Species

Canis Lupus

Albus - Grey Wolf Arabs - Arabian Wolf Arctos - Grey Wolf Baileyi- Mexican Wolf Campestra - Asian Grey Wolf Chanco Mongolian - Grey Wolf Columbianus - Grey Wolf Hudsonicus - Grey Wolf Lupus - European Grey Wolf

Lycaon - Grey Wolf Nubilus - Plains Grey Wolf Occidentalis - Grey Wolf Pallipes - Indian Grey Wolf Pambasileus - Grey Wolf Signatus - Spanish Wolf Tundram - Tundra Wolf Canis Rufus - Red Wolf Rufus Gregoryi - Louisiana Red Wolf

Diefenbaker: The Information Wolf Simply run your mouse over the topics below, and Dief will be happy to explain some things about his fellow wolves. Don't fear, he won't bite, but he will only talk to those who have java enabled on their terminals. Come on, don't be shy... Wolf Fur Wolf Scent Wolf Movement Wolf Territoriality Wolf Communication

Size

Average Length: 120 to 200 cm, from nose to tail tip.
Can grow up to 230-240 cm.

Average Weight: Between 20 to 80 kg, male and 18 to 55, female.
Average wolves weight 35-45 kg.

Color

Average wolves have grey fur with small patches of white, black, yellow and brown hairs mixed in. Fur color varies from totally white, like the polar wolf, to completely black, like some timber wolves. Wolves' fur color can alos be grey, black, brown, white, yellow and red. But wolves found in the same area usually have similar colored fur.

Wolf Society

The wolf's social system is based on a dominance order, there are two separate dominance orders within each pack, a male order and a female order. If animal A is dominant to B, and B is dominant to C, then A is also dominant to C. There are few equals. The highest-ranking male is referred to as the "alpha male," and the top female is the "alpha female."
Besides the alpha pair, there may be three other classes of wolves in well-established packs:
1 - mature subordinate animals,
2 - "outcasts" or "peripheral" wolves, which rank so low that they avoid the main pack members and stay near the fringes of the pack's social center, and
3 - juveniles, which do not become part of the pack nucleus until their second year of age.
A wolf's social status may be established early in life. Pups begin "play fighting" with littermates when about three weeks old. In domestic dogs, and probably wolves too, this activity eventually results in the formation of an order of dominance among the littermates, the heaviest pups usually having the greatest advantage. However, under certain conditions, social status can be determined in wolf pups as early as their thirtieth day of life after several days of serious fighting.
Dominance orders cross sexual lines in immature animals and do not divide into male and female orders until sexual maturity. Even then, the alpha female may continue to dominate most of the males.
The older a pack is, the more stable its social structure probably becomes, for as more and more pups mature under a particular alpha male, the status of this male increases and becomes more secure. Presumably, then, when the alpha male dies, or grows too old or weak to keep his status, the resulting competition for the alpha position may disrupt the social stability of the pack. Since the new pack leader would have no history of "allegiance" from the other members, he may not be able to hold the whole pack together. this could cause the breakup of a large pack an may be important in the formation of new packs.
The dominance shown by the alpha animals and other high-ranking wolves can be described as a kind of forceful initiative. When a situation does not require initiative, dominance may not be shown; for example, when a pack is resting. However, when food, favored space, mates, strange wolves, or other stimuli are present, initive can be seen in the actions of the dominant animals.

Wolf Pack Communication

Just as there can be no order within the pack without communication among members, so too there can be no order within the wolf population without communication among packs. For example, there could be no territories-whether they are spatial or spatial-temporal - If each pack did not know where neighboring packs traveled and when they were in particular areas. However, the range of individual packs is often one hundred square miles or more, so obviously it is not merely the presence of a pack that discourages neighboring packs from using its territory. Some types of communication covering long ranges or lasting for long periods would be necessary to advertise a pack's use of an area. Scent marking. The sense of smell could be very useful in maintaining a territory, and the puzzling phenomenon of scent marking could serve this function. Scent marking was defined by Devra Kleiman in 1966, as "urination, defaecation, or rubbing of certain areas of the body which is:
1 - oriented to specific novel objects,
2 - elicited by familiar conspicuous landmarks and novel objects or odours, and
3 - repeated frequently on the same object."
In wolves, both urination and body rubbing meet these qualifications as methods of scent marking. Vocal communication. Besides the sense of smell, the only other sense that might serve in communication between packs is hearing. In this respect, several findings by Ontario biologist are important. Pimlott reported in 1960 that wolves often replied to recordings of howling broadcast near them. Since then, Joslin received replies in 13% of 476 trials, a high rate considering that during many trials there may have been no wolves within hearing distance. Under good conditions, Joslin often had a 50% success in receiving responses. Several other people have also reported that wolves will reply to recorded howls, human imitations, and even fire sirens.

Wolf Links

Alpha Wolf Domain
Wolf Park
Wonders of the Wolf
WolfPicture Index
Wolf Haven International
Freedom of Wolves

Webring

Information on this page - Copyright 1996, 97, 98 Jeff Lockerman