Wolf Facts

Facts About Wolves!

For more general information about wolves, see below!

Photo by Myrna Pearman

Wolves can sprint from 36-38 miles for short distances.
In the wild, wolves can live up to 13 years and up to 16 years in captivity
The main threat to wolf survival is habitat loss due to destruction, development, and encroachment of humans. They are also threatened due to persecution by humans.
Wolf pups are born in the Spring and they live with their mother in the den until they are about 3 weeks old.
All wolves in a pack help raise and take care of the pups.
Wolf weights vary. They can weigh from 40 to 175 pounds.
Wolves howl to communicate. if alone, a wolf may howl to attract the attention of his pack. Packs howl together to send territorial messages from one pack to another.
Wolves are the largest members of the dog family.
Wolves can roam large and long distances, sometimes up to 12 miles (20 kilometers) in a single day.
Wolves prefer to eat large animals like deer, elk, and moose. One wolf can eat 20 pounds (9 kilograms) of meat at a single sitting.
Adult wolves have 42 teeth
Wolf gestation period is 63 days

Photo by Colleen Gara

Wolves live in family groups called packs made up of a male parent, a female parent and usually some of their pups over the previous years.
Wolf packs work together to hunt for food. The loss of one wolf from a pack can damage the cohesion of the group and cause packs to break up.
Pack sizes range from three to twenty wolves.
A wolf pack has a set social structure and rules. The pack leaders are the alpha male and female.These two are dominant over the other wolves in the pack. The alphas are the only wolves that breed and produce pups in the pack, and they also get to eat first.
Social structures of a pack can change. A wolf lower down in the pack hierarchy may challenge an alpha wolf for pack leadership. If the alpha wolf loses this challenge, it will sometimes leave the pack to become a lone wolf, find another mate, and start a new pack. Very low ranking wolves are often "picked on" by the other wolves and may also leave the pack.
Individual wolves in a pack play different roles in relation to the other wolves in the group.
Wolves will defend their territory from other wolf packs or other predators they might find a threat.

Photo by Tam Barnes

Wolves are a keystone species. Keystone species plays a unique and crucial role in the way an ecosystem functions. Without keystone species, the ecosystem, in which they live, would be dramatically different or cease to exist. Yellowstone Park is a good example of this.
Wolves prey on injured, sick, old, young and genetically inferior elk, moose, and deer, allowing the healthy individuals to breed and continue their species.
Wolves help feed other animals in the ecosystem. Carrion feeders and other scavengers like eagles, bears and crows eat the remains left by wolves. The remains of kills left by wolves often help many species survive hard winters.
Wolves help improve riparian areas (the wetland areas adjacent to rivers and streams). Wolves help redistribute ungulate herds which allow vegetation to recover & grow along rivers & streams. In turn, this helps provide more food for beavers. Aquatic animals like frogs and fish & aquatic plants benefit from increased beaver ponds. Additionally, shade created by the trees cools the water, making the habitat better for many aquatic species.