The wolf is thought to be an ice age survivor, dating wolves around 300,000 years ago. The wolf is accepted to be the ancestor of the domestic dog as the wolf
is thought to have selectively bred in order to breed appealing traits
typical of puppies and to eliminate the not so appealing traits of adult
wolves. The grey wolf is a highly adaptive animal found in all kinds of
terrain. Wolves inhabit forests, deserts, mountains, tundras,
grasslands and even urban areas with the wolf being a particularly dominant and ruthless predator within it's environment. They vary in color from pure white to pure black and every shade of brown and gray in between.
The wolf lives to be approximately 10 years old in the wild. Wolves live in packs that generally consist of the alpha male wolf,
his mate the alpha female, and their offspring of various ages. Other
wolves may also join, but it is the parents that are the leaders. The wolf has no real natural predators; their biggest threat is other wolf packs on adjacent territories. The wolf has been known to live up to 20 years old in captivity. Wolves are carnivorous animals and
generally hunt large animals but wolves will also hunt smaller animals
if they are need of their daily meal.
Wolves have a layer of thick fur
which is particularly needed for those wolves that inhabit areas of the
Arctic circle where it can be extremely cold. It is during the winter
months in these areas that calories are most critical . Larger animals
such as elk and deer suffer greatly from the cold and lack of food to
eat and it is during this time that the prey of the wolf is at its
slowest and therefore is easier to catch. Wolves are considered to be an
endangered species today as wolves have been widely exterminated from
their former ranges by hunting, poisoning, and trapping to procure their
fur and to protect livestock.
Wolves tend to mate in late winter to early spring and the wolf cubs are born are born a couple of months later when the weather is warmer and prey is abundant. The wolf cubs then have the rest of the year to grow stronger in order to be able to survive their first cold winter. Wolf cubs stay with their mother in the wolf pack with the male wolf cubs often leaving to form a pack of their own. Wolves can interbreed freely with dogs, redwolves, coyotes, and jackals to
produce fertile offspring. Source
0 comments:
Post a Comment