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 The
gray wolf is the ancestor of the domestic dog. It is also
called the timber wolf. Gray wolves
look similar to German shepherds or malamutes. They usually have gray fur. But they can also have
white, red or black fur. They are 60-76 centimeters tall (shoulder height). Their bodies
are between 1.2-1.5 meters long.
Male wolves weigh on average 40 kilograms and
females generally weigh 36 kilograms.
Gray wolves are meat-eating animals. They
usually hunt at night and eat anything
they can find from small mammals to the huge elk! Sometimes they eat berries,
birds, beaver, fish, and even insects.
Gray wolves usually live, travel and hunt in packs of 4-7 members
on average. They develop close relationships. They often show deep affection for their family.
Gray wolves mate in the winter. About
9 weeks later, 4-7 pups are born. Pups are born
blind. Females in the pack help take care of the newborn pups for about 10
months. The young wolves can travel with the pack within 3 to 5 months. Gray
wolves can live up to 8 years in the wild.
They communicate with each other
through howling. Howling is used
to gather the pack and talk
to other packs. On a quiet night, their howls
can be heard from as far as 193
kilometers away!
 Gray wolves
were once common throughout all of North America.
However, many of them were killed by the mid 1930s. This was because
they were killing cattle and deer. So people believed
they should be hunted and killed.
Today, they are found in Alaska, Canada and the forested areas in the U.S.
There are about 2,500 gray wolves in America and about 10,000 in Alaska.
You can also see some of them in Middle East and Asia. |
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