Conservation concern
The wolf's biggest enemy is man. For many centuries, wolves have been trapped, shot and poisoned because people fear that wolves presented a danger to cattle and sheep. Sometimes they were killed for their fur. Wolves have been virtually exterminated from the continental United States and western Europe, although a few survive in Spain, northern Scandinavia and Italy.
Wolves seldom attack humans, in fact very few records of them doing so exist. As long as there is plenty of natural prey, wolves prefer not to attack domestic livestock.
WWF is exploring ways to strengthen wolf populations in Europe, for example by helping wolves spread into suitable remote areas from areas where they already exist.
© WWF-Canon / Chris Martin BAHR
Grey wolf (Canis lupus).
Dogs' ancestors
Flesh eating mammals (Carnivores)Class: Mammalia (mammal)
Order: Carnivora (meat-eating mammals)
Family: Canidae (dogs)
The wolf is the ancestor of the domestic dog but instead of barking, it howls. Only wolf pups make a high-pitched bark.
There are 2 species of wolf - the timber or grey wolf and the red wolf. The timber wolf has a number of subspecies found in the wilder parts of Europe, northern Asia and India, and North America. Red wolves are very rare and are found in the south-eastern United States. Wolves live in open country and in forests.
The timber wolf is 120 to 200 cm from nose to tip of tail. It is about 70-80 cm tall and weighs between 20 and 60 kg. Timber wolves that live in northern regions tend to be much heavier than those found further south.
A timber wolf has strong jaws with sharp canine and carnassial (cheek) teeth for tearing and chewing meat.
Timber wolves vary in colour according to the region they live in. European wolves are grey to greyish brown with some reddish hair on the back. The legs may be paler in colour. On the Arctic coast of Alaska and western Canada, wolves are a mixture of white and grey.
The timber wolf has long, slender legs. It can maintain a steady pace of about 8 kph over long distances.
Hunting in packs
The timber wolf is an intelligent and courageous hunter. Wolves may hunt alone, but usually they hunt in a family pack of 3 to as many as 30 wolves. The pack is led by an ‘alpha’ male and female, and the rest of the pack is usually made up of their grown-up pups.
Each pack has a hunting territory which they defend from other wolves. Male wolves mark the boundaries of their territories by urinating on bushes or rocks. This behaviour is similar to that of domestic dogs.
Hunting in packs helps wolves kill large animals such as moose or elk. They are good swimmers and when necessary pursue their prey into water.
Timber wolves display remarkable team spirit and cooperation during a hunt. So perfectly is the hunt executed that the pack acts like a single animal.
A big appetite
The timber wolf can eat a lot of meat at one meal and then go without food for a considerable time. Though it does eat large animals like caribou (reindeer), musk oxen, deer and moose, most of its diet consists of of small animals like mice, rabbits and squirrels. It also eats fish, crabs and dead animals (carrion).
Family life
Wolves generally pair for life. Mating takes place in late winter or early spring. Pups are born 2 months later. Before their birth, the she-wolf chooses a den site in a thicket or amongst rocks and lines her den with dead leaves, moss and hair from her belly.
The litter has 4-6 pups. Born blind, their eyes open 5 to 9 days later. The mother wolf takes great care of her young ones, sometimes carrying them in her mouth. They are suckled for 8 weeks, during which time they also eat half-digested food regurgitated (vomited) by the mother and other members of the pack.
The family stays together for some time while the parents teach the pups hunting skills. In about a year, the cubs reach adulthood, but may stay with the pack for longer.