Kingdom : Animalia Class : Mammalia Family : Canidae Scientific Name : Canis Rufus Size : 60 - 91cm (24 - 36in) Weight : 25 - 40kg (55 - 88lbs) Top Speed : 75km/h (46mph) Life Span : 10 - 12 years Colour : Black, Brown, Grey, White Skin Type : Fur Special Features : Thick, warm fur and loud howling noise
- Wolves are believed to be around for the past 300,000 years since the Ice Age.
- They are the ancestors of the domestic dog, which were selectively bred to retain only their appealing qualities
- They are very adaptive animals inhabiting forests, deserts, mountains, tundras, grasslands and urban areas.
- They are found in Pure white, black and in all shades of brown and grey.
- The biggest wolves are found in Alaska (200lbs) and the smallest wolves are found in Iran (60lbs)
- On an average the wolf lives to be around 10 years old in wild and around 20 years in captivity.
- A wolf pack generally consists of an alpha male, his mate called the alpha female and their offsprings.
- Even if other wolves join the pack, the parents remain the leaders.
- Wolves are carnivores which usually hunt large animals, they hunt them in packs.
- They are known to be opportunists preferring a sick animal nearby to chasing a healthy one.
- Wolves, especially the ones inhabiting the Arctic circle have a thick layer of fur to keep them warm.
- Interestingly, wolves can successfully interbreed with dogs, redwolves, coyotes and jackals.
- Although none of these animals can interbreed with foxes as they are genetically very different.
- The offsprings born through interbreeding with wolves are fertile individuals as a result of incomplete speciation.
- Wolves mate in late winter and the cubs are born after 2 months in warmer weather.
- This way the cubs get enough time to gain strength to survive the next winter.
- Habitat loss and human hunting have made them an endangered species today