There are seven species and seventeen varieties of wolves in the world. These are quite large and dangerous predators. Today we will talk about the largest wolf in the world.
Types of wolves
The rarest species is the arctic or polar wolf. From the name you can understand that this animal lives in the Arctic. It has dense, warm fur, which helps the animal survive in very difficult conditions. climatic conditions. Its fur has always aroused the interest of hunters, and the damage caused to livestock justified the uncontrolled shooting of predators. Because of this, in the last century the polar wolf was on the verge of complete extermination.
On average, the weight of a representative of this species is from sixty to eighty kilograms, and its body length reaches one hundred and eighty centimeters.
Tasmanian marsupial wolf
This is the largest wolf among marsupial predators. Judging by official data, this animal is extinct, but experts have a faint hope that in wild places A few individuals survived from Tasmania. The body length of this predator was one and a half meters (excluding the tail), and the height at the withers was about sixty centimeters. His weight is a little less than thirty kilograms.
Maned wolf
The maned wolf can also be classified as a large species. It is also called guara and aguarachai. The shoulders and neck of these animals are decorated with long hair. His average height is about seventy-five centimeters, weight can vary from twenty-one to twenty-three kilograms with a body length of one hundred and sixty centimeters.
Melville wolf
The island Melville wolf is also considered large. Weighing about eighty kilograms, the length of his body is one hundred and eighty centimeters. These predators hunt musk oxen, reindeer, and moose.
Timber wolf
The timber wolf lives on Eurasian territory. Its height at the withers sometimes exceeds a meter, and its body length is sixty centimeters. An adult male weighs about fifty kilograms. The Siberian timber wolf is practically not inferior in size to its Central Russian counterpart.
Range of the largest wolves
The researchers came to the conclusion that the further these dangerous predators live from the equator, the larger they are. For example, wolves from the tropics do not exceed the size of an ordinary dog, animals from Canada, Alaska and Russia are much larger. The gray wolf, the hero of many fairy tales, epics, and legends, is recognized as the largest in the world. The wolf's habitats are forest-steppes, steppes, deserts, tundra and open mountain areas. Once upon a time, gray wolves occupied such vast territories that they yielded master rights only to humans. Today, their range has decreased significantly.
Description of the wolf
The largest wolf in the world is the gray one. He belongs to the canine family, like all his brothers. The body length of an adult male reaches one hundred and eighty centimeters, and the height at the withers is about a meter. The weight of animals often exceeds seventy kilograms. Females are much smaller.
The paws of these predators are long, the claws are not too sharp, since they are greatly worn down while running. The coat is usually light gray in color, sometimes with a black or reddish tint. The color of the coat of the largest wolf can change greatly with age.
Lifestyle of gray predators
Wolves are pack animals. The flock consists of related individuals, as well as lonely animals that have joined them. It can be quite numerous and small, consisting of three to six individuals, while a large one has from twenty to forty animals. The way of life of wolves in a pack is subject to its own laws and orders; there is a strict hierarchy here. It is headed by a strong and fairly young wolf, to whom the rest of the animals unconditionally obey.
The leader leads the pack to hunt and resolves all conflicts that arise between relatives. Researchers of the behavior of these predators note that they have a very developed sign language. The posture or position of the tail can say a lot. For example, a raised tail means that you see the leader of the pack, and an animal with its tail between its legs is the weakest in the pack. Often during a hunt, several predators play the role of beaters: they lead the game to an ambush. But more often, wolves, replacing each other, alternately exhaust the victim, forcing it to expend its strength as quickly as possible. Having scared the herd, gray hunters instantly identify sick or weakened animals, which ultimately become their prey.
The largest wolves are recognized lovers of “choral singing”. Their howl conveys important information to their relatives when predators are at a distance of several kilometers from each other. For example, in this way wolves report the approach of game or a person. However, wolves love to howl for no apparent reason at night or in the early morning hours. The leader is the first to “solo”, and then the rest of the pack members give their voice. In addition, the largest wolves also make other sounds - they bark, growl, yelp, and squeal. Wolves are endowed with a very sensitive sense of smell: they sense odors a hundred times better than humans.
What do wolves eat?
From the descriptions of animals in specialized literature, it is obvious that wolves are predators. They usually prey on weak and sick animals. It is for this reason that they received the name orderlies. For wolves, a variety of animals become prey - wild boars and moose, goats and rams, roe deer and deer, bulls and beavers, rabbits and hares, squirrels and badgers, as well as birds.
But most often the largest wolves hunt large ungulates. They often attack livestock. When food is scarce, wolves can feed on frogs, lizards and beetles. Every day the wolf eats about five kilograms of meat and drinks about a liter of water. Wolves supplement their diet with fruits, berries, grass, mushrooms and leaves. Such food normalizes the digestion of predators. It should be noted that wolves are very hardy animals: they can live almost fifteen days without food.
Reproduction
It is interesting that wolves create their families only once in their lives. Before breeding, the pair leaves the flock. In preparation for this important process, they occupy holes that were once dug by other animals, or dig their own, arranging a den, and can settle among rocks in crevices. Only a she-wolf and her offspring use such a house - the father of the family only brings food to it.
A she-wolf's pregnancy lasts from sixty-two to seventy-five days. In the spring, from three to thirteen wolf cubs are born. Newborns are completely helpless - the puppies are deaf, blind and toothless. Future predators weigh from three hundred to five hundred grams. Their eyes open on the ninth day, and after another two weeks their teeth begin to erupt.
At first, the babies feed only on mother's milk, then the she-wolf begins to feed them, regurgitating digested food from her stomach, and even later, the adults give them their prey. It is noteworthy that the entire flock takes an active part in feeding the puppies. While the she-wolf is completely absorbed in feeding her offspring, members of the pack bring her food after each hunt.
After about six months, young wolves already take part in hunting along with adult members of the pack. Animals are considered adult at two to three years of age. Under natural conditions, the life expectancy of gray predators is about ten to twelve years.
The wolf, perhaps, is not just a predatory animal from the canine family found in our forests, but already a whole archetypal image, perfectly familiar to us from the very beginning. early years at least from children's fairy tales, cartoons, where he, as a rule, personifies a negative, evil character who wants to feast on Little Red Riding Hood, the three little pigs, or some other fairy-tale living 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 wolf family, already similar to a 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 predators large sizes, the largest are 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 be different colors, depending on the type of wolf and its habitat, there are a variety of variations of gray, white, brown and black. 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, sharper 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 wildlife 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 the 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.” Has it on the back of the neck long wool, 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. Habitat of the maned wolf - 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's the same Gray wolf- the same type of wolf that is widely known, starting from children's fairy tales. It is one of the largest representatives of the wolf kingdom and, moreover, one of the most formidable predators in 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.
It is also one of the largest representatives of the 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.”
The wolf is a slender, proportionally built, powerful animal. He has a strong body with a sloping back - high withers and a lower, but strong and wide croup. The chest is large, deeply descended, the stomach is tucked, the neck is powerful and muscular. The legs are high and strong, the paws are relatively small, the toes are tightly clenched (“in a ball”).
The head is large, heavy with strong jaws, long but not sharp muzzle and wide forehead. The eyes are set quite wide and small. The brow ridges are strongly developed, so the eyes seem to sit deep and seem to be slightly squinted and even slightly slanted. The ears are relatively small, triangular in shape with a sharp apex, directed forward and set wide apart - because of this, the wolf's head looks especially “foreheaded”. Usually the animal carries it slightly lowered - not higher than the level of the back and looks somewhat stooped, with high withers. Only a wary wolf raises its head high.
The tail is quite large, fluffy, descending to hock joint. It seems to be broken at the base and hangs straight down for a standing and calmly walking animal. Only when fast jump the wolf lifts it somewhat and carries it “as it flies away,” but not above the level of its back. In a living animal, the tail has little movement and seems very heavy (in hunting language it is very aptly called “log”). In a certain mental state (joyful excitement, affection), the wolf wags its tail, although not quite like a dog. In fear, he puts his tail between his legs like a dog. The claws are black. The eye is yellow. Nipples 5 pairs.
Winter fur is very thick and fluffy with fine underfur and a long, rather coarse spine. The tail is very densely covered with long hair; at the root they are much shorter than along the rest of the length. In the south, the fur is rarer and coarser, in the middle zone it is thick and lush, but rather coarse, in the north it is longer, thicker, more luxurious and softer.
The longest hair is located along the back, mainly in the front and on the neck. At the withers there is usually a patch of particularly long hair; along the top of the neck, elongated hair forms a kind of mane. The front part of the head, including the forehead, is covered with short hair; on the rest it is longer. On the cheeks, the hair is elongated and forms “fringes” - small sideburns. The legs up to the elbows and slightly above the heel joint are covered with short and elastic, tightly lying hair. The ears are covered with short hair and protrude strongly from the fur. Summer fur in all latitudes is much rarer and shorter than winter, coarse and hard.
The color is single-phase, of the same type in different parts of the country and varies relatively little geographically. Individual variability is quite large, but concerns particularities, and the general tone of color and distribution of colors are constant. There is a seasonal difference in color, but it is not sharp and varies in different parts of the range. In some areas, due to fading, the winter color changes somewhat (sometimes significantly) (lightens). Among our wolves there are melanists, albinos and chromists, but they are very rare. Sometimes their appearance may depend on hybridization with a domestic dog. The wolf of southeastern North America has a two-phase coloration - normal and black.
There are no gender differences in color. Adult coloring Central Russian wolf in summer fur it consists of a mixture of ocher and rusty ocher tones with light gray. Throughout the skin, especially on the upper back, there is some admixture of black, depending on the black ends of the guard hairs. The muzzle is pale buffy-gray to approximately eye level, the circumference of the lips and the lower parts of the cheeks are white. The space between the eyes, forehead, crown, back of the head and the area under the eyes and between the eyes and ears are gray, with only a slight reddish tinge. There are small ocher-rusty fields (rings) around the eyes. The backs of the ears are rusty-ochre with an admixture of black-brown, their inner parts are covered with dirty white hair. The chin and throat are pure white. The neck is buffy, somewhat shaded with black (dark ends of the hair) along the upper side.
Along the ridge, dark (black) long guard hairs create a well-defined black pattern in the form of a stripe, especially bright and wide in the front of the back. Enough a large number of hair with black tips is also present on the shoulder blades, partly along the top of the chest and sides in the back of the body. A dark coating in the form of a pronounced “saddle cloth”, however, does not form. The color of the sides of the body and the outer parts of the paws is pale, dirty-buffy, the inner sides of the paws are white. The belly and groin area are white with an ocher tinge. On the front side of the front legs there is usually a sharply defined and clearly visible longitudinal stripe.
The color of the tail matches the color of the sides of the body - light dirty buffy. On the dorsal side, especially in the main third of it, there is a strong admixture of dark (black, black-brown) hair, the tip of the tail is often black. Hair length in the middle part of the back is 60-70 mm.
Winter fur generally retains the same basic tones and the same arrangement of differently colored areas. However, the general coloring, due to the fact that the light underfur protrudes more, is generally lighter, the admixture of black stands out brighter against this background, something like a small saddle is indicated, the ocher tones appear weaker and the smoky gray is more developed. If in some individuals the buffy tone is clear and developed quite intensively, then in others it is weak, and the animal looks very light and gray. The height of the guard hairs of the withers usually does not exceed 90 mm, but can reach 110-130.
Age-related variability in the nature of fur and color in the first year is well expressed. The cubs in the first outfit are dressed in thick, short (20-30 mm in the middle of the back), very soft “puffy” fur of a dark brown or grayish-brown color. This coloring is fairly evenly distributed throughout the body. The eye circumference and inner surface of the body are slightly lighter, the muzzle and lips, on the contrary, are darker. On the belly the hair is dirty gray with brownish, on the chest between the front legs there is a lighter field. The color of the tail, covered with short hair, matches the color of the body. There is never a white tip on the tail. The claws are light.
This juvenile outfit soon begins to change and at the end of summer the wolf cub, which has not yet reached the size of adults (at least twice as small), has light grayish-ocher dirty-colored, coarse and sparse fur. The reddish tones are not developed, there are no or few black awns. This coloring is distributed fairly evenly over the body and light or, conversely, dark fields do not stand out. The claws turn black.
From this second outfit, the hair of which grows strongly by autumn, the young (“profitable”) wolf passes into the first winter outfit. It corresponds to the winter fur of adult animals, but is distinguished by a more uniform grayish-dirty-ochre color with less development of black and red. The coloration of wolves by the second year (“pereyarkov”), both in summer and especially in winter, does not differ from the coloration of older animals.
The wolf's skull is characterized by massiveness and overall large dimensions. This is the largest form of the family. The facial parts, due to the strong development of the teeth, are relatively long and massive, the brain part of the skull is relatively small and slightly swollen, much shorter than the facial part, the brain cavity is relatively small. The nasal bones are long - their posterior ends reach the level of the eye sockets. In front, each bone is cut in an arcuate manner so that no common protrusion is formed along the line of contact of both bones in front. Along the entire length of the line of contact of the nasal bones with each other there is a longitudinal depression (groove).
The premaxilla give a large projection upward and posteriorly, but it does not reach the frontal bones. The posterior edges of the nasal and maxillary bones lie approximately at the same level. The zygomatic arches are massive and widely spaced, especially in the posterior part. The supraorbital processes are large and massive and protrude strongly to the sides. The front part of the front is quite high, in the middle and posterior parts of the nasal bones the profile is somewhat concave, the forehead rises steeply and is highest in the region of the supraorbital processes.
The frontal area is wide, slightly concave in the middle and convex at the edges. Behind the supraorbital protrusions the skull is compressed. The sagittal ridge is well defined; in front it bifurcates, limiting the frontal area from the sides and passing into the edge of the posterior part of the supraorbital projections. The occipital crest is strongly developed and hangs over the occipital region of the skull. The auditory bones of the drum are moderate in size, thick-walled, their anterior-internal parts are not directed towards each other, but diverge to the sides; in this part along them on the main occipital bone there are small elongated ridges or swellings.
The dentition is very powerful, the carnassial teeth are massive, the fangs are strong - relatively low, but with a wide base.
The age-related variability of the skull is very large and goes mainly in the direction of development of the ridges, a relative increase in the facial part, an increase in the convexity of the frontal region and increased postorbital compression of the braincase.
The skull of a wolf cub, which still has milk teeth, is characterized by the following signs: the facial part of the skull is very short and much shorter than the brain; the width of the skull in the area of the carnassial teeth is large; the zygomatic arches are set very narrowly and weak; the cerebral part of the skull is relatively large and swollen; no ridges; the contour of the brain region is rounded (there is no protrusion in the upper part of the back of the head); there is no narrowing behind the eye sockets; supraorbital processes are not expressed; the frontal region rises slightly, and there is no ledge in this part of the skull; auditory tympani relatively large and more rounded; the coronoid processes of the lower jaw are sharply bent back; the angular processes are small.
The skull of a young wolf immediately after the change of teeth (in the first autumn of life) has the appearance of the skull of an adult animal, but differs from it in the following features: the nasal region is somewhat shorter, the width of the skull in the area of the carnassial teeth is somewhat larger, the zygomatic width is smaller, the brain section of the skull is relatively slightly longer , there are no ridges and only in the occipital region is indicated rear end sagittal crest, the supraorbital processes are small, short and weakly sharpened, the narrowing behind the supraorbital processes is smaller, the auditory bones of the tympanum are relatively larger.
The skull of a very old animal, compared to the skull of an adult, is characterized by a relatively even more elongated facial part, massive, very widely spaced zygomatic arches, high, very strongly developed ridges, a wider forehead and a greater distance between the ends of the supraorbital processes, and a sharp compression of the braincase behind the supraorbital processes.
Sex differences in the skull are expressed only in slightly smaller average sizes of the skulls of females. Age-related changes their skulls are expressed in the same way as those of males.
The intestinal length of adult Central Russian wolves (2 specimens) is 460-575 cm, arriving at the age of about 7-8 months. 390-420 cm (3 copies); the ratio to body length for the former is 4.13 and 4.62, for the latter 3.64 and 3.86. The relative weight of the heart (Hessian index) varies from 7.32 to 13.07, and in young people it is apparently less than in old ones. Length of the intestine (without the cecum) and the corresponding index of two adult males from the Far North (tundra Arkhangelsk region, Taimyr) 698 cm and 1: 5.3 and 490 cm and 1: 4.0. Their heart weight is 800 g and 16.4% (?) and 437 g and 9.34%. The diploid number of chromosomes is 78, the main number is 80.
The size of wolves is subject to geographic variability. The body length of an adult wolf varies between 105 and 160 cm, the tail length is between 29 and 50 cm (usually from 40 to 50), the length of the hind foot is about 220-250 mm, and the ear height is about 110-190 mm. Shoulder height 80-85 cm, possibly up to 100 cm.
The weight of adult Central Russian wolves usually ranges between 32 and 50 kg. Females are usually not as massive as males, and are slightly smaller in size and significantly smaller in weight than males. Average weight females make up about 80-85% of the average weight of males.
Information about the weight of wolves available in literature, especially old, hunting and popular literature, can be exaggerated. This is explained by the fact that they for the most part are based on determining the weight of especially large animals “by eye”. Recently, in some areas, mainly in the middle zone of the European part of the Union, accurate data on weighing quite large series of animals have appeared. These figures make us cautious about many old data on the average weight of wolves from different parts range.
However, in some places there are sometimes huge wolves. Such animals, however, are very rare. For Central Russia V general form the maximum weight of a wolf is 69-79 kg.
Some more accurate cases carried out recently are as follows. For Saratov region a wolf weighing 62.4 kg is indicated, for the forest belt of the European part of the country 69 kg, for the Moscow region a male weighing 76 kg is known - this is the largest of the 250 animals killed by the famous wolf hunter V. M. Hartuleri. For Ukraine, an animal weighing 92 (Lugansk region) and 96 kg (Chernigov region) is indicated; for Altai - a male weighing 72 kg. In the Zoological Museum of Moscow University there is a stuffed Central Russian wolf, weighing about 80 kg.
A short message about the wolf can be used in preparation for the lesson. A story about a wolf for children can be supplemented with interesting facts.
Report about the wolf
The wolf is a predator that lives in forests. They used to live almost all over the world, but now there are much fewer of them.
Wolf: description of the animal
Externally, wolves look like big dogs with a strong, muscular body and high legs
The size and weight of wolves depend on the area in which they live; the closer to the north, the larger the animal. Males are usually larger than females. On average, their height ranges from 60 to 85 cm, the length of the head and body is 100 – 160 cm, the length of the tail is 35 – 56 cm. The weight of females is 18 – 55 kg, for males 20 – 80 kg.
The muzzle is elongated, wide and very expressive. The tail is long, thick and carried down. Wolves' fur is thick and long, consisting of two layers, helping to keep them warm in the winter. The color of the coat varies from light to dark gray.
The wolf's mouth is armed with 42 teeth: carnassial teeth designed for tearing prey into pieces and grinding bones, and with the help of fangs the animal firmly holds and drags its victim.
Where do wolves live?
In nature, the wolf can be found in Europe (Ukraine, Belarus, Italy, Portugal, Scandinavia, etc.), in Asia (Russia, Korea, Kazakhstan, Iran, the Hindustan Peninsula, etc.), in North America (Canada and Alaska). The wolf lives in all habitats except tropical forests and arid deserts.
Being nocturnal animals, during the day wolves rest in various natural shelters, thickets and shallow caves, but they often use the holes of marmots, arctic foxes or badgers, and they very rarely dig holes themselves.
How long does a wolf live?
The lifespan of a wolf in the wild is from 8 to 16 years; in captivity it can reach 20 years.
What does a wolf eat?
The wolf eats everything he can catch, and everyone who is weaker than him. These are: deer, elk, roe deer, wild boar, antelope. In addition to large animals, hares, gophers, and rodents play an important role in the diet of wolves. IN summer period They eat fish, birds, frogs, geese and ducks. They often return to the remains of their own uneaten prey, mainly in times of famine. Wolves do not disdain carrion.
A wolf is a hunter capable of defeating a beast ten times heavier than itself. His only weapon is his nose and sharp teeth. A lone wolf can only handle a small deer or sheep, but a pack can easily kill a half-ton elk or bison.
The wolf runs easily and quickly; at this rhythm it can cover 80 km in 24 hours.
Wolves breeding
Female wolves mature at 2 years of age, males become sexually mature at the age of 3 years. When new pairs are formed, fierce fights break out between the males, and the weaker opponent often dies. During mating, partners leave the pack and retire.
The gestation period is from 62 to 65 days, after which 5-9, 10-13 blind wolf cubs are born.
Wolves - caring parents and very smart animals. They take care of the cubs, and other wolves from the pack help the parents.
- Wolves attack humans extremely rarely, and in most cases, aggression is shown by animals infected with rabies.
We hope the information provided about the wolf helped you. And you can leave your report about the wolf through the comment form.
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 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 potential danger to 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. In the territory Russian Federation The most common species are common and tundra wolves. The Slavic word wolf goes back to Proto-Indo-European vocabulary.
The structure of a wolf's teeth - important characteristic, which 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 that perform main role when cutting 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 early summer fluff flakes 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 in accordance with their 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 rare cases, wolves have blue eyes for their entire 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 in several ways: the side fingers (index and little fingers) are more set back relative to the middle fingers (middle and ring fingers), if you draw a straight line from the tip of the little finger to the tip index finger then the back ends of the middle fingers will only slightly extend beyond this line, while 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.” The track of a seasoned wolf has a length of 9.5 - 10.5 cm, a width of 6-7 cm, a she-wolf - 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 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 had stood on hind legs, and pressed themselves against the tree trunks, grasping them with their front paws, so that it was extremely difficult to notice them from a helicopter.
Loading...
