This page will help you learn and understand the Grey Wolf. This will answer questions you have and you will learn different and interesting things about these magnificent animals. They are nice creatures and not killing beasts, as people may think. I hope that after you read this page you will share the love of Grey Wolves with me.  

•  The Common Name is Grey Wolf
•  The Scientific Class is Mammalia
•  The Scientific Genus is Canis and the species is lupis

•  Grey Wolves have thrived in many different biomes. The Biomes they live in are Temperate Forests, the Tundra, and the Taiga. They don't live in New Zealand or Australia, but their cousin the Dingo does! Many of the Grey Wolf's cousins live in Africa, like the African Wild Dog. The winters in the environment Grey Wolves live in are harsh, as food is scarce and there is extreme cold. They have adapted to the winters, as they have two coats of thick fur for different purposes. They have learned to burrow down into the snow for warmth and to lie down close to other wolves for body heat. Momma wolves build dens that keep her and her newborns warm. Wolves can also use their tail to keep warm, by tucking it over their face. 

• The Grey Wolf is the biggest of the dog family. They can weigh anywhere from a petite 35 pounds to a womping 132 pounds! They are usually around 32 inches tall at the shoulder. Females are generally smaller than the males. A Grey Wolf is about the size of a good-sized German Shepard, which is usually around 28 inches at the shoulder and weighing in at a little over 100 pounds. Wolves have two coats. The overcoat is made up of long hairs which acts as a weather barrier. The undercoat keeps them warm in the harshest of weather. Grey Wolves are endothermic which means they can generate their own body heat to keep them warm. Grey Wolves don't have to be grey. They can be grey, white, or black, like the one in this picture.

•     Grey Wolves live in packs. The packs can be anywhere from 7 members to 20 members. Grey Wolves find mates for life, so it's kind of like they get married! But if one of the mates die, the single wolf will have to find a new mate. The leaders of the pack are the Alpha male and the Alpha female. Female Grey Wolves are wonderful mothers, always watching out for her babies. Baby Grey Wolves are called pups. Wolves start mating when they are around 4 to 5 years old. The female is pregnant for around 9 weeks. She could have anywhere between 4 to 6 pups in one litter. But occasionally, she may have up to 10 pups! The normal weight for a newborn pup is around 1 pound and they are about 8 inches long. Baby wolves could not survive without their moms. But the mom isn't the only one who brings up the pups, as other wolves in the pack are very good "baby-sitters" and may bring the pups food, play with them, watch out for any danger, and teach them to hunt. Some of the related species are Dingoes and Fennecs. The picture on the left is a fennec and on the right a Dingo.

•  In order to survive the harsh winters of their environment, Grey Wolves can't be specific about what they eat. Grey Wolves are carnivores. Although Grey Wolves will eat many different foods, their main diet consists of large herbivores, like caribou, moose, elk, and deer. They will also eat rodents, like mink, mice, rats, and rabbits. Dead animals are also appealing to Grey Wolves. Most of these animals are not easy to catch, especially the large deer. Wolves hunt in large groups, so they have a better chance catching the animal. Wolves pick out their victim by chasing the herd of animals. They notice the ones that are falling behind the other animals, and they are usually old, sick, or a baby. Those animals are easier to catch and to kill, and they don't have to use as much energy. Wolves have what's called a pecking order. A pecking order is the order in which the wolves will eat what they have caught. The high-ranking wolves in the pack will eat first, like the alpha male and the alpha female. The low-ranking wolves, eat last, and don't get as much to eat. A Grey Wolf can eat 14 to 18 pounds of food at one time! Wolves catch little rodents by themselves by pouncing on the animal. Wolves kill big prey by jumping on the animals sides, rump, or neck biting it hard, then they bring it to the ground and complete the kill. Wolves don't need to worry about getting fat because they are always on go.

• Sometimes the pack aren't so successful. The animal might be too hard to catch and they can't do it. These big animals usually have big horns and sharp hooves so the Grey Wolf needs to watch out for those in order to escape injury. The Grey Wolf's defenses are sharp teeth, large and sharp claws, they are very fast, and they will also sometimes try to blend in with their surroundings to avoid a fight. A Grey Wolf can run as fast as a racehorse (about 35 to 40 miles per hour!) for short distances! They can steadily run 7 to 8 miles per hour for longer periods of time. Lucky for Grey Wolves, there are no animals that hunt them for food. This picture is of a pack of Grey Wolves hunting a Buffalo.

•  This is a food web of some of the things Grey Wolves eat and what other animals prey on the same animal. 

• Grey Wolves have a parasitism relationship with ticks. The ticks benifit because they drink the wolf's blood, but the tick can transfer harmful diseases to the wolf.

• Grey Wolves have a wide variety of ways to communicate with each other. They bark, growl, whine, and yelp to and at each other to send a message, and also they may urinate on the base of trees or bushes to mark their territory. Grey Wolves will also howl to keep contact from long distances, not howling at the moon! They use lots of body language. For example:

•  Putting their ears flat against their head and baring of the teeth means that I'm boss, NOT you, I'm mad, or This is MINE!

• Wagging of the tail means I'm happy!

• Laying down on their back and showing their stomach or bending down low means You're the boss, You win, or Look, I'm not a threat, don't hurt me!

   

• An interesting behavior is that Alpha males mark their territory.  They accomplish this by urinating on a bush or the base of a tree so another wolf can tell when, why, and by whom this message came from.

•   Grey Wolves have been on the Endangered Species List for a long time. They have been removed from this list but they are still protected and they are on the watch list. The reason they have been on the Endangered List before is because poachers have been hunting them for their fur and farmers have been killing them because they have been preying on their livestock.

                     My sources were:

                Books:

                      Wolves & Their Relatives by Erik D. Stoops and Dagmar Fertl, pgs. 1-11, 18-19, 22-23, 28-29, 31-39, 40-45, 49, 53, 56-60, and 70-79. The copyright date is 1997.

        Websites:

                  http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Canis_lupis.html and

                  http://wildanimalsonline.com/mammals/greywolf.php

                                    Thanks For Reading!!!