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Grey Wolves Wolves charge at 45 mph. See How Fast Do Wolves Travel? NPS. What is Canis lupus? How many species of wolf are there? Are wolves numerous? Why are grey wolves sometimes gray wolves? What kinds of place do wolves live in? How big are wolves? What is a wolf pack? How is a pack organised? How big are packs? Do wolves roam aimlessly? How big are wolf territories? When do wolves reproduce? How many cubs are born? What is a wolf den? Who cares for the cubs? When is a wolf fully grown? When do young wolves leave their parents? How fast do wolves travel? Why do wolves howl? Why do wolves scent mark? What do wolves eat? How much do wolves eat? Do wolves only kill young, sick, old and weak prey? How long do wolves live? What kills wolves? What is Canis lupus? It is the unique name given in biology to the grey wolf to distinguish it from all other species. Canis is Latin for dog and lupus is Latin for wolf. So Canis lupus means the dog who is a wolf. By convention both names of a species are italicised or underlined and the first name begun with a capital, thus Canis lupus or Canis lupus. Top of page How many species of wolf are there? There are three species popularly called wolves: Abyssinian Wolf (Canis simensis) - lives in Ethiopia only. Grey Wolf (Canis lupus) - widespread in the northern hemisphere. Red Wolf (Canis rufus) - lives only in south-eastern US. They belong to the same group of animals called Canis, all closely related. The other species in this group are the coyote and the three species of jackal: side-striped, black-backed and golden jackals. The domestic dog and the dingo are recognised by some authorities as sub-species of grey wolf. Top of page Are wolves numerous? Worldwide there are roughly: 150,000 grey wolves 500 Abyssinian wolves 250 red wolves Top of page Why are grey wolves sometimes gray wolves? Grey is the English spelling and Gray is the American spelling. The difference is easy to remember because grey is European, whereas gray is American. Top of page What kinds of place do wolves live in? Most places where humans can live and where there is food. This includes such diverse habitats as the Arctic circle, around deserts, and the outskirts of human habitation like towns and villages. It is a myth that wolves live only in forests or wilderness. Top of page How big are wolves? About the size of a German Shepherd Dog. Adult males weigh 20kg to 80kg. Adult females tend to be smaller, 15kg to 55kg. Wolves are smallest in hot lands and get progressively larger and heavier with increasing latitude and colder climate. In Europe an adult male weighs around 40kg. Top of page What is a wolf pack? A family group of a male and a female parent, their cubs of the year, plus their older offspring who have not dispersed. Rarely, they allow another wolf to join the pack. Individuals can spend time alone, but pack members come together to defend their territory, raise and defend the cubs and hunt large prey. Top of page How is a pack organised? The parents, being the oldest and most experienced wolves, start most family activities, such as when and where to hunt, take the lead attacking prey, and govern who eats when food is scarce. They usually monopolise the breeding, so that any adult offspring who want to breed must leave the pack and set up elsewhere. Top of page How big are packs? The smallest pack is a newly bonded male-female pair. Pack size grows according to the number of cubs they have, how many offspring stay with the family, and mortality. Fewer than ten wolves is usual. Top of page Do wolves roam aimlessly? A pack may travel around 50km a day on the hunt but stays within an area, its territory (from which it excludes other wolves). Young wolves who disperse from their natal territory searching for a mate may travel from a few to several hundred kilometres. Top of page How big are wolf territories? Wolves have to search further for food where it is scarce, so territories will be larger in regions where there is not much prey. Territories can be as small as 100 km2 where prey are plentiful to over 2,000 km2 in the Arctic where prey are sparse. Top of page When do wolves reproduce? They can reproduced from about two years of age but often delay for a few years. Oestrus occurs once a year in late winter for about a week and gestation is about 60 days. Top of page How many cubs are born? Usually only one pair of wolves in a pack breeds, so only one litter is born per pack per year. Litters average around five-six cubs. Top of page What is a wolf den? An underground hole the wolves dig especially to raise their new-born cubs in. But they may also use caves and rock crevices as a den. Wolves may use the same dens annually, even for generations. Top of page Who cares for the cubs? The whole pack. The mother suckles the cubs for a month, the pack members bring her food, and when the cubs are weaned they regurgitate meat for them. Top of page When is a wolf fully grown? Most cubs are physically fully grown in their first year but mature reproductively after a few more years. Top of page When do young wolves leave their parents? A wolf might leave home to start a new pack of his/her own when one or two years of age. Wolves tend to leave when there is lots of food and vacant spaces in which to set up a territory. Otherwise, a wolf may delay leaving for a few years. Top of page How fast do wolves travel? They trot along at 7km/h and can sprint at 70km/h (5mph and 45mph). Top of page Why do wolves howl? Three general uses of howling appear to be to locate pack members when separated, to warn a neighbouring pack to keep away, and as a 'sing-along' by the whole pack for social bonding. Top of page Why do wolves scent mark? The parents of a wolf pack mark their territories with urine and faeces along routes and particularly along border areas with neighbouring territories. In many ways this may be the odorous equivalent of howling. Top of page What do wolves eat? They have a diverse diet but are mainly meat eaters. Their chief large prey are herbivores, like red deer, reindeer, moose and bison, and they catch smaller animals, like boar, beaver, hare, rodents and birds. They also scavenge carcasses and eat insects, nuts and berries. Top of page How much do wolves eat? A wolf can easily starve for a week and then ingest a huge meal of up to 10kg (22 lbs), but 3-4kg (7 lbs) a day is comfortable. In the Great Lakes region of North America a wolf may kill 15-20 adult deer or equivalent a year, depending on winter conditions and what other prey are available. Top of page Do wolves only kill young, sick, old and weak prey? There is a tendency to go for these because bringing down healthy adult prey is more dangerous and more likely to fail. Bison, musk-oxen, red deer and other large herbivores defend themselves well with flailing hoofs and can kill a wolf. Top of page How long do wolves live? Up to around ten years in the wild but they usually die a lot younger. They can reach around fifteen years in captivity. Top of page What kills wolves? Cubs and adults starve to death in lean times. Individuals may die when neighbouring packs fight. Diseases, such as mange, take their toll. When on the hunt, a well placed kick by a moose or deer topples some wolves. And then there are humans. Top of page -- For more about grey wolves see David Mech's book: The way of the wolf. Swan Hill Press, Shrewsbury. 1991. 119 pages. Page revised 8.03