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Wolf FAQ
Wolf FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) by Mike Wagner (Director and Founder of Heart of the
Wolf Organization -- and Co-Host of Wolf Conservationists) This FAQ is about Wolves and basic facts about them. Last Modified: July 12, 2007 1)What is a Wolf? 2)What are they? 3)What constitutes a pack? What is a pack for? 4)How many Wolves can be in a pack? a) What do they eat? 5)Where do they live? 6)How many species of Wolves exist? 7)What is the greatest enemy/rival of Wolves? a)Reasons. 8)Recent History -- War for the Wolf a)The Past -- War Against the Wolf 9)Closing 1)What is a Wolf? Wolves are a species of canid, the ancestors of dogs. They have been around for more than a million years. They are predators, who make sure prey species don’t grow out of control to keep the environment in balance. Keeping prey in line keeps vegetation in line. 2)What are they? Wolves are canids who form packs. Packs are family units that allow Wolves to be able to hunt and survive. 3)What constitutes a pack? Wolf packs consist of many members. One is, the Alpha Male, who is the male leader of the male Wolves of the pack. Another is the Alpha Female, who presides over all the female Wolves of the pack. The Beta's are the male and female that are the second in command. You also have standard members of the pack who hold no rank. And the lowest of rank, is the Omega. The Omega's role is to relieve stress and is the scapegoat for activity within the pack. What is a pack for? They as said before are family units, but are also an efficient means to hunt prey. Hunting prey by themselves is risky and the risks of death are higher. Thus although Lone Wolves exist, they usually are not Lone for long. a)What are Lone Wolves? Lone Wolves are usually yearlings who want to form their own packs. They do this by leaving the pack and seeking another Lone Wolf. 4)How many Wolves can be in a pack? It can be from at least 2 and as many as 15. a)What do they eat? A variety of prey. Though one of their most common prey is Elk. 5)Where do they live? In the United States, it is in Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Alaska. They live in a small fraction of their former range. Before the subsequent colonization of the U.S., they lived in the entire country. They are also in China, Asia, India, and even in the Middle East. 6)How many species of Wolves exist? Many. Here are the ones that are known to exist, along with their ranges. Some are also extinct, and their former ranges are listed. Wolves in North America: Gray Wolf = Canis Lupus Range = U.S. (15% of former range), Canada Arctic Wolf = Canis lupus arctos Range = Ellemere and Melville Islands Eastern Timber Wolf = Canis lupus lyacon Range = southeastern Canada to New England (Possibly the same species as Canis Rufus) Buffalo Wolf or Great Plains Wolf = Canis lupus nubilus Range = North American Plains (Extinct in this region) NOTE: Some speculate that they still may be in Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. Mackenzie Valley Wolf = Canis lupus occidentalis Range = Alaska and the Western part of Canada Mexican Gray Wolf = Canis lupus baileyi Range = Southeastern Arizona, New Mexico, Southwestern Texas (Extinct and only existing in Captivity and reintroduction efforts that are ongoing) (Rehnmark pg. 14) Red Wolf = Canis rufus Range = Southeastern U.S. but also once roamed Eastern Canada and Central Texas. (Rehnmark pg. 16) Wolves in South America Maned Wolf [Thanks to Agnes Corbett of Care2.com] Wolves in Africa Ethiopian Wolf = Canis simensis Range = Ethiopian Highlands (Population is nearly extinct) (Rehnmark pg. 17) Wolves in Europe and parts of Asia: Common Wolf = Canis lupus lupus Range = Europe and Russia Tundra Wolf = Canis lupus albus Range = Northern Russia and Northern Scandinavia (Rehnmark pg. 15) Wolves in Asia: Steppe Wolf = Canis lupus campestris Range = Central Asia Ezo Wolf of Hokkaido = Canis lupus hattai Range = Hokkaido, Japan (Extinct) Honshu Wolf = Canis lupus hodophilax Range = Honshu, Japan Tibetan Wolf = Canis lupus langier Range = China, Mongolia, and Tibet Indian Wolf = Canis lupus pallipes Range = India (Rehnmark pg. 15) Wolves in the Middle East: Iraq Wolf = Canis lupus pallipes Range = Iraq (also ranges in Israel, Saudi Arabia and Turkey) Southern Arabian Wolf = Canis lupus Arabs Range = Saudi Arabia, as well as Israel (Rehnmark pg. 15) 7)What is the greatest enemy/rival of Wolves? Humans are still a threat to the survival of Wolves everywhere. This includes: Ranchers who still want to kill them. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The Department of Natural Resources, and others. a)Stories of them being demons, monsters and harbingers of death still run rampant. The lack of animal husbandry practices (Predator Friendly Ranching and other methods at http://www.heartofthewolf.org/source.html) being used, and lack of education about Wolves, in addition to collaboration efforts failing, causes them to still appear as villains. Co-existence is difficult as most humans are unwilling to live with non-human kin in peace and respect it as they would respect themselves. 8)A history of the recent decade up until now about Wolves is here: http://www.heartofthewolf.org/WolvesArticle.pdf and Action Alerts and current issues the Wolves face can be found here..http://www.heartofthewolf.org/index2.htm 9)Closing I hope this FAQ will give more of an informative look at the Wolves. I hope that this will also inspire more people to help protect the Wolves. I hope that it will get more people to bring peace between Humans and Wolves without violence and bloodshed against more Wolves. Resources: Neither God nor Devil by Eva-Lena Rehnmark Copyright 2004 Published by Pomegranate Communications, Inc. Copyright 2007 Heart of the Wolf