Wolf Biology

Canines, including wolves, foxes, coyotes, and – yes – Spot, have something special that enables them to live in the North: tough feet. If you marvel at Spot’s extended antics in the snow, you might also find the reasons behind his paws’ apparent invincibility equally fascinating. For, though dog feet are made to withstand the […]

Wriggling into the wolves’ underground den, I could make out several squirming wolf puppies curled up on top of one another. Outside, the pack’s howling and barking was escalating. Coming face to face with a half-dozen wolf puppies was the high point of a week-long project in early summer to document some of the work

Source: The Wolf / David Mech AGE SIGNIFICANT DEVELOPMENT DEVELOPMENT PERIOD GROWTH PERIOD APPROXIMATE WEIGHT(Lbs) Birth – Neonatal Maximal growth 0.5 – 1.0 11 – 15 days Eyes open Transition – 3.5 20 days Hearing begins Period of Socialization – 7.0 21 days First emergence from den – – – 35 Days Weaning – –

Lisa Matthews / Wolf Song of Alaska / Volunteer Almost all predators fall into one of two groups: either they are similar in size to their prey and can challenge it one-on-one, or they are smaller than their prey and therefore must hunt in groups. Wolves fit into the second category. They are a group

National Research Council Canada / June 9, 2004 Abstract: Vestigial first toes (dewclaws) on the hind legs are common in large dog (Canis lupus familiaris) breeds but are absent in wild canids, including wolves (Canis lupus). Based on observational criteria, dewclaws in wolves have been generally regarded as a clue of hybridization with dogs, although

Science Daily / Blackwell Publishing Ltd. / November 30, 2004 A new study undertaken by researchers at UCLA, Uppsala University and National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution and published in the journal Molecular Ecology, suggests that plans to reintroduce American gray wolves to the Western US will not restore the population to the near

Source: The Wolf Almanac / Robert H. Busch A subspecies is a group of individuals within a species that share a unique geographic area or habitat, unique physical characteristics, or a unique natural history. * indicates an extinct subspecies For decades, some biologists recognized twenty-four subspecies of the graywolf (Canis lupus) in North America:  (1) alces *: the

The gray wolf was classified as Canis lupus by the Swedish scientist Carl von Linne in 1758  Kingdom: Animalia (all animals) Phylum: Chordata (animals with notochords) Subphylum: Vertebrata (animals with a skeleton of bone or cartilage) Class: Mammalia (mammals) Subclass: Eutheria (placental mammals) Order: Carnivora (carnivores) Family: Canidae (dog family) Genus: Canis (dogs) Species: lupus