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Wolves
Apr 17, 2007
2:00/1:00 MT/PT |
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Let's begin our fact finding mission about wolves now! |
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Classification Some important details about wolves are that they are mammals, (like cats, deer, elephants and dolphins) and they are carnivores, a group of mammals that eats meat. They belong to the dog family called, "Canidae" which also includes coyotes, jackals, dingoes and the domestic dog. |
The
Canids
of North America are wolves, coyotes, and foxes. |
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Lots
of Facts
 Life Span:
They can live up to 13 years in the wild, but the average life-span is
6-8 years.
Take a look at Fast Facts from PBS's NOW. |
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On
a calm night, howls can be heard from as far away as 120 miles.
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Food
and Hunting Wolves are carnivores
and normally eat large ungulates
such as white-tailed deer, mule deer, moose, caribou, elk, Dall sheep,
and bighorn sheep. They sometimes eat smaller mammals, like rabbits,
beavers, voles, lemmings, ground squirrels and snowshoe hare. They also
eat carrion. |
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A
wolf's nose is so sensitive that it can smell prey that is more than
a mile away.
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Wolf
Puppies The alpha female has her puppies in April or May in
a den (which could be a rock cave, crevice
or a hole in the ground.) Baby wolves get a lot of loving  care
from the moment they are born: they are well fed, cleaned, and protected.
The pups leave the den when they are 4 weeks old but stay close by, in case of danger. If the mother goes hunting another member of the pack "baby-sits". After they are weaned from their mother's milk they eat regurgitated meat brought to them by other pack members. At about 7 - 8 months the pups begin traveling as a part of the pack an learn how to hunt. Wolf pups love to play by stalking and pouncing on their brothers and sisters. They also have special wolf "toys" like skins of animals, bones and feathers feathers. The skills they learn while playing will help them when they begin to hunt. |
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 Even
though wolves are social among themselves, they usually avoid human contact.
In the past 100 years, there have been several published reports of human
injuries, but no fatalities, due to wolves. (http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/233/gray-wolf-facts.html) |
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Every
dog is descended from wolves that were tamed in the Middle East
about 12,000 years ago. At that time, wolves probably ate the scraps
of food left by humans. People soon realized that wolves could lead
them to food. Humans hand-raised wolf pups who then accepted the
humans as their leaders. 
Wolves
can eat about 25% of their body weight in one meal! If you weigh
80 pounds, would have to eat 20 pounds of food at one meal to be
like a wolf!
female,
but the "alpha" male is 
The
rank of a wolf in the dominance order of the pack can often be
seen in the way it carries its tail. A more dominant wolf carries
its tail high. A less dominant wolf carries it low. 
