Introduction Wolves are fierce and beautiful creatures With their strong jaws and sharp teeth they are deadly hunters but wolves can be gentle and playful too Wolves are creatures of the north Once they were found throughout the northern hemisphere Earth north of the equator Since people have hunted them for centuries they are now much rarer Wolves from different parts of the world look a little different from one another 3 Wolves have long snouts and pricked-up ears
The red wolf Red wolves are found in the southeastern United States Smaller than gray wolves they get their name from their reddish fur Red wolves were once quite common but now there are very few left They were once thought to be a separate species of wolf but scientists now think they are crossbreeds between coyotes and gray wolves 2 Captive-breeding programs have helped increase the population of red wolves 5 WOLVES Despite their different looks wolves are all one species type gray wolf or Canis lupus Wolves are members of the dog family Jackals coyotes and foxes are in the same family So are the domestic dogs we keep as pets All breeds of tame dogs are descended from wolves Pack hunters Most wolves live together in a group called a pack The main purpose of the pack is for hunting A group of wolves hunting together can kill prey animals much larger than a wolf hunting alone Moose and caribou may fall victims to a wolf pack but a wolf on its own must be content with hunting smaller prey Wolf cubs also stand a better chance of surviving if they are born in a pack because all the members of the pack help rear them
3 A small wolf pack may contain just two or three animals Living in packs Most packs contain between five and eight wolves Small packs may have just two members A very large pack can have 30 wolves Each wolf pack is led by the strongest most experienced male and female These are called the alpha male and female for the first letter of the Greek alphabet The alpha male and female are the only wolves in the pack that mate and produce young The other group members are usually their children young cubs and older offspring born in previous years 6
2 The territory of this wolf pack may be 40 square miles 104 square kilometers in area WOLVES Territory marks Groups of wolves defend their territories against rival wolf packs They mark the borders of their patch by spraying smelly urine on logs and bushes Other wolves that pass that way smell the scent and know to keep out of the territory Each wolf has its own scent so pack members can identify one another by these marks Knowing their rank All wolf packs are organized according to a strict hierarchy ranking order Below the alpha pair are the next most senior wolves called the beta male and female Below them come the younger and less experienced wolves From the top wolves of the pack to the most junior each animal knows its rank Not all wolves live in a pack Single wolves may be young animals that have left the pack they grew up in and are searching for other wolves to form a new pack Other lone wolves are old or sickly 7
