September 20, 2013
The Gray Wolf has a number of sub-species, including the Arctic Wolf and the Alaskan Tundra Wolf. The largest of the canines, the wolf is the ancestor of our pet dogs. People are now realizing that wolves play a key part in keeping an eco-system healthy, especially in prevention of overgrazing. Areas where wolves have been recently re-introduced are showing amazing regeneration of plant species and a new balance in the natural system.
Wolf packs are very social groups, usually consisting of an extended family, with the parents, as alpha male and female, leading and teaching their pups how to survive. Wolf pairs tend to mate for life. Pups are born in the spring, in litters of 4-7 babies, totally blind and helpless. The entire pack is involved in rearing the pups until they are fully mature at about 10 months. The pack work together, hunt together and live together for the benefit of the group. They communicate by many yaps, barks and growls, and the famous howl, which is used to maintain contact over longer distances. Each wolf’s howl is individual, like a fingerprint.
