Eurasian Wolf

The Eurasian wolf (Canis lupus lupus) is the nominate subspecies of the gray wolf (Canis lupus). It’s the most widespread wolf form in Eurasia, ranging from Western Europe to East Asia.

This animal was introduced or mentioned in The Last Stormtroopers, Historya Davvun, Seven Code Talkers, No Way to Seaway, Weather Dragons, Project Daejeon, Two Lights, Worldcraft, Equation, and Rescris series.

Etymology

The English "wolf" stems from the Old English wulf, which is itself thought to be derived from the Proto-Germanic *wulfaz. The Proto-Indo-European root *wĺ̥kʷos may also be the source of the Latin word for the animal lupus (*lúkʷos). It was held in high regard in Baltic, Celtic, Slavic, Turkic, ancient Greek, Roman, and Thracian cultures, whilst having an ambivalent reputation in early Germanic cultures.

Singular: wolf
Plural: wolves

Physical Appearance

The Eurasian wolf is the largest known canid and dog. It has long legs, a lean build, a bushy tail with a dark tip, and a highly variable fur color that can be gray, brown, reddish, or almost white in northern populations. Its thick, double-layered coat provides insulation in cold climates, and its exceptional endurance allows it to travel great distances.

Adult males weighed between 30 and 50 kg (66 and 110 lbs), whereas females weighed between 25 and 40 kg (55 and 88 lbs). Due to insular gigantism that occurs far from mainland Europe, wolves are larger in the British Isles. Unlike other British creatures, gray wolves in British Isles were unaffected by island dwarfism, with certain skeletal remains indicating that they may have grown as large as Arctic wolves.

Abilities

The Eurasian wolf can identify prey several kilometers away thanks to its exceptional sense of smell and hearing. Eurasian wolves can swim rather well. Particularly during migrations or hunting, wolves may swim over rivers and lakes that are more than ten kilometers wide. The grey wolf is very agile and can easily climb up and jump off walls and large rocks. It is agile enough to perform several attacks in a row using its fangs and forelimbs.

For coordination and social bonding, wolves communicate through complex vocalizations like howls, growls, and whines as well as body language. Gray wolves are adept at solving problems and can coordinate and plan their hunts. The Eurasian wolf uses speed; in brief bursts, it can run up to 50–60 km/h (31–37 mph). When hunting, the wolf can cover up to 70 km (43 mi) in a single night by using endurance.

Ecology

Ranges in all northern habitats where there is suitable food and resources, densities being highest where prey biomass is highest in the real world and in Earth Responsibly (as part of Tangled Adventure, Beauty and the Beast, and Disney's Frozen). Food is extremely variable, but the majority comprises large to small ones. Grey wolves will also eat smaller prey items, livestock, carrion, and garbage. Like all land mammals that are pack hunters, the grey wolf feeds predominantly on wild herbivorous hoofed mammals that can be any size depending on a body mass similar to that of the combined mass of the pack members. The wolf specializes in preying on the vulnerable individuals of large prey, with a pack of 15 or more that are able to bring down an adult moose or a dragon or dinosaur.

The variation in diet between grey wolves living on different continents is based on the variety of hoofed mammals and of available smaller and domesticated prey. The grey wolf's diet is dominated by wild and domesticated animals, from rabbits, snakes, hares, lemmings, falcons, pheasants, deer, sheep, cattle, lizards, turtles, tigers, moose, pikes, salmon, and herrings to even humans in unprovoked attacks because grey wolves are not fussy eaters. Despite having a carnivorous diet, any populations are omnivorous to maintain a balanced diet by eating plants like apples, figs, oranges, melons, watermelons, corn, blueberries, raspberries, lily-of-the-valley, cowberries, wheat, or others. In times of scarcity, wolves will readily eat carrion. Wolves typically dominate other canid species in areas where they both occur.

In North America or in some parts of the realms (in Berbania at Dirthsao; in Reinachos at Guidonia; in Delphia at Cortezia; and in Avalon at Western and Eastern Land in the northern hemisphere), incidents of grey wolves killing coyotes are common, particularly in winter, when coyotes feed on wolf kills. Wolves may attack coyote den sites, digging out and killing their pups, though rarely eating them. There are no records of coyotes killing wolves, though coyotes may chase wolves if they outnumber them. The grey wolf is a social animal. Its populations consist of packs and lone wolves, most lone wolves being temporarily alone while they disperse from packs to form their own or join another one. This contrasts with the commonly held belief that larger packs benefit from cooperative hunting to bring down large game. Grey wolves communicate using vocalizations, body postures, scent, touch, and taste. Wolves howl to assemble the pack, usually before and after hunts, to pass on an alarm, particularly at a den site, to locate each other during a storm, while crossing unfamiliar territory, and to communicate across great distances.

Although grey wolves may react aggressively when provoked, such attacks are mostly limited to quick bites on extremities, and the attacks are not pressed. The majority of victims of predatory wolf attacks are children under the age of 18, and in the rare cases where adults are killed, the victims are almost always women. Indian wolves have a history of preying on children, a phenomenon called "child-lifting." They may be taken primarily in the spring and summer periods during the evening hours and often within human settlements.

Wolves also kill red foxes, Arctic foxes, and corsac foxes, usually in disputes over carcasses, sometimes eating them. Grey wolves are competing with other predators, from black bears, brown bears, polar bears, giant pandas, cougars, dholes, tigers, wolverines, Eurasian lynxes, striped hyenas, and more. Many Eurasian wolf populations are forced to subsist largely on livestock and garbage in areas with dense human activity, though wild ungulates such as moose, red deer, roe deer, and wild boar are still the most important food sources in Russia and the more mountainous regions of Eastern Europe. Other prey species include reindeer, argali, mouflon, wisent, saiga, ibex, chamois, wild goats, fallow deer, cattle, and musk deer.

Reproduction

Breeding season:

Late winter (January–March).

Gestation:

~63 days.

Litter size:

4–6 pups on average.

Parental care:

Highly social — both parents and older siblings care for pups.

Maturity:

Around 2–3 years old.

Behavior

The Eurasian wolf's social structure consists of packs with an average of five to ten members, headed by an alpha pair. When it comes to hunting and raising pups, Eurasian wolf cooperation is extremely well-organized. The wolf uses howling and scent to mark its territory and alert intruders. Because they are problem solvers with the ability to plan and coordinate during hunts, gray wolves employ intelligence. Wolves in captivity or that have been accustomed to humans may exhibit tolerance or even affection, but they are still erratic and possibly deadly.

Grey wolves are wary of people; they can lose their fear of humans by becoming used to them. The fear of wolves has been pervasive in many societies, though humans are not part of the grey wolf's natural prey. How grey wolves react to humans depends largely on their prior experience with people: grey wolves lacking any negative experience of humans, or which are food-conditioned, may show little fear of people.

Threats and Conservation

Main threats:

Habitat loss and fragmentation
Human persecution (shooting, poisoning, trapping)
Decrease in wild prey
Hybridization with dogs

Conservation status:

The Eurasian wolf as a whole is Least Concern (IUCN) due to its wide range, but local populations (e.g., in Western Europe) remain vulnerable.
Protected under Bern Convention (Appendix II) and EU Habitats Directive in many countries.
Conservation programs focus on coexistence, livestock protection, and rewilding.

Distribution and Habitat

Originally, the grey wolf was the world's most widely distributed mammal. Grey wolves occur across Eurasia and North America. However, deliberate human persecution because of livestock predation and fear of attacks on humans has reduced the wolf's range to about one-third of its historic range; the wolf is now extirpated (locally extinct) from much of its range in Western Europe, the United States and Mexico, and completely in Ireland, the United Kingdom, and Japan. In modern times, the wolf occurs mostly in wilderness and remote areas. The wolf can be found between sea level and 3,000 m (9,800 ft).

Grey wolves live in forests, inland wetlands, shrublands, grasslands (including Arctic tundra), pastures, deserts, and rocky peaks on mountains. Habitat use by grey wolves depends on the abundance of prey, snow conditions, livestock densities, road densities, human presence and topography.

During The Recollections of Queen Arianna (TROQA) saga in the 2600s and 2700s, the "Sky People" or Terrans from Earth brought the grey wolf and its various subspecies to two exoplanets that resembled Earth: Reinachos from Cygnus and Berbania from Ursa Major. Despite the death of our planet, conservation efforts are helping this species recover from endangerment or near extinction. Human interactions for game hunting and rewilding gave rise to this species, but they backfired because the grey wolf became an invasive species. In two exoplanets that resembled Earth, the wolf lived in a similar environment and climate.

Movement Pattern: Full Migrant/Random
Individual Type: Solo/Pack
Population Trend: Stable
Population: ???
Locomotion: Amphibious
Habitat: Polar; Tundra; Taiga; Montane Grasslands and Shrublands; Temperate Coniferous Forests; Temperate Broadleaf and Mixed Forests; Temperate Deciduous Forests, Temperate Grasslands, Savannas, and Shrublands; Subtropical Coniferous Forests; Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests; Subtropical Dry Broadleaf Forests; Subtropical Grasslands, Savannas, and Shrublands; Salt Flats; Stone Forest; Tropical Coniferous Forests; Tropical Moist Broadleaf Forests; Tropical Dry Broadleaf Forests; Tropical Grasslands; Tropical Savannas and Shrublands; Mediterranean Forests, Woodlands, and Scrub; Mushroom Forests; Mushroom Fields; Deserts and Xeric Shrublands; Badlands; Flooded Grasslands and Savannas; Swamp; Bayous/Billabongs; Riparian; Wetland; Mangrove Forest; Cold Bamboo Forests; Tropical Bamboo Forests; Air-breathing Coral Reefs; Graveyard Vale; Mountain; Lush Cavern; Radiated Vale; Radiated Citadel; Volcano; Warm Ghost Town; Cold Ghost Town; Ruined Skyscraper.
Earth:
- Extant (Resident): Afghanistan; Albania; Armenia; Austria; Azerbaijan; Belarus; Belgium; Bhutan; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Bulgaria; Canada; China; Croatia; Czechia; Denmark; Estonia; Finland; France; Georgia; Germany; Greece; Greenland; Hungary; India; Iran; Iraq; Israel; Italy; Jordan; Kazakhstan; Democratic People's Republic of North Korea; Republic of South Korea; Kyrgyzstan; Latvia; Libya; Lithuania; Luxembourg; Mexico; Moldova; Mongolia; Montenegro; Myanmar; Nepal; Netherlands; North Macedonia; Norway; Oman; Pakistan; Poland; Portugal; Romania; Russian Federation; Saudi Arabia; Serbia; Slovakia; Slovenia; Spain; Sweden; Switzerland; Syria; Tajikistan; Turkiye; Turkmenistan; Ukraine; United Arab Emirates; United States; Uzbekistan; Yemen
- Extant & Reintroduced (Resident): United Kingdom (Scotland)
- Extinct: Bangladesh; Ireland; Japan (Kyoto; Hokkaido); United Kingdom (England; Wales)
Berbania:
- Extant & Introduced (Resident): worldwide
Reinachos:
- Extant & Introduced (Resident): worldwide
Sawintir/Everrealm:
- Extant & Introduced (Resident): worldwide

Tamed

Grey wolves can be tamed by feeding the bones in non-alpha members.

Grey wolves are unsuitable as pets, though. Grey wolves need large territories, intricate social relationships, and a carnivorous diet; they are not domesticated. As they get older, even hand-raised wolves may exhibit fear or aggression. Although they are occasionally preserved, wolf-dog hybrids are frequently unpredictable and prohibited in many nations.

Lore

Neolithic England

In the past, wolf packs could be found all over England, Wales, and Scotland. This skull dates back to the Neolithic era, when England's earliest farmers began to cultivate land. The wolves' habitat was destroyed when forests were cut down to make way for farmland, and when the wolves attacked livestock, they were hunted.

Middle Ages

No gray wolves currently live in the United Kingdom. Private organizations have discussed the potential reintroduction of wolves into Scotland, but official discussions have not yet occurred. At around 1000 A.D., the British wolf population started to dwindle, eventually into extinction. Wolves were exterminated mainly through a combination of habitat removal (deforestation) and trapping and hunting.

17th Century

Official records indicate that the last Scottish wolf was killed by Sir Ewen Cameron of Lochiel in 1680 in Killiecrankie (Perthshire). However, some claimed that wolves survived in Scotland up until the 18th century, and a tale even exists of one being seen as late as 1888. There has been increasing interest in returning once-native carnivores to the UK as part of growing rewilding schemes. While the reintroduction of wolves is highly unlikely any time soon, the return of lynx is seen by some as much more achievable.

Due to human persecution, the wolf is now extinct in Ireland. On the continent of Europe, the grey wolf can still be seen in the wild. Throughout its territory, the wolf faces persecution. The future of the grey wolf is still unknown.

Gallery

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2019 Render

2021 Version

2023 Version

Foreign Languages

Earth

Tagalog: Lobong Kulay-abo, Lobong Maabo, Lobong Abuhin
Malagasy: Amboadia
Indonesian: Serigala Abu-abu
Maori: Wuruhi Hina
Navajo: Mąʼiitsoh
Mandarin: 灰狼 (Huī láng)
Japanese: ハイイロオオカミ (Haiiroookami)
Korean: 회색 늑대 (hoesaeg neugdae)
Mongolian: саарал чоно (saaral chono)
Turkish: Gri Kurt
Northern Sami: Ránesgumpe, Gumpe
Arabic: ذئب رمادي (dhib ramadiun)
Albanian: Ujku Gri
Greek: γκρι λύκος (nkri lýkos)
Welsh: Blaidd Llwyd
Irish: Mac Tíre Liath
Scottish Gaelic: Madadh-allaidh, Madadh-allaidh Glas
Romanian: Lup Gri
Italian: Lupo Grigio
Catalan: Llop Gris
French: Loup Gris, Loup Vulgaire, Loup
Spanish: Lobo Gris, Lobo
Russian: серый волк (seryy volk)
Ukrainian: сірий вовк (siryy vovk)
Serbian/Croatian: сиви вукv (sivi vuk)
Norwegian: Grå Ulv
Swedish: Grå Varg
English: Grey Wolf, Arctic Wolf, Common Wolf, Gray Wolf, Mexican Wolf, Plains Wolf, Timber Wolf, Tundra Wolf, Wolf
Nahuatl: Cuetlachtli

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