Informational

Gray Wolf

by Kyle Rowe

According to National Geographic, the gray wolf, also known as the timber wolf, is one of the biggest species of wolves. The female’s weigh, on average, 60-100 lbs. The males weigh from 70-145 lbs. The wolf’s body is around three to five feet long, with a tail ranging anywhere from 1-2 feet.

The gray wolf is a carnivorous animal, meaning it only eats meat. Some of their prey includes deer, elk, and moose. Some packs even have learned to hunt bison, which can weigh 2,000 pounds. Gray wolves can eat up to 20 pounds in one sitting.

When wolves hunt, they find their prey, either by sense or chance. They will then get as close as they can. When the herd is alerted, they will try to intimidate the herd by barking and growling. The standoff could last for an entire day. When and if the herd runs, the wolves pursue. The wolves will then they will identify a weak member: one that’s old, young, sick, or injured. They will single it out from the herd. For a smaller animal like a deer, they’ll go for the throat. If it’s larger, like a bison they’ll go for the rump. Then they’ll bite. It’ll usually take around three bites to cause bleeding and the bison will be weakened from the bite. Then the wolves go in for the kill.

Wolves live and hunt in packs. When the pack makes a kill, the alpha (top of the pack) eats first, after the pups. Then the beta, and on and on until the omega.

According to National Geographic, the wolf population is stable, though they were endangered in the past. The main threat to the wolf population is overhunting. When early American settlers arrived they were hunted to near extinction. The gray wolves are still hunted due to their tendency to attack domestic animals like livestock. I mean I can’t blame them though. It’s like the same amount of food as a wild animal, except it’s slow and has no horns!