Gray Wolf

Gray Wolf

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/g/gray-wolf/

Taxonomy Rank

Kingdom         :Animalia

Phylum            :Chordata

Class                :Mammalia

Order               :Carnivora

Family             :Canidae

Genus              :Canis

Species            :C. lupus

Anatomy:

  1.Weight

     Male: 80-110 lbs.

     Female: 60-80 lbs.

  2.Height

     26 to 32 inches.

  3.Length

     Male: 5-6.5 feet (nose to tip of tail).

     Female: 4.5 to 6 feet.

Habitat : Arctic tundra, Forest, Prairie, and deserts.

Diet : Carnivore.Wolf can consume up to 9 kg of meat at one meal.

Life Cycle :

Lifespan: 7-8 years in the wild. 12 years or more in remote or protected areas.

Mating Season: January or February.

Gestation: 63 days.

Litter size: 4-7 pups.

Habit:

1.Travel and hunt in packs of 7 to 8 animals on average.

2.Travel in search of prey through their power of scent, chance encounter, and tracking.

3.Gray wolves howl to assemble the pack (usually before and after hunts), to pass on an alarm (particularly at a den site), to locate each other during a storm or unfamiliar territory and to communicate across great distances.

 

            The wolf (Canis lupus), also known as the gray wolf, timber wolf, western wolf, and its other subspecies is a canine native to the wilderness and remote areas of Eurasia and North America. It is the largest extant member of its family, with males averaging 43–45 kg (95–99 lb) and females 36–38.5 kg (79–85 lb). Like the red wolf, it is distinguished from other Canis species by its larger size and less pointed features, particularly on the ears and muzzle. Its winter fur is long and bushy and predominantly a mottled gray in color, although nearly pure white, red, and brown to black also occur. Mammal Species of the World (3rd ed., 2005), a standard reference work in zoology, recognises 38 subspecies of C. lupus.

            The gray wolf is the largest extant member of the Canidae, excepting certain large breeds of domestic dog. Gray wolf weight and size can vary greatly worldwide, tending to increase proportionally with latitude as predicted by Bergmann's Rule, with the large wolves of Alaska and Canada sometimes weighing 3–6 times more than their Middle Eastern and South Asian cousins. On average, adult wolves measure 105–160 cm (41–63 in) in length and 80–85 cm (31–33 in) in shoulder height. The tail measures 29–50 cm (11–20 in) in length. The ears are 90–110 mm (3.5–4.3 in) in height, and the hind feet are 220–250 mm (8.7–9.8 in). The mean body mass of the extant gray wolf is 40 kg (88 lb), with the smallest specimen recorded at 12 kg (26 lb) and the largest at 79.4 kg (175 lb). Gray wolf weight varies geographically; on average, European wolves may weigh 38.5 kg (85 lb), North American wolves 36 kg (79 lb) and Indian and Arabian wolves 25 kg (55 lb). Females in any given wolf population typically weigh 5–10 lb (2.3–4.5 kg) less than males. Wolves weighing over 54 kg (119 lb) are uncommon, though exceptionally large individuals have been recorded in Alaska, Canada, and the forests of western Russia. The heaviest recorded gray wolf in North America was killed on 70 Mile River in east-central Alaska on July 12, 1939 and weighed 79.4 kg (175 lb).

https://www.thoughtco.com/profile-of-the-gray-wolf-1203621

             The gray wolf is a habitat generalist, and can occur in deserts, grasslands, forests and arctic tundras. Habitat use by gray wolves is strongly correlated with the abundance of prey, snow conditions, absence or low livestock densities, road densities, human presence and topography. In cold climates, the gray wolf can reduce the flow of blood near its skin to conserve body heat. Gray wolves use different places for their diurnal rest: places with cover are preferred during cold, damp and windy weather, while wolves in dry, calm and warm weather readily rest in the open. During the autumn-spring period, when wolves are more active, they willingly lie out in the open, whatever their location. Actual dens are usually constructed for pups during the summer period. When building dens, females make use of natural shelters such as fissures in rocks, cliffs overhanging riverbanks and holes thickly covered by vegetation.

https://www.livingwithwolves.org/how-wolves-hunt/

              Gray wolves are carnivorous they primarily eat meat. Wolves often hunt in packs for large prey such as deer, moose, sheep, goats, caribou, elk, bison, and muskox. Wolves also will prey on rodents, beavers, fish, and birds.

https://www.kqed.org/news/11757248/wolf-pups-emerge-from-den-at-oakland-zoo

           Breeding season occurs once a year late January through March. Pups are born blind and defenseless. The pack cares for the pups until they fully mature at about 10 months of age when they can hunt on their own. Once grown, young wolves may disperse. Dispersing wolves have been known to travel 50 to 500 miles.

Mating Season: January or February.

Gestation: 63 days

Litter size: 4-7 pups

https://www.ncwlife.com/wdfw-kills-remaining-members-of-opt-wolf-pack/

           Wolves live, travel and hunt in packs of 7 to 8 animals on average. Packs include the mother and father wolves (called the alphas), their pups and older offspring. The alpha female and male are typically the pack leaders that track and hunt prey, choose den sites and establish the pack's territory. Wolves develop strong social bonds within their packs.   Wolves have a complex communication system ranging from barks and whines to growls and howls. While they don't actually howl at the moon, they are more active at dawn and dusk, and they do howl more when it's lighter at night, which occurs more often when the moon is full.

Power Point 

Source : - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolf

              - https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Canis_lupus/