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Want to know more? Read on....
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Wolf facts and myths are hard to come by, I've done a good amount of research, and talked to a lot of people that have
been around and lived near wolves. Hopefully this information will enlighten you to how it really is.
Species of Wolves
Canis Lupus Lycaon - Eastern Timber Wolf inhabited the eastern portions of the United States and parts
of Southeastern Canada
Canis Lupus Baileyi - Mexican wolf thought to be extinct in the wild and all known alive are part of a
captive breeding program
Canis Lupus Arctos - Arctic Wolf of the high Arctic, mainly the arctic islands.
Canis Rufus
- Red Wolf inhabited the southeastern United States, all of these wolves are also in captivity in a breeding program
Extinct Species of Wolves
Canis Dirus - Dire Wolf
Canis Edwardii
- Edward's Wolf
Canis Lupus Alces - Kenai Peninsula Wolf
Canis Lupus Beothucus - Newfoundland Wolf
Canis Lupus Bernardi - Banks Island Tundra Wolf
Canis Lupus Fuscus - Cascade Mountain Wolf
Canis Lupus Irremotus - Northern Rocky Mountain Wolf
Canis Lupus Mogollonensis - Arizona Wolf
Canis Lupus Monstrabilis - Texas Grey Wolf
Canis Lupus Youngi - Southern Rocky Mountain Wolf
Canis Lupus Nubilus - Great Plains or Buffalo Wolf
A few definitions to help you along:
Alpha Male: Lead male of a wolf pack - this is the guy that runs things
Alpha Female: Lead female of a wolf
pack - the woman behind the guy that runs things
Carnivore: An animal that feeds mainly on meat
Endangered: Faced with the danger of extinction - see
below
Extinct: No single animal of a certain type is alive - gone from the Earth forever
Habitat: Place where a plant, animal or mineral lives
in nature
Howl: Form of communication between wolves and some dogs
Litter: Group of baby animals born of the same mother at one time
Omnivore: An animal that
eats both plant matter and meat - what most people don't know is that wolves eat both grass and berries, but subside on meat
Pack: Group of animals
(usually canines) that run, hunt, live and have fun together
Predator: An animal that lives by hunting and eating other animals
Prey: An animal hunted for food
Threatened: Population
of a certain species is being reduced
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In North American there are no verified reports of a healthy
wolf attacking and killing a human. In Alaska, there are non-reported wolf attacks in smaller remote villages where the people
live near wolves.
A fact that most people don't know is that they have more of a chance of being struck by lightening than being attacked by a wolf!
The few serious injuries that have occurred were due to the wolf being desensitized
to humans BY humans. What I mean by this is people try to feed, pet and get closer to wild wolves and
this makes the wolf LESS WILD and less fearful of humans. This applies to any wild animal.
Wolves are shy,
calm, social creatures that mate for life and are extremely devoted and protective of their family (or pack).
Wolves
LOVE puppies, and in fact when pups are around the adult wolves play just as much as the puppies do!
There
are 6000-8000 wolves currently in Alaska!
The wolf popluation is dependant on the prey population, when there is less
prey, there will be less wolves. It is impossible for the wolf population to hunt its' prey to extinction, otherwise they
would be causing their own species to become extinct.
The mortality rate of wolves in Alaska is only 10% by human hand.
Most wolves are killed by other wolves, their prey (swift kick by a moose), disease, avalanches and other things that can
happen in the wild.
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