Music:Wild Thing © : If you want to hear it again click the play button.
(If you find the music too loud please turn down your speakers. It will only play once.) Buy this album
The Kids Corner brings you
Alaskan Wolves A Narrative on Wolves
Information on this page may be copied
Click
the PLAY button below to hear the wolf howl!!!
Winter in Fairbanks
Temperature at -57 (below zero!) January, 1999 Fairbanks, Alaska 12:58 P.M.
the Wolf
Protector of the Valley ©
The wolf is the largest member of the wild canine family, a canis lupus, a carnivore, from the canidae family. Its closest wild family cousin, in the United States and Canada, is the coyote (canis latrans.) Scientists believe that both evolved separately over 500,000 years ago. It is believed that either or both are the ancestors of all domestic dogs (canis lupus familiaris).
26 to 32 inches tall to the shoulder
Male 75 to 100 pounds
Female 60 to 95 pounds
6' to 9' 5" for males (In Alaska Arctic Wolf male wolves have been measured at lengths of eleven or more feet from tip of nose to tip of tail.) 4' 5" to 6' for females.
The wolf has 42 teeth. The Canine teeth average approximately 1 -1/8" from the gums and 2 1/2" including the root. When the wolf bites down the canine teeth interlock allowing the wolf to grip and rip the flesh form it’s pray.
The large sagital crest over supports the temporal muscle of the jaw and gives the wolf its powerful jaws.
Domestic dogs have a well-defined sloping forehead from the top of their skull to the flat of their noses. The profile of a wolf is flatter without well-defined foreheads.
Wolves color range from white to black with the predominate color tan with darker markings and guard hairs. From a distance the darker accent colors makes the wolves appear gray. That's the reason they are called gray wolves when they aren't really gray in color.
Not uncommon in Alaska are the whites and blacks. The whites are most impressive with gray and black tipped guard hairs. The blacks usually have gray or white guard hairs that give the black an appearance of being lightly frosted.
All wolf pups are born dark fuzzy hair and usually do not develop their permanent hair color until they reach at least one year old. Even white wolves are not born white. Wolves tend to get lighter hair color as they age.
Long, lean, and muscular with closest long legs. Their feet have large pads and long webbed toes making them surefooted in all kinds of terrain and weather conditions.
Some people say the closest in appearance to a wolf in the domestic dog category is the German shepherd. People have been known to mistake a German shepherd for a wolf. Most notably different are the ears and muzzle. The wolf's ears have rounded tips, the German shepherd more pointed. A German shepherd has a longer and narrower muzzle and its jaw is not nearly as powerful.
Normally only the alpha pair breeds. Others are prevented from breeding by dominance and physical aggression.
Pack size is from 2 to 18 wolves. A larger pack would be a rarity although larger "temporary" packs have been seen. Alpha males are not monogamous and will impregnate more than one female. The size of litters, health, and condition of the adults, mortality rate within the pack and voluntary or involuntary dispersal of adults to the status of "wolf status" can determine the size of the pack.
Wolf packs have a very complex social an almost humanistic structure. The social hierarchy in pack is made of very strong bonds with pack allegiances motivating by harmony & integration rather than conflict and aggression. The harmony determines the wolves ability to survive their harsh environments.
Both dominant and subordinate wolves display aggression and submission. These acts may vary in intensity depending on what the action is communicating. A wolf's posture, marking of scent, guttural sounds, and position of head are a language all within themselves. These types of communication behaviors are used for communication with their own pack members as well as with adjacent packs.
Wolf packs will occupy territories which are both adjacent and overlapping with neighboring packs. Pack's territorial range is usually estimated to be one wolf per eight to ten square miles. Wolves are extremely territorial and mark their presence and boundaries of their range by vocalization and scent. A battle between rival packs usually happens when one pack infringed upon another's territory. Being territorial they will claim certain den sites, travel routes, and feed grounds as their own.
A Wolf is generally a shy and submissive animal. In North America there has never been a documented case where a healthy wolf has attacked a human being. If you encounter a wolf in the wild he will be considerably more afraid of you, than you are of him.
An adult wolves have the ability to regulate their body temperatures and adapt to a variety of climates. Pups cannot do this and must stay close to their mother for warmth. Wolves in Alaska have longer, thicker fur, which protect them from temperatures dipping to as cold as 65 degrees below zero. In these frigid temperatures they will find shelter in a den or cave where the body heat of the pack will keep the younger members warm.
Wolves are predators acting in such a manner that will afford them survive. They do not kill for the thrill of killing; they kill in order to live. As a predator they contribute to the circle of life by taking a life to sustain their own. It's much like the little fish being eaten by a bigger fish, bigger fish by biggest fish, and eventually the bigger fish being eaten by humans. Each one surviving off the other. The by-product of the eaten animal fertilizes the earth where nurtured by the sun plants grow to be eaten by herbivores. Carnivores eat herbivores (vegetation eating animals). It's the Circle of Life ... how we survive.
Humans are at the top of the predator line with wolves at the apex. They are skilled hunters catching and killing animals as large as moose, elk, and yes, at times, cattle in order to survive. They also eat smaller animals such as hare, squirrels, and beaver. Wolves are pack hunters specifically designed for the chasing, catching, and the killing animals. They hunt for prey that is the most fits their needs rather than the easiest to catch. In Alaska is known that wolves cull out and disposed of the most vulnerable moose or caribou which are the weakened, crippled, very young, or very old. It isn't implied that wolves only kill the vulnerable they also kill healthy animals and scavenge for leftovers from others' kills. Wolves tend to hunt what they were fed when they were young. If a wolf was fed moose and caribou when a pup it will more than likely seek moose and caribou when it is grown.
As predators humans are in direct psychological conflict with the wolf. Historically our hatred of the wolf stems from the fact that he kills animals that we hunt and kill to feed our families. We are competitors in the ecological world.
Although scientific research yields a great amount of information on wolves and their social structure people do not observe the wolf with an educated eye. Many of the biases and beliefs against wolves are handed down from generation to generation and are filled with myth. Of all the wild animals living on this earth the wolf invokes the most emotional response in humans. Wolves are given the same fear value as a killer shark and portrayed as a gruesome bloodthirsty animal in legends. It is told that he is an evil creature known as a werewolf, is a shift-shaper, and is known to steals and eats human children. He is also pictured as the glowing eyed bloodthirsty companion of vampires. These tales continue to this day and probably will continue many generations to come.
The wolf is a beautiful misunderstood creature hunted and killed by his most feared predator..... MAN. Other than in Alaska, the colder regions of Canada and Russia the wolf is killed for no other reason than out of unfounded fear. In the colder climates for hundreds, perhaps thousands, of years he has been hunted and killed for his coat of warm fur.
Start
your tour of our coloring book with the Arctic Hare! 
Follow
the paw print and visit Brief Biography about the Wolf Lady 
This
page was presented by the
Wolf Lady at Wolfpainter.com. Thank you for visiting.
If you have any questions or comments please email us.
We will get back to you as soon as possible.
From the past Sourdough and Stories | The Gallery | Other Sites to visit | Form
Kids Corner
A Brief bio about Wolf Lady.. the Wolf Painter
Home Page
The Gallery
Order Form
Sourdough
Exit Site