Interesting Facts About Wolf

Being the largest member of the canine family, wolves are the ancestors of our domestic dog. An animal  that resembles malamutes or German shepherds, grey wolves are the most common and found in a wide variety of colours such as grizzled grey, black and all-white, all over the Northern Hemisphere. We, humans, consider them as legendary, thanks to their spine-chilling howl that have come to be a portentous omen now. However, humans and wolves have a long adversarial history. Though they never attack human beings, they are notorious for being one of the scariest natural villains. Countless numbers of wolves have been shot and trapped, as they are known to attack domestic animals. In the present age, the greatest threat that wolves face is the fear and misunderstanding, which human beings have about them. Many myths and fairy tales have demonstrated them as dangerous and wicked creatures.

Fast Facts

Scientific Name: Canis Lupus
Type: Mammal
Diet: Carnivores
Size: Head and body – 36 to 63 in (91 to 160 cm); Tail – 13 to 20 in (33 to 51 cm)
Weight: 40 to 175 lbs (18 to 79 kg)
Group Name: Pack
Lifespan: 6 to 8 years
Habitat: Forest, swampy areas, deserts, Arctic areas and tundra
Sexual Maturity: 1 year for females, 2 years for males
Gestation Period: 63 days
Number Of Offspring: 4-7 pups

Interesting And Fun Facts About Wolf

• Wolves possess huge feet with the average being 4 inches wide and 5 inches long. Wolves have 42 teeth.
• Though their average lifespan is 6 to 8 years, they can live up to 16 years in captivity.
• Most of the wolf pups are born with bluish eyes, it gradually changes into a yellow gold color once they reach 8 to 16 weeks or in the much later stages. In some cases a mature wolf also has blue eyes.
• A wolf can run up to 35 miles in an hour for a short period.  This can continue for 20 minutes though they move at a slow pace of 5 miles an hour for most of the time.
• A wolf’s sense of smell is 100 times stronger that of human beings.
• Similar to other canines, wolves shed their coats during summer when the temperature is warm.
• Wolves live in packs, which consist of 20 members. In the group, there is a separate ranking for males and females.
• Approximately 1/3 of the life of a wolf is spent moving around their home range territory. They can roam up to 125 miles in a day.
• The two packs of wolves that mate are alpha male and beta female.
• The whole pack takes care of their young ones. The pups usually weigh only one pound each during birth and stay with their mothers for the first four weeks of life.
• Wolves are the only canines, which mate once in a year instead of twice. Once a pair mates, they will continue to be pairs until one of them dies. In many cases, the pair will live together for many years, thus giving birth to a litter every year.
• Young wolves will go for hunts with their adults when they reach about three months old though they will not be directly involved in taking the prey. It is a learning period, which enables them to eat on their own in the kill site instead of food being given to them.
• Wolves live, travel and hunt with their group with alpha and beta being the pack leaders. They display deep affection for their family, as they are ready to protect themselves for the family.
• The communication system of wolves is very complex with barks, whines, growls and howls.
• A single wolf howls to draw the attention of his pack, while communal howls send protective messages from one pack to another.
• A wolf has a wide range of colours from pure white, brown, gray, black and cinnamon.
• The most common reason of death of wolves is quarrel with people over livestock losses and human infringement into its territory, which results in habitat loss for them.