RED WOLF -- GREY WOLF

RED WOLF

RED WOLF PUPS  
BRED AT A CONSERVATION

Wolves are put into two species. The red and grey wolf. The red wolf was extinct in the wild by 1980 but reintroduce into the American Smoky Mountains in 1991. They may not be the pure-blood red wolf but the scientists tried to get as closed as possible.

GREY WOLF

The grey wolf is the largest. It is also under threat mainly from man and another threat is the loss of habitat. However, it is still found in wild places in Canada, Russia, northern USA, Asia and some isolated parts of Western Europe. They tried to re-introduce the wolf in the Bavarian Alps, Germany but a child was attacked and the plan was abandoned.

They were once found right across the northern hemisphere which is an enormous aerial. Since the wolf is a powerful predator it received a bad reputation. Also the myth and folklore did not help from not being hunted.

There are other species which derived from the two species. The timber wolf, Arctic wolf and Iberian wolf are just but a few of many sub-species.

They are social animals and live in a pack of seven up to twenty members. Each pack has a breeding pair. The male dog is very strong and dominant and a female. The pack do have a very strict social order, rang and relationship. Any laps will be reinforced by facial expression and posture.

The size of territory depends on food supply. It can reach from a small area of 100sq km to a very big area of near enough or even over a 1000sq km. Once established the territory is marked with urine. Any outsider tries to move in will be attacked furiously and if he or she does retread can end up dead or severely injured. The established territory can also be known to others packs by mournful howl and mostly the whole pack tunes in, which makes it a haunting chorus.

Their diet ranges from berries, beavers, lizards, hares, marmots, and deer. In the region of North America their prey is white-tailed and mule deer, caribou, wapiti and moose. In the tundra they follow the caribou, reindeer and saiga antelope. Therefore they are nomadic and do not have an established territory there. In the Abruzzi, Italy the wolf is solitary, apart from the mating time, and scrapes out food from garbage and catches some farm animals.

They give birth to about four to seven pups in a den in late winter. The pups are blind at birth. When they grow up, some wolves leave and try to find new territories. Others stay as helpers.

Wolves hunt in a pack and attack the victim by slashing its back end. Some of the pack will attack it from the front at the same time. When the victim falls or stops one wolf grabs its nose. They do not give a killer blow like the big cats. Once on the ground the pack moves in and starts eating. Their eating habits are to swallow big chunks and can eat as much as 10kg at one time. When they have a baby-sitting female they will carry back some food. They also regurgitate food for the youngsters.

They can pick-up a scent of caribou, deer or moose from more than a couple of kilometres away and will have their kill and feast.