w o l f   f a c t s

This page may be pieced together, but I think it serves its purpose.

Another great page for facts.

Heights, Lengths, and Weights

Length: 5.0-5.5 feet long (including 15-19 inch tail)

Height: 2.5 feet high

Weight: 50-100 pounds/average for adult males is 75 pounds, average for adult females is 60 pounds. Many dogs are bred to be larger than this, I'm sure you can guess why.

Colors

Any, though it depends on the subspecies. Varies from most commonly timber wolf gray, white, or black to arctic white, silver, or sometimes black, to Red wolf tan, red, golden, etc. and don't even get started on foxes and dingos. Almost any color is accepatible.

Genders

Just so you know, in real life most wolves become sexually active at two years old. You can breed them earlier, but it's not recommended.

Dog [A male canine two years old or older.]

Bitch [A female canine two years old or older.]

Yearling [A canine at one year of age.]

Pup [A canine from birth to one year old.]

Random Facts:

Timber wolves, also called gray wolves, are the largest wild members of the dog family. Males are usually bigger than females. Timber wolves have silvery gray-brown backs, light tan underparts, and bushy tails. In winter, their fur becomes darker on the neck, shoulders, and rump.

Wolves are social animals, living in a family group, or pack. A pack usually has six to ten animals: a dominant ("Alpha") male and female (the breeding pair), pups from the previous year (yearlings) and the current year's pups. Additional subordinate adults may join the pack upon occasion. The dominant pair is in charge of the pack, raising the young, selecting denning and rendezvous sites, capturing food and maintaining the territory.

A wolf that trespasses in another pack's territory risks being killed by that pack. It knows where its territory ends and another begins by smelling scent messages - urine and feces - left by other wolves. In addition, wolves announce their territory by howling. Howling also helps identify and reunite individuals that are scattered over their large territory.

How does a non-breeding wolf attain dominant, or breeding status? It can stay with its natal pack, "bide" its time and work its way up the dominance heirarchy. Or it can "disperse," leaving the pack to find a mate and a vacant area in which to start its own pack. Both strategies involve risk. A bider may be out-competed by another wolf and never achieve dominance. Dispersers usually leave the pack in autumn, during hunting and trapping season. Dispersers must be alert to entering other wolf packs' territories, and they must keep a constant vigil to avoid encounters with people, their major enemy.

Timber wolves are carnivores feeding on other animals. A study in the early 1980's showed that the diet of Wisconsin wolves was comprised of 55% white-tailed deer, 16% beavers, 10% snowshoe hares and 19% mice, squirrels, muskrats and other small mammals. Wolves' food habits change with seasonal shifts in the availability of prey species.

In each pack, the dominant male and female are usually the only ones to breed. They prevent subordinate adults from mating by physically harassing them. Thus, a pack generally produces only one litter each year, averaging five to six pups.

Tail and body posture pictures:

http://www.timberwolfinformation.org/infodirectory/index.cfm?id=8&type=2#tail

The wolf (Canis lupus ) Order: Carnivore, Family: Canidae

There are two species of the wolf in North America, the Gray Wolf (Canis lupus ) and the Red Wolf (Canis rufus )

The wolf is the largest in the wild canine family

In addition to the wolf (Canis lupus ), the genus Canis also contains the domestic dog, the coyote, the golden jackal, the black backed jackal, the side-striped jackal and the dingo

Three (3) geographic races of the red wolf have been recognized; the Florida Red Wolf, The Mississippi Red Wolf and the Texas Red Wolf

Wolves are often confused with Indian dogs, huskies, malemutes and German Shepherd Dogs

Arctic tundra, taiga, plains or steppes, savannahs, hardwood, softwood and mixed forest were all originally inhabited by the wolf

The wolf has 42 teeth

The wolf has rounded ears

The wolf has a broad heavy muzzle

The wolf has extremely powerful jaws capable of generating 1,500 psi pressure

The wolf has one of the widest ranges of size, shape and color of any mammal in North America

Wolves have a vast communication repertoire including scent marks, vocalizations, visual displays, facial and body postures and rituals

Wolves communicate with each other more by harmony and integration rather than by aggression and submission

Wolves are territorial and defend their territory through vocalizations and scent marking

If necessary, wolves will attack other wolf intruders to protect their territory

In North America there are 10 recognized sub-species of the wolf

Predation is not violence, it is the act of obtaining food for survival

The wolf is an ultimate predator at the top of the food chain

The wolf is designed for running, catching and killing large animals

The wolf is opportunistic and will attempt to catch the easiest and most vulnerable animal

The wolf can kill healthy animals but naturally seeks out the sick, the weak, crippled, old and young animals

The wolf primarily travels at a 5 mile per hour trot

In chases, the wolf can achieve estimated speeds of between 28 and 40 miles per hour for up to 20 minutes

Wolves are vulnerable to skull injury from kicking prey

The canine teeth "interlock" so the wolf can grip and hang on to struggling prey

The back teeth, or carnassial molars, are designed to crush bones and shear meat

The wolf uses facial display in ritual aggression, dominance, submission or fear

The color of a wolf's pelt can be anywhere from white to black

The wolf uses its hair to communicate anger, dominance and aggression

The wolf's sense of smell is more than 100 times greater than a human

A wolf 'scent rolls' to promote interaction with other pack members

Dominance in a wolf pack is not necessarily established by brawn or direct attack

A wolf 'scent marks' its home range. This serves as messages, and provides warnings

The hierarchy in a wolf pack neutralizes aggression, reduces conflict and promotes social order

Change of rank in a wolf pack is more frequent in lower rank positions

Wolf pups, while low in hierarchy, have many privileges and social freedom

In the winter, the wolf's tail helps keep the face warm

Wolves breed only once a year; most dogs breed twice

Wolves howl to greet one another, to indicate their location, to define their territorial boundaries, and to call the pack together

Wolves can trot at five to ten miles per hour almost indefinitely

A wolf may spend as much as a third of its time on the move

The wolf is generally a docile animal with a strong aversion to fighting

Submissive behavior plays a big role in maintaining peace within the pack

A wolf's front feet are larger than their back feet

In addition to howling, wolves bark, yap, whine, and growl

All members of a wolf pack take part in caring for the young

Wolves use direct scenting, chance encounter, and tracking to locate prey

In scenting an animal, wolves must usually be downwind of the prey

Wolves are active at all times of the day in winter

Wolves actually have a low hunting success rate

To catch enough food, wolves must hunt often and test many animals before finding one that they can catch and kill

Most packs contain less than eight members

Strong bonds are needed to hold a pack together; if there were no bonds, each wolf would go its separate way

Most packs include a pair of breeding adults, pups, and extra adults

Ambushing is used by both single wolves and by packs

The basic unit of wolf society is the pack

The wolf's front teeth are sharp and pointed and adapted to puncturing, slashing, and clinging

The wolf's pointed premolars and molars are useful for tearing and shearing once the prey has been killed

The wolf's massive rear molars aid in cracking and crushing bones

The wolf does little chewing

A wolf can consume almost twenty pounds of prey at a feeding

Wolves can maintain a chase for at least twenty minutes

The wolf feeds almost exclusively on flesh, bones, and other animal matter

Wolves possess upwards of two hundred million olfactory cells

A wolf's tail hangs while the tail of the dog tends to be held high and is often curly.