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(Canis lupus)
The wolf is probably the most awe- |
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worthy that men still
hunt with the aid of their canine companions. Gray wolves are covered with a coat of bristly hair, with colors that range from white to black, with differing degrees of gray, brown, orange and cream. However, a gray coat tends to be the most common. Weighing an average of about 150 pounds, the wolf will frequently travel 40 miles in a day and have a top speed of around 40mph. They can survive for two weeks without food, but when hunting is good, wolves will consume five to ten pounds of meat a day. Although not the best runner or swimmer, physiologically the gray wolf is capable of exerting |
3/4 of a ton of shearing
and crushing pressure with its jaws. In the wild, a gray wolf
has a life expectancy of five to ten years, but wolves as old as
twenty years have been found. The gray wolf ranges from Yellowstone in the south all the way to Alaska. Although they prefer to dwell in valleys, they make frequent hunting trips above the tree line, traveling in single file to hide their numbers, and systematically attacking and preying upon mountain goats, bighorn sheep, elk, bison, musk ox, deer and caribou. Wolves are pack hunters, and have developed high country tactics designed specifically to bring down mountain goats and bighorn sheep. In winter, the wolves will climb the high mountains and ridges to await any possible targets. Upon sighting their prey, they will launch into an "over the top" attack, charging down on their prey from above and plunge down in a literal avalanche of snow and gnashing teeth. When caught in this trap, the goat or sheep's only defense is to sprint laterally across to rocky crags and cliffs where the wolves are not able to follow. In general, wolves do not usually attempt to run down their targets, but instead prefer coordinated ambushes, or trapping their prey in deep snow. They will communicate with each other through intermittent howling in order to locate one another and disperse for an attack. Wolves are not invincible when hunting, and such animals as deer and especially the moose, have developed defenses by pummeling attacking wolves with their legs and hooves. It is not unusual for a pack to abandon an attack on a healthy moose in lieu of finding easier prey. The social life of the wolf is one of the most interesting and complex in the animal kingdom, involving family, territory, laws, planning and cooperation. Although a few |
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rogue wolves have been
witnessed in the wild, about 80% of wolves belong to a pack social
structure. The basic social unit in a wolf pack is the mated
pair, which is the focal point of the group. Packs have been
observed with as many as 30 to 40 wolves, but the normal number is
usually closer to between five and ten. They are usually
comprised of a mated pair, pups from the previous year, brother and
sister relations of the mated pair, and then a few unrelated
recruits to round out the pack. The dominant pack leaders
achieve their standing by age, experience, breeding, strength, or
even just pure determination. Dominant wolves in a pack act
the part, strutting with high tails and bristling their manes.
In the presence of the dominant wolf or wolves, subservient wolves
will show respect by cowering with their ears back, or displaying a
slinky posture with their tails between their legs. Dominance
within a pack is rarely challenged, with the result that fights
within the pack seldom develop. The strongest bonding among
the members of the pack occurs during the winter when the wolves
must hunt and travel together over long distances. Breeding usually occurs in February of each year with only the dominant |
alpha male and alpha
female mating in each pack. Within the pack, the alpha animals
maintain their dominant role through direct aggression in preventing
lower-ranking members from mating. Gestation for the wolf is
about two months, which will yield a litter of about four or five
pups. When the pups have reached two to three months old and
can safely travel, the pack leaves the den and moves to an open
"rendezvous site," usually 1/4 to one acre, where the pack will
leave the pups during hunting expeditions. After about a year,
the pups become active participants in the hunts, capable of
bringing down prey. Wolves are highly intelligent and have fascinating social behavior both within their own packs, as well as with other packs. Wolf packs will stake out territories that range from twenty to over 600 square miles. They will regularly patrol their boundaries, marking objects along the borders with their scent. The size of a territory is directly related to the abundance of prey, and how many breeding-age adult wolves are in the pack. In territories where game is poor or environmental conditions change, internal conflict over food shortages, mating and rank may erupt, which may ultimately lead to the |
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breakdown of the
pack. In some cases, fragmentation of the pack is complete
with wars between members, shifting borders of territories,
shifting alliances with rival packs, and even defections of wolves
to other packs. In the overall collective, packs generally do not risk violating each other's territory. Wolf packs tend to leave a buffer zone, or "no wolf land" between the different hunting territories. This area will be avoided by both packs out of fear of aggression. They will also leave buffer zones around human settlements. It has been observed that deer and other animals will learn the locations of these zones, and take refuge there as protection when hunted. Wolves are very elusive animals in the Luxor Creek wilderness, and are therefore difficult to hunt. We recommend that all hunters have a wolf tag, but it is generally an incidental hunt while hunting for any of the other trophy species that we have to offer. |