up to 42 individuals.
There is a clear hierarchy in the pack. At the head of the community are alpha animals, followed by adult representatives of the family, lone wolves. The lowest rank is puppies. The pack often takes in other wolves. When puppies reach the age of three, they leave their family and look for a mate outside of it. Animals from the same litter never mate.
The mating season is the most stressful time. It falls most often in winter and spring months. The dominant pair protects itself from attacks by other animals. Free females are surrounded by males. The fight for their attention begins. Often fights end in death.
Once a pair is formed, it begins searching for a den. All necessary preparations are made before the onset of estrus. This time helps the couple get closer.
A she-wolf bears her offspring for about 64 days. Typically 3-12 puppies are born. They are born blind. Only after two weeks do their eyes open. After some time, the parents, along with the rest of the pack, feed the puppies with their burps of recently swallowed meat. When the young grow up, they eat prey that has already been caught. At the end of summer, the puppies are already starting to try their hand at hunting. At this time, the flock is joined by pereyarki - last year's litter, driven away for the breeding season. In this form, the family lives until the she-wolf's next estrus. Then the reeds can already participate in reproduction. In the first year of life, more than half of the litter dies.
Females reach sexual maturity at two years, males at three. Average duration life of predators is 16 years. The first signs of aging appear as early as 11 years of age.
Wolves have offspring only in the warm season. This allows you to get enough food for the puppies. This is how wolves differ from dogs, which come into heat twice a year.
People considered wolves to be dangerous animals. Therefore, they were mercilessly exterminated. However, predators play an important role in the ecosystem. They destroy sick and weakened animals, thereby preventing an epidemic.
How much does a wolf weigh?
Wolves are the largest representatives of the canine family. Their size and weight varies greatly species composition these predators. In length, depending on the species, a wolf can be less than a meter, or can reach two. And the weight ranges from 20 kg to 100.
Types of wolves
Experts count seven separate species of predators. In addition, the gray wolf has about seventeen varieties.
Arctic
It is the rarest subspecies of the common gray wolf. Habitat: Greenland, northern Canada and Alaska. The predator has preserved its natural habitat thanks to the rare appearance of humans in the harsh terrain covered with eternal snow.
The polar wolf is a large animal with a powerful build. Males reach a size at the withers of up to 99 cm. Weight can reach 98 kg. Predators exhibit sexual dimorphism. Females are approximately 16 percent smaller than males.
Predators have thick light fur with a slight red tint. The tail is fluffy, the legs are long, and the ears are erect and short.
Animals are perfectly adapted to the long absence of sun during the polar night. In search of prey, they travel considerable distances across snowy plains. An adult wolf is capable of eating eleven kilograms of meat in one go. There is no trace left of what is caught during the hunt. Even bones are eaten. Predators never chew meat, but swallow it in pieces.
Like other wolves, the polar one can only survive in a pack. Most often the group consists of 12 individuals. It is led by a male and a female. The rest of the community are puppies from previous litters and those recently born. In some cases, a pack accepts a lone wolf, but at the same time he obeys the leaders.
Only the alpha female in the group whelps. When cubs are born from other she-wolves, they are immediately killed. This severity is explained by extremely difficult living conditions, in which it is difficult to feed a large number of wolf cubs.
The survival of animals depends entirely on the size of hunting grounds. That's why wolves protect their borders. With the onset of winter cold, a group of predators migrates to the south, where it is easier to get food. Most often they follow reindeer.
The polar wolf eats absolutely everything it can find. In summer, its diet includes beetles, frogs, birds, lichens, fruits and berries. In winter, predators eat mainly the meat of hares, lemmings, musk oxen, and deer.
The polar wolf pursues its prey using ambushes and changing riders. The best hunting time is spring. In warm weather, the crust melts, making it difficult for deer to move in such conditions and the predator easily catches up with them.
Healthy and strong herbivores are never in danger. The flock only attacks fawns or sick animals. Having attacked the herd, the predators destroy it. In this way they isolate the chosen victim and kill. When the herd manages to regroup and surround its offspring with a dense ring, the wolves have to retreat. Wolves manage to achieve a positive result in only 11% of their attacks.
Female raptors reach sexual maturity at three years of age. In males, this period begins at two. Some time before giving birth, the she-wolf begins to prepare a den. Predators cannot dig a hole in the ice, so caves or holes in the rocks serve as places for puppies to emerge.
Pregnancy lasts 74 days. There are no more than three wolf cubs in a litter. Appearance more puppies are observed extremely rarely. The puppies that are born are blind and helpless. Their weight does not exceed four hundred grams. For a month they do not leave the den. Only when they are fully strengthened do they begin to leave it. All this time the female feeds them with milk.
Caring for the offspring lies not only with the she-wolf, but with the entire pack. When the mother leaves the den to hunt, the young look after the puppies. Even with meager food supplies, adult wolves always feed the babies. In this way, it is possible to maintain the population size. Thanks to the harsh climate, wolves are not threatened by humans. There are no hunters in the Arctic.
Upon reaching sexual maturity, young animals leave the pack and try to create their own. They look for unoccupied territory and mark its borders.
The polar wolf is listed in the Red Book. Hunting for it is prohibited.
Ruffed
It gets its name from the long fur that covers its neck and shoulders. The hair in this area resembles the mane of horses. Aguarachai is found in Northern Argentina, Uruguay, Bolivia, Paraguay, and Brazil. However, its main habitat is South America.
The guara has red fur, large ears, and an elongated muzzle. Externally, the wolf looks light and lean. The weight of the animal does not exceed 24 kg.
Aguarachai has the most long legs among other representatives of wolves. This structure of the limbs allows the predator to search for prey in tall grass. The wolf hunts alone. It feeds on reptiles, birds, pacu, agouti, plants, and fruits. Often attacks sheep and poultry when gathered in groups.
Guars live in pairs. They very rarely have contact with their relatives. There are up to three wolf cubs in a litter. They have black fur. The female gives birth to puppies in winter.
The species is listed in the Red Book. Today there is no threat of extinction. However, the animal is still very rare.
Japanese
IN international classification There are two subspecies of these animals:
- Hokkaido or Ezo. These predators lived on the island of Hokkaido. Outwardly they resembled an ordinary wolf.
- Khonshu or Hondossky.
The Meiji government offered a reward to anyone who brought the head of a predator. This marked the beginning of the complete destruction of the subspecies. In 1889, the Japanese wolf completely disappeared.
Lyry
Scientific research has shown that wolves do not live in South America. Since 2009, an attempt has been made to spread the legend about the supposedly existing subspecies of predators. It is currently impossible to confirm or refute the information received. Therefore, the Lyre Wolf remains more of a fiction.
Newfoundland
The species officially became extinct in 1911. There lived a predator on the eastern shores of Canada. The color was light with a dark stripe along the spine. He ate rodents and caribou.
Because of its thick fur, it was constantly hunted. In addition, beginning in 1900, there were food shortages, which led to a sharp decline in caribou numbers. All these factors led to the complete disappearance of the Newfoundland wolf.
Ethiopian
The phenotype of this predator is similar to that of a fox. The species is on the verge of extinction. Because of its amazingly beautiful fur, the animal is constantly hunted.
Makenzensky
The most common species of wolf in North America. Animals can reach a weight of up to 79 kg. Height at the withers - 89 cm. It feeds on deer, elk, musk oxen and elk, and bison.
The Alaskan wolf was relocated to Yellowstone Park. There he adapted perfectly. Its number increased by 1290 individuals. Some predators eventually left the protected areas and settled in the border zone. They are hunted in these places.
An amazing animal is found in the mountains of Asia. It is extremely difficult to say exactly who it is based on appearance alone. His body is built like a jackal, his behavior is wolfish, and his beautiful fur resembles a fox.
Red or mountain wolf- clever and beautiful predator. The weight of the animal reaches 22 kg, the length of the body does not exceed a meter. The color is bright, the tail is long and hangs almost to the ground, the fur is fluffy and thick. The muzzle is shortened, the ears are large, rounded, and set high.
Depending on their habitat, the red or mountain wolf has different coat colors. However, in most cases it is reddish. During the cold season, the fur becomes thick, dense and soft. By summer, the coat coarsens and becomes darker. Wolf cubs are brown in color at birth.
There are 10 subspecies of predators. They differ from each other in body size, color and thickness of fur.
The red or mountain wolf lives in various areas. However, its numbers are insignificant. Experts cannot say for sure whether he currently lives in Russia. The red or mountain wolf is mainly found in Asia.
The predator lives in gorges and rocks, where there is constant snow. On plains and forests it appears only in search of food or when moving from one territory to another. It is extremely rare for an animal to attack livestock.
Predators hunt in a pack. Its size does not exceed 13 individuals. At the same time, there is no clear leader in it. They most often get their food during daylight hours. The red or mountain wolf feeds on deer, antelope, lizards and rodents. A large flock can kill a bull and a leopard. When there is a shortage of food, the red or mountain wolf does not disdain carrion.
Despite the fact that the predator’s diet mainly includes meat, it does not neglect plant foods. Mountain rhubarb is always present in a den with newborn pups. Experts believe that it is fed to young animals by regurgitating plant inflorescences treated with gastric juice.
A red or mountain wolf attacks its prey from behind. It never grabs the throat of prey, unlike other canids.
The animal has a secretive character. It always hides from people. The den is made in well-protected places. They never dig holes. They swim and jump well. They have sensitive hearing.
Due to its secretive lifestyle, the biology of the predator has not been fully studied. Experts can only say with confidence that the red or mountain wolf creates pairs with one female. The male is responsible for raising the puppies. In captivity, the predator mates in winter. Pregnancy lasts 59 days. There are no more than 9 puppies in a litter.
In warm climates, young animals are born throughout the year. When born, the puppy is similar in appearance to an ordinary wolf or German Shepherd. Only after 13 days his eyes open. After half a year, the puppy begins to weigh like an adult. At two years of age, puberty occurs.
Ginger
Outwardly, the red wolf resembles a gray one. However, it is slightly smaller in size, its body is slimmer, its fur is shorter, its ears and legs are longer. The body reaches dimensions of 129 cm, height up to 79, weight no more than 39 kg. The color of the red wolf is not monochromatic. The muzzle and legs are reddish, the back is black.
Predators live in prairies, wetlands and mountainous areas. Packs consist of animals of different ages. Aggression in groups is completely absent.
The red wolf eats not only meat, but also plant foods. The prey of the predator most often are rabbits, raccoons, and rodents. Very rare deer. Animals often eat carrion and berries. The red wolf sometimes becomes prey to lynx and alligators.
The breeding season lasts from January to March. She-wolves bring up to 7 puppies. Cases have been described where a female gave birth to 11 wolf cubs. Animals make their lair under fallen trees or along the banks of reservoirs. At half a year, puppies become independent. A wolf lives in captivity for about 13 years, in natural conditions - 4 years.
The red wolf is the rarest representative of the canids. It is listed in the Red Book.
Marsupial
The last representatives of the subspecies lived until 1936 in Tasmania. The marsupial wolf had a body length of about a meter and a tail of 49 cm. Older males could reach two meters in length.
The predator's skull resembled a dog's, but the tail was thin at the end and thick at the base, bent hind limbs talked about his marsupial nature. The fur was coarse, short, and very thick. The back had a brownish tint. It had darker colored stripes. The belly was light, the muzzle gray. The ears are erect, short, rounded.
The marsupial wolf had a kind of pouch on its stomach, formed by a fold of skin that opened backwards.
Initially, the animal lived on grassy plains and sparse forests. However, with the arrival of man, his habitat changed. He moved to the mountains, where he made his lair in caves and under fallen trees. The marsupial wolf was a nocturnal predator, but sometimes came out to bask in the sun. The predator hunted alone, rarely in pairs.
The marsupial wolf ate lizards, birds, and echidnas. After humans settled in Australia, the animal began to attack livestock. The marsupial wolf often ate animals caught in traps. The predator left the caught and half-eaten game and never returned to it. The marsupial wolf had a piercing, guttural, dull, coughing bark.
The thylacine is a marsupial. She-wolves had a pouch on their stomach formed by a fold of skin. The cubs were fed and born in it. After three months, the puppies began to leave the pouch, but returned to it until they were nine months old.
The marsupial wolf did not reproduce under artificial conditions and lived up to 9 years.
Forest
Depending on the habitat, the phenotype of wolves changes. The colder the climate, the more massive and large the animals living in these conditions. The average proportions of a gray wolf are as follows:
- weight 33-63 kg;
- body length 104-161 cm;
- height at withers 67-87 cm.
These indicators make the common wolf the largest in the family.
One-year-old animals weigh 19-31 kg. In the third year of life 34-46 kg. The wolf reaches its peak development at three years of age. In Alaska, animals reach a weight of 76 kg; in temperate latitudes, the figure varies between 51-61 kg.
Externally, the wolf looks like a large, pointy-eared dog. His legs are high and powerful. The paw, unlike a dog's, is more elongated. The wolf's footprint is up to 13 cm long and 7 cm wide. The paw print is more prominent, unlike dogs. It is easily distinguished by its two middle fingers extended forward. The trail of footprints resembles a straight line.
Description of the wolf's appearance:
- broad-browed head;
- on the sides of the elongated wide muzzle there are “whiskers”;
- high, heavy, large skull;
- wide nasal openings widening towards the bottom;
- thick a long tail always omitted. By its movement and position one can judge the wolf’s mood and position in the pack.
- The structure of the jaw speaks about the animal's lifestyle. Carnivorous teeth, which include the lower first molars and upper fourth premolars, are involved in the division of captured game. The fangs help the wolf drag and hold its prey. If teeth are lost, the animal is doomed to death.
- The fur is long, thick, and consists of two layers. It makes the wolf look much larger than it actually is. The guard hair, which makes up the first layer of fur, protects the animal from dirt and water. The undercoat, the second layer, is waterproof down that helps retain heat. As summer approaches, molting occurs. During this period, the fluff flakes off in small lumps. To speed up the process, animals rub their skins against various items: tree trunks, stones.
- A wolf puppy has a dark, uniform coat that becomes lighter after a while. Fur color can have mixed shades among representatives of the same population. The undercoat of wolves is always gray, only the color range of the guard hair is different.
Many people believe that coat color is used for camouflage. However, experts say that fur coloring increases individual characteristics each individual.
- The eyes of animals are blue until 17 weeks of age, then they acquire an orange tint. It is extremely rare that the eye color of adult wolves remains blue.
- Thanks to long-term scientific experiments, a hybrid of a wolf and a dog was bred. Breeds such as the Sarlosa and the Czechoslovakian Wolfdog are recognized throughout the world.
- During the Middle Ages, the predator was considered a servant of dark forces. Many legends, traditions and fairy tales were composed using his image. The most popular is the werewolf or werewolf.
- Wolves almost never attack humans. If this happens, the animal most likely has rabies.
- Many coats of arms of the European nobility were decorated with the image of a wolf. High-ranking officials believed that their family appeared thanks to werewolves.
- In order for the battle to be successful, the Vikings put on the skins of predators before it began and also drank their blood.
- Wolf land. This is what Ireland was called in the 17th century because of the numerous wolf packs that lived on its lands.
- Under favorable weather conditions, the predator is able to hear a sound at a distance of 17 km on the plain.
- The wolf is extremely difficult to tame. The dream of having a predator in your home who will guard the territory cannot be realized. Wolves are afraid of people, so they will hide from strangers rather than defend their territory.
- "Lupus" literally means "red wolf." Doctors in the past believed that this autoimmune disease occurred after being bitten by a predator.
- The animal swims well. It can cover a distance of 14 km thanks to small membranes located between the fingers.
- Hitler really liked wolves. He gave many of his military headquarters code names related to the name of the predator.
- The dire wolf is a prehistoric animal whose main prey was mammoths.
- The raven is often called the "wolf bird". This name was given to him due to his habit of following a predator. The bird eats the remains of the caught prey, and also uses the canids as protection.
- The Aztecs pierced the chest of a dying person with a sharp wolf bone. It was believed that death could be prevented in this way.
- Predator liver powder was used in medieval Europe during childbirth.
- Eating wolf meat can turn you into a vampire. This is exactly what the Greeks thought.
- The Cherokees never hunted this predator. They believed that the weapon used to kill the animal would “go bad.” They were also afraid of revenge from the brothers of the dead wolf.
- The predator has well-developed facial expressions. He uses it to communicate with his relatives.
- “Great God” is a translation of the word wolf from Japanese.
In India, primitive traps in the form of a pit with sharpened sticks at the bottom are used to catch predators.
The wolf, perhaps, is not just a predatory animal from the canine family found in our forests, but also a whole archetypal image, very familiar to us from a very early age, at least from children's fairy tales and cartoons, where he, as a rule, personifies a negative, evil character , wanting to feast on either Little Red Riding Hood, or the three little pigs, or some other fairy-tale creature. In fact, from ancient times, people’s attitude towards the wolf was ambiguous; it was either revered (at the same time feared) or demonized; we see an echo of this demonization in many children’s fairy tales. The very name of this beast “wolf” is not without reason consonant in many languages, the English “wolf”, the “Bulgarian” vylk, the Serbian “vuk”, our Ukrainian “vok” perhaps comes from the Old Slavonic word “vylk” meaning to drag, drag away, the fact is , that when dragging away prey, the wolf dragged it in front of him, hence its name.
Wolf Ancestors
According to the theory of evolution, the ancestor of the wolf was Canis lepophagus, an ancient mammal resembling a coyote and living in North America. Over time, the wolf's ancestor increased its size, including the size of its skull. The most ancient representative of the wolf family, already similar to the modern wolf, was found during the study of an early pleistocyte that existed 1.8 million years ago. Although he was only similar to the modern wolf, which was somewhat later - from a million to 150 thousand years ago.
In general, zoologists have discovered as many as four family trees of wolves: African, Himalayan, Indian and Tibetan lines. The Himalayan line is the oldest of them, which means that the Himalayan wolf is the most venerable representative of the wolf order, its appearance took place about a million years ago. The Tibetan wolf is conditionally the “youngest”, since it appeared “only” 150 thousand years ago.
Wolf - description, structure, characteristics. What does a wolf look like?
All wolves are notorious predators, there are no options here, and they are quite large predators, the largest being the gray and polar wolves: their height reaches 85 cm, body length - 150-160 cm, this does not include the tail, weight - 85-90 kg . Moreover, the harsher the habitat, the larger the animal; it is not for nothing that the largest representatives of the wolf family live in the Siberian taiga.
The smallest wolves are Arabian, their maximum height does not exceed 66 cm, and their average weight is only 10 kg. Also, in general, in all wolves, females are slightly smaller in size than males.
Outwardly, wolves look like dogs, which is not surprising, because they are their distant relatives.
The wolf's mouth has 42 teeth, including four fangs, which serve the owner to tear prey into pieces, grind bones, and the fangs are excellent for dragging the victim.
Interesting fact: all wolves are born gob-eyed, but by the third month their eyes turn orange or golden yellow. Although there are wolves who remain blue-eyed.
Wolf fur is thick and double-layered; it perfectly protects them from the cold in the cold conditions of the tundra or taiga, and also has waterproof down.
Coat colors can vary depending on the type of wolf and its habitat, with a wide variety of grey, white, brown and black colors found. Red wolves are also found. Often their color helps them blend in with their surroundings.
You may know the proverb “the wolf’s legs feed him”; it also has scientific and zoological basis, since his legs really feed him, and for this reason they are well developed, allowing him to move considerable distances in search of food. Wolves usually trot at an average speed of 10 km per hour, but the speed of a wolf chasing prey can reach 65 km per hour.
A wolf's vision is not the strongest quality, it is not very developed, and besides, it does not distinguish colors, but this deficiency is more than compensated by excellent hearing and especially charm - it can smell prey 3 km away, in general, its nose distinguishes millions of shades of smell.
Also one more characteristic feature wolves are their famous howl, which actually has a practical meaning for them - wolves do not just fight against the moon (as was previously thought), but in this simple way they inform the members of the pack of their location, and at the same time drive away strangers.
How is a wolf different from a dog?
A wolf differs from a dog, first of all, in more powerful paws, an elongated muzzle, set eyes and, of course, more sharp teeth with sharp fangs.
How long do wolves live?
The lifespan of a wolf ranges from 8 to 16 years. In captivity, it can reach up to 20 years; the fact is that in the wild, old wolves, unable to hunt with the same prowess, die faster than, say, in a zoo, where they are guaranteed to be fed.
Where do wolves live?
Unfortunately, in our time, the wolf's habitat has noticeably decreased; in past times, wolves lived throughout the territory of Eurasia and North America, where humans lived. For example, historical chronicles indicate that during the Hundred Years' War between England and France there was such great devastation and desolation that wolves even appeared on the streets of Paris. Now, of course, you are unlikely to meet a wolf not only in the vicinity of Paris but also in other cities; they remain, and even then in small numbers, in wild places, including in our Carpathians, in the Siberian taiga.
Wolves are social animals that live in packs, which always have a pair of leaders: a male and a female. The remaining members of the pack: the offspring of the leaders, their relatives or lone wolves who have joined are subject to a strict hierarchy. A pack of wolves has its own area of territory, up to 300 square kilometers, which they mark with special odorous marks that serve as a warning to intruder wolves.
What does a wolf eat?
Wolves are excellent hunters, and they hunt equally successfully both in a pack and alone. Their prey in the forest is many herbivores: moose, deer, roe deer, saigas, antelopes, hares, and gophers. At the same time, wolves are a kind of useful orderlies of the forest, because old, weak, sick animals first come to them for dinner, thus natural selection occurs. Interesting feature The wolf's practical habit is to hide excess meat in reserve.
Types of wolves, photos and names
Let us describe the most interesting species of wolves in our opinion.
He is the Himalayan wolf, as we mentioned above, he is the oldest of the order of wolves, since he appeared a million years ago. Outwardly, it combines the features of a wolf and a jackal. It is 76-110 cm in length, weight is 17-21 kg. It has a short, pointed muzzle and large ears. The color is red. Also distinguishing it from other wolves is the smaller number of teeth. The red wolf lives in Asia: from Altai mountains to the Tien Shan, but most of them live in the Himalayan mountains, southern Iran, India and Pakistan. As a rule, it feeds on various small animals. It is on the verge of extinction.
A unique representative of the wolf kingdom, its other name is guar or aguarachay, which translates as “short-tailed golden dog.” It has long hair on the back of the neck, which forms a thick mane. Outwardly very similar to a fox. The length of its body is approximately 125-130 cm, weight - 20 kg. Lives exclusively on the plains, feeding on rodents, rabbits, and armadillos. The habitat of the maned wolf is South America: Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay.
He is also the North American timber wolf, lives in North America, especially in Canada - from Ontario to Quebec. Interestingly, it does not have its own classification; some scientists consider it a hybrid of a gray wolf with a red wolf or coyote. Its height reaches 80 cm, body weight – 40 kg.
common wolf
He is also the gray wolf - the same type of wolf that is widely known, starting with children's fairy tales. He is one of the largest representatives of the wolf kingdom and also one of the most formidable predators our temperate latitudes. The habitat of the gray wolf is wide - the territory of Eurasia and North America, everywhere in the wilderness and wild forests you can meet this formidable predator.
It is a hybrid of a gray wolf and a coyote. Red wolves are smaller than their gray relatives, but larger than coyotes, their size reaches 79 cm, weight - 40 kg. It is also distinguished by greater slenderness, more elongated ears, but shorter fur. They especially like to hunt hares and other small rodents, but they can also attack larger prey. The red wolf lives in the eastern United States, in Texas, Louisiana, and is one of the most rare species wolves on the ground. Now, unfortunately, it is on the verge of extinction.
Living in the tundra, this species of wolf is the least studied. Outwardly similar to its closest relative, the polar wolf, but not so large, its average weight is only 42-49 kg. Like their polar relatives, they have a white coat color, which helps them blend perfectly with the white snowy landscape of the tundra itself.
Also one of the largest representatives wolf family, living in the extreme northern regions of our planet. It has a white color and the weight of the polar wolf can reach 95 kg. Loves to feast on both small and larger Arctic musk ox. During the famous lemming migrations, polar wolves may also migrate along with their favorite food.
Wolves breeding
Female wolves become sexually mature in the second year of life, males - in the third, mating season in wolves it usually occurs from January to April. There are frequent fights for a female between competing males, as well as mutual courtship and flirting of both males and females.
During mating, “loving” wolves leave the pack, retire, setting up a den in a secluded place. A she-wolf's pregnancy lasts 62-65 days and from 3 to 13 cubs are born at a time. True, not all of them survive; the weaker wolf cubs die.
Little wolf cubs feed on milk and burps from their mother, and after just six months of life they become able to take part in hunting.
Enemies of wolves
The wolf has practically no natural enemies in nature, except that sometimes the wolf can suffer from even more large predator temperate latitudes - but only if they do not share the spoils. And so the main enemy of the wolf (as well as many other animals) is, of course, man, whose destructive activities have brought many species of wolves to the brink of extinction.
- In the Middle Ages, wolves were often endowed with demonic powers; fear of them even led to the appearance of such a character as the werewolf, a man who turns into a wolf on a full moon.
- Some European coats of arms contain an image of a wolf, meaning that the distant ancestor of this family was a bit of a werewolf.
- To raise morale and rage in battle, the Vikings, and especially their elite warriors - berserkers, not only ate special “magic” ones, but also drank wolf blood and wore the skins of these animals.
- Wolves often crossed with dogs, and thus several dog breeds were developed, such as the Czechoslovakian Wolfdog and the Saarloos Wolfdog.
Wolves, video
And in conclusion, we invite you to watch an interesting film about wolves from the National Geographic channel - “The Rise of the Black Wolf.”
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