Wolves also prey on rodents, beavers, fish, and birds. Behavior: Gray wolves are territorial and live in packs lead by the alpha pair. A pack of 6 to 8 wolves includes some of the alpha pair's offspring and may include some unrelated wolves. Gray wolves communicate with each other through howling, body language and scent. Howling is used to assemble the pack, communicate with other packs, and assert territorial boundaries. Reproduction: Gray wolves mate between late January and March.
Once the female chooses a partner, the animals may remain paired for a number of years. Litter size ranges from pups. They usually breed once each year. Breeding occurs between the months of January and April, with northern populations breeding later in the season than southern populations. Female gray wolves choose their mates and often form a life-long pair bond. Gray wolf pairs spend a great deal of time together.
After mating occurs, the female digs a den in which to raise her young. The den is often dug with an entrance that slopes down and then up again to a higher area to avoid flooding. Pups are born in the den and will remain there for several weeks after birth. Other dens are under cliffs, under fallen trees, and in caves.
The gestation period lasts between 60 and 63 days, litter size ranges from five to fourteen, with the average size being seven pups. Female pups reach maturity at two years of age, while males will not reach full maturity until three years of age. Gray wolf pups are born blind and deaf. They weigh approximately 0. At ten to fifteen days of age, the pups' blue eyes open, but they only have control over their front legs, thus crawling is their only mode of mobility.
Five to ten days later, the young are able to stand, walk, and vocalize. Pups are cared for by all members of the pack. Until they are 45 days old the pups are fed regurgitated food by all pack members. They are fed meat provided by pack members after that age.
During the 20th to 77th day, the pups leave the den for the first time and learn to play fight. Interactions at this time, as well as the dominance status of the mother, ultimately determines their position in the pack hierarchy. Wolf pups develop rapidly, they must be large and accomplished enough to hunt with the pack with the onset of winter. At approximately ten months old, the young begin to hunt with the pack. Gray wolves may live thirteen years in the wild, though average lifespan is 5 to 6 years.
As adults they usually die from old age or from injuries received while hunting or fighting with other wolves. In captivity they may live to be fifteen years of age.
Gray wolves are very social, pack-living animals. Each pack is made up of two to thirty-six individuals, depending upon their habitat and the abundance of their prey. Most packs are made up of 5 to 9 individuals. Packs are typically made up of an alpha pair and their offspring, including their young from previous years.
There is a strong structure of dominance relationships within each pack. Each pack member has a position in those dominance relationships, called their 'rank'. The pack leader, usually the alpha male, is dominant over all other individuals. The next dominant individual is the alpha female. If the alpha male becomes injured, the next highest ranking male will take his place as alpha male. Rank within the pack determines which animals mate and which eat first.
Each year, gray wolf packs have stationary and nomadic phases. In the spring and summer, while pups are being reared, wolf packs remain in the same area. During the fall and winter wolf packs move around in search of food. Wolf movements are usually at night and may cover long distances. The territory of a pack ranges from to 13, square kilometers, and is defended against intruders. Rank is communicated among wolves by body language and facial expressions, such as crouching, chin touching, and rolling over to show their stomach.
Vocalizations, such as howling allows pack members to communicate with each other about where they are, when they should assemble for group hunts, and to communicate with other packs about where the boundaries of their territories are.
Scent marking is ordinarily only done by the alpha male, and is used for communication with other packs. Gray wolves are carnivores. They hunt prey on their own, in packs, steal the prey of other predators, or scavenge carrion.
Prey is located by chance or by scent. What wolves eat depends on where they live and what kinds of prey are available. Wolves hunt in packs for large prey such as moose , elk , bison , musk oxen, and reindeer. Females are smaller than males. Male wolves have a straight tail and narrow chest. The feet of males are large and the legs are long. The overall color of the Grey wolf's fur is typically grey with black markings and lighter underparts, though wolves can occasionally be black, brown, red or even pure white.
Grey wolves have a very thick fur, consisting of the coarse outer coat, which covers the soft undercoat. Due to the acute sense of hearing as well as keen sense of smell, the animal is able to successfully track down prey.
In addition, the long legs allow them to make long steps, promoting high speed during the chase. Grey wolves occur across North America and Eurasia, primarily found in remote areas and wilderness. Their range includes different habitats such as forest, arctic tundra, arid terrain and prairie. Grey wolves are social animals, living, hunting and travelling in packs.
An average wolf pack consists of individuals, including the alpha male and female with their young as well as older offspring. The alphas are the leaders of the pack, establishing the group's territory, selecting the den sites, tracking down and hunting prey.
They live in close ties with the members of their pack, communicating with each other through a wide variety of calls, including barks, whine, howls and growls. They are most active at sunrise and sunset. As a matter of fact, Grey wolves do not actually howl at the moon: they simply tend to howl, when the night is lighter, which usually happens during the full moon. Throughout the year, these animals undergo a stationary and nomadic phases: stationary phase takes place in spring and summer months, when they grown up the young, while nomadic phase lasts from the autumn to winter.
Grey wolves prefer moving at night, being able to travel up to km per day. The Grey wolf is carnivore and scavenger. The usual diet of this animal primarily consists of ungulates such as elk, moose, deer and caribou. They also consume small species like rabbits or beavers. In addition, these wolves will scavenge on occasion. Within a pack, only the alpha male and female breed. The alphas are monogamous, mating for life, until one of the mates dies, after which a new alpha male of female is determined, and the pair is re-established.
Grey wolves breed from January to April. The female is responsible for digging a den, where she further gives birth and raises the pups. The gestation period last about days, after which pups are born with an average of For the first 45 days, all members of the pack participate in feeding the pups through regurgitation.
The mother stays with the young for the first 3 weeks, after which the pups continue living in the den, until they reach the age of weeks. Females are sexually mature at 2 years old, and males - at 3 years old. Primary threats include loss and fragmentation of their habitat, leading to considerable reduction of their population. Due to being considered as livestock predators, these animals are frequently killed both individually and in whole packs.
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