WolfFAQ

Shadows softly dancing
Silhouettes the moon
Heart is full of passion
Spirits gift resume

Gentle winds are blowing
Earth and wind combined
Love is gently calling
Spirit now designed

Hearts that speak of passion
Heard in gentle breeze
Softly humming whispers
Spirit now appeased

Earth and wind desires
Expressed in quiet thoughts
Soul of heart's compassion
Love to all is sought

Height of stars above now
Coming down to seek
Rapture in the rhythm
Dancing wind's mystique

Forever love is written
Like softness in the sky
Brightly it enhances
Spirits as they fly.

~ Francine Pucillo ~
Šused with permission
Read more of her poetry here.

SOME QUICK WOLF FACTS

(1) The wolf (Canis lupus ) Order: Carnivore, Family: Canidae

(2) The wolf is the largest in the wild canine family

(3) The coyote evolved separately from the wolf over 500,000 years ago

(4) The wolf has 42 teeth

(5) The wolf has rounded ears

(6) The wolf has a broad heavy muzzle

(7) The wolf has extremely powerful jaws capable of generating 1,500 psi pressure

(8) The wolf has one of the widest ranges of size, shape and color of any mammal in North America

(9) The wolf lives in a pack, family oriented social structure

10) Mating season for the wolf occurs in February and March.

11) The gestation period for the wolf is 63 days

(12) Wolf pups are born in April and May

(13) The average litter size for the wolf is 4 to 7 pups

(14) Litter size for the wolf depends on nutrition factors as well as fitness of the female

(15) Mortality rates for wolf pups can be as high as 50%

(16) Wolves have a vast communication repertoire including scent marks, vocalizations, visual displays, facial and body postures and rituals

(17) Wolves communicate with each other more by harmony and integration rather than by aggression and submission

(18) Wolves are territorial and defend their territory through vocalizations and scent marking

(19) If necessary, wolves will attack other wolf intruders to protect their territory

(20) There are two species of the wolf in North America, the Gray Wolf (Canis lupus ) and the Red Wolf (Canis rufus )

(21) In North America there are 10 recognized sub-species of the wolf

(22) The main threat to wolf populations is loss of habitat

(23) Predation is not violence, it is the act of obtaining food for survival

(24) The wolf is an ultimate predator at the top of the food chain

(25) The wolf is designed for running, catching and killing large animals

(26) The wolf is opportunistic and will attempt to catch the easiest and most vulnerable animal

(27) The wolf can kill healthy animals but naturally seeks out the sick, the weak, crippled, old and young animals

(28) The wolf primarily travels at a 5 mile per hour trot

(29) In chases, the wolf can achieve estimated speeds of between 28 and 40 miles per hour for up to 20 minutes

(30) Radio tracking wolves has been used in wildlife research since 1963

(31) Wolves are vulnerable to skull injury from kicking prey

(32) The canine teeth "interlock" so the wolf can grip and hang on to struggling prey

(33) The back teeth, or carnassial molars, are designed to crush bones and shear meat

(34) The wolf uses facial display in ritual aggression, dominance, submission or fear

(35) The wolf has 2 types of hair, "Guards and "Undercoat"

(36) The hair of the wolf is shed in the spring and summer and sheds out in sheets unlike most dogs

(37) The color of a wolf's pelt can be anywhere from white to black

(38) The wolf uses its hair to communicate anger, dominance and aggression

(39) The wolf's sense of smell is more than 100 times greater than a human

(40) A wolf 'scent rolls' to promote interaction with other pack members

(41) Dominance in a wolf pack is not necessarily established by brawn or direct attack

(42) A wolf 'scent marks' its home range. This serves as messages, and provides warnings

(43) The hierarchy in a wolf pack neutralizes aggression, reduces conflict and promotes social order

(44) There are two hierarchies in a wolf pack, one for females and one for males

(45) Change of rank in a wolf pack is more frequent in lower rank positions

(46) Wolf pups, while low in hierarchy, have many privileges and social freedom

(47) 'Ethology' is the study of animal behavior as a scientific counterpart to human psychology

(48) The "Alpha" wolf is the highest ranking individual within the dominance hierarchy

(49) "You just can't let nature run wild" by Alaska Governor Walter J. Hickel

(50) The "beta" wolf is the second ranking individual within the dominance hierarchy

(51) The "omega" wolf is the lowest ranking individual within the dominance hierarchy

(52) In the winter, the wolf's tail helps keep the face warm

(53) Wolves breed only once a year; most dogs breed twice

(54) In addition to the wolf (Canis lupus ), the genus Canis also contains the domestic dog, the coyote, the golden jackal, the black backed jackal, the side-striped jackal and the dingo

(55) Three (3) geographic races of the red wolf have been recognized; the Florida Red Wolf, The Mississippi Red Wolf and the Texas Red Wolf

(56) Wolves are often confused with Indian dogs, huskies, malemutes and German Shepherd Dogs

(57) Arctic tundra, taiga, plains or steppes, savannahs, hardwood, softwood and mixed forest were all originally inhabited by the wolf

(58) Adult male wolves average ninety-five to one hundred pounds and females about fifteen pounds less

(59) Wolves howl to greet one another, to indicate their location, to define their territorial boundaries, and to call the pack together

(60) Wolves can trot at five to ten miles per hour almost indefinitely

(61) A wolf may spend as much as a third of its time on the move

(62) The wolf is generally a docile animal with a strong aversion to fighting

(63) Submissive behavior plays a big role in maintaining peace within the pack

(64) A wolf's front feet are larger than their back feet

(65) Packs hunt in territories of up to 600 square miles

(66) A pack's home range will sometimes overlap the territory of another pack

(67) In addition to howling, wolves bark, yap, whine, and growl

(68) Litters of up to 14 pups are born in April through June

(69) Pups emerge from the den at about one month of age

(70) All members of a wolf pack take part in caring for the young

(71) When pack members return from the hunt and they are nipped on the snout by the pups, the hunters regurgitate undigested meat for them

(72) Wolves are considered to be competitors with people for game animals such as moose and caribou

(73) Although wolves are feared throughout much of the world, documented attacks on people are extremely rare

(74) Attempts to keep wolves as pets are not usually successful

(75) Wolves use direct scenting, chance encounter, and tracking to locate prey

(76) In scenting an animal, wolves must usually be downwind of the prey

(77) Wolves are active at all times of the day in winter

(78) Where waterways are plentiful, wolves often travel on the windswept and hardpacked ice in winter

(79) Wolves actually have a low hunting success rate

(80) To catch enough food, wolves must hunt often and test many animals before finding one that they can catch and kill

(81) Most packs contain less than eight members

(82) Wolves bear an average of six young per litter. Wolves become sexually mature at approximately twenty-two months

(83) Strong bonds are needed to hold a pack together; if there were no bonds, each wolf would go its separate way

(84) Most packs include a pair of breeding adults, pups, and extra adults that may also breed

(85) Ambushing is used by both single wolves and by packs

(86) Wolves at one time had an extensive range, occurring throughout North America, Europe, Asia, and Japan

(87) The only substantial population of wolves left at present in the contiguous 48 states inhabits northern Minnesota

(88) The range of the red wolf once extended from eastern Texas to Georgia and Florida and northward through Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Illinois

(89) The basic unit of wolf society is the pack

(90) The wolf's front teeth are sharp and pointed and adapted to puncturing, slashing, and clinging

(91) The wolf's pointed premolars and molars are useful for tearing and shearing once the prey has been killed

(92) The wolf's massive rear molars aid in cracking and crushing bones

(93) The wolf does little chewing

(94) A wolf can consume almost twenty pounds of prey at a feeding

(95) Wolves can maintain a chase for at least twenty minutes

(96) The wolf feeds almost exclusively on flesh, bones, and other animal matter

(97) Lone wolves have no social territory and rarely scent-mark or howl

(98) The range size for a given pack of wolves depends on many environmental factors, particularly prey density

(99) It is common for wolves to be moving eight to ten hours in a day

(100) A pack may cover distances from 30-125 miles in a day

(101) Wolves possess upwards of two hundred million olfactory cells

(102) A wolf's tail hangs while the tail of the dog tends to be held high and is often curly

NOTE: EVEN THOUGH I MAY DISAGREE WITH A FEW OF THE PRECEDING FACTS TO AN EXTENT, THESE WERE SCIENTIFIC FINDINGS. I GUESS THAT WHEN IT COMES DOWN TO 'JUST' FACTS, THAT I FEEL LIKE IT LEAVES OUT A VERY IMPORTANT PART OF 'WHO' THE WOLF IS.......HE IS MUCH MORE THAN JUST FACTS ON A SHEET OF PAPER.......TO ME ANYWAY THERE IS A MUCH MORE SPIRITUAL SIDE TO HIM AND AN INATE INTELLIGENCE, THAT ALL THE SCIENCE IN THE WORLD WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO EXPLAIN..........

A FEW MORE IN DEPTH FACTS AND ALSO SOME LESSER KNOWN FACTS

The social relationships of wolves are maintained through three systems of interpersonal and interpak communication: Vocalization, postural signaling, and scent marking.

The wolf's howl is the social signal perhaps most familiar to everyone. It typically consists of a single note, rising sharply at the beginning or breaking abruptly at the end as the animal strains for volume. It can contain as many as twelve related harmonics. When wolves howl together they harmonize, rather than chorus on the same note, creating an impression of more animals howling than there actually are. Wolves do not have to stand to howl. They can howl lying down or sitting on their haunches.

There has been more speculation about the nature and function of the wolf's howl than the music, probably, of any other animal. It is a rich, captivating sound, a seductive echo that can moan on eerily and raise the hair on your head. Wolves apparently howl to assemble the pack, especially before and after the hunt; to pass on an alarm, especially at the den site; to locate each other in a storm or in unfamiliar territory; and to communicate across great distances. Some Eskimos, claim to be able to understand what wolves are howling about and to take advantage of it when the howling reveals the approach of migrating caribou. The howl may carry six miles or more in still arctic air.

There is little evidence that wolves howl during a chase, but they may do so afterward, perhaps to celebrate a successful hunt, their prowess, or the fact that they are all together again, that no one has been injured.

There has never been any evidence that wolves howl at the moon, or howl more frequently during a full moon,{altho' it always seemed like mine did *smile*}, though howling may be more frequent in the evening or early morning. Howling reaches a seasonal peak in the winter months, during the time of courtship and breeding; it is easy to see how the idea that wolves howl at the moon might have gained credence and played well on the imagination during these cold, clear nights when the sound carried far and a full moon lent an eerie aspect to a snowscape. I always found it strange that my wolves would answer the howls of the coyotes........could they understand each other??????? Or were they simply reaching out to another's call??????????

What emotions prompt a howl remain unknown, though field and laboratory researchers both suggest that solo howls and group howling alike are brought on by restlessness and anxiety. Loneliness is the emotion most mentioned, but group howling has a quality of celebration and camaraderie about it, what one wilflife biologist termed as 'the jubilation of wolves'.

The wolf's other vocalizations have received much less attention, though wolves seem to use these other sounds more often, to communicate more information. They are commonly divided into three categories: Growls, barks and whines or squeaks. Howls have been recorded and studied in the wild. Growls, squeaks and barks have only rarely been heard in the field, so we must proceed here solely on the basis of information from captive animals.

Wolves only infrequently bark, and ten it is a quiet 'woof' more often than a dog-type bark, I can never personally remember any of mine making a bark like a dog............they do not bark continuously like dogs but woof a few times and then retreat, as for example when a stranger approaches. Barks reported from the field are associated with a pack being surprised at its den and an animal, usually the female, rising to bark a warning. Growling is heard during food challenges and, like the bark is associated with threat behavior or an assertion of rights in some social context. My alpha male that I had for the most years, never displayed growling or barking, even tho' he lived with many different kinds of animals......he seemed to rule through his stares.....when he gave a certain stare to another animal, without exception they would back down.

The wolf has the ability to regulate its body temperature, which no doubt has helped it survive in a wide variety of climates, each with a wide range of temperatures. In the Northwest Territories it may reach seventy degrees below zero or climb to ninety degrees on a summer day. In the northern plains it gets nearly as cold and twenty degrees hotter. The cascade wolf had to contend with deep snows, the British Columbia wolf with forty to fifty inches of rain in the winter. No one knows how wolves managed in all that moisture. Maybe they simply stayed out of the rain.

WOLVES RELATIONSHIPS WITH OTHER ANIMALS

One of the strangest things that I think I have ever personally witnessed is the wolf's relationships to certain other animals. Apparently, wildlife biologists have made some comment on this as well. Wolves have a curious dependency on the caribou to act as snowplows. It seems clear that tundra wolves do not follow caribou in winter soley to feed on them but because the herds open the way and pack the snow down. Wolves could not move through the deep snows of the northern forests without these highways. They also take advantage of moose trails in such snows.

Th wolf seems to have few relationships with other animals that could be termed purely social, though he apparently takes pleasure in the company of ravens. The raven,, with a range almost as extensive as the wolf's, one that includes even the tundra, commonly follows hunting wolves to feed on the remains of a kill. In winter, when tracks are visible from the air, ravens will follow the trail of a wolf pack in hopes of finding a carcass. But the relationship the two is deeper than this, as is revealed in the following incident. A traveling pack stopped to rest and four or five ravens who were tagging along began to pester them. The birds would dive at a wolf's head or tail and the wolf would duck and then leap at them. Sometimes the ravens chased the wolves, flying just above their heads, and once, a raven waddled to a resting wolf, pecked at it's tail, and jumped aside as the wolf snapped at it. When the wolf retaliated by stalking the raven, the bird allowed it within a foot before arising. Then it landed a few feet beyond the wolf, and repeated the prank. It appears that the wolf and raven have reached an adjustment in their relationships such that each creature is rewarded in some way by the presence of the other and that each is fully aware of the other's capabilities. Both species are extremely social, so they must possess the psychological mechanisms necessary for forming social attachments. Perhaps in some way individuals of each species have included members of the other in their social group and have formed bonds with them. The wolf may have similar relationships with other creatures. People have heard loons and barred owls responding to wolf howls, and vice versa. Meetings between dogs and wolves result in anything from swift death to lasting relationships, thank goodness I have only been witness to the latter.....wolves will submit to dogs they have grown up with, no matter how small. If one considers the ramifications, the wolf's most important and dangerous relationship must be his relationship with man..............

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PAINTING:
The painting is by artist, Teri Sodd and used with her permission. The painting is
a ŠTeri Sodd. You may visit her wonderful site HERE,