Essay on The Gray Wolf

For the first time in 70 years, the howl of the Grey Wolf is being heard throughout Yellowstone Park (Sanders, 2000). In January of 1995, 14 wolves from separate packs in Canada were trapped and transported to Yellowstone. Once in the park the wolves were placed in one acre acclimation pens. In total there were three pens scattered across the northern portion of Yellowstone: one a Crystal Creek, another at Rose Creek, and the last at Soda Butte. During the wolves time spent in these pens they were fed winter kill, or road kill. The packs that were formed in these pens were released in the winters of 1995-1996 and also again in 1996-1997 for a second release period (Sanders, 2000). In 1995 fourteen wolves were released and in 1996 seventeen were released. In 1997 there were 64 pups born and since 1995, 33 wolves have died in the Yellowstone area.

The biggest impact the reintroduction of wolves would make is that they control the population of large mammals such as elk. Without wolves in an ecosystem coyotes step into the role of the biggest predator. However coyotes are almost 2.5 times smaller than an average wolf so they are not big enough to kill much of the elk. The elk population then increases rapidly and hurts the ecosystem. Wolves also help reduce the spreading of disease by hunting on the elk that have been injured or have diseases. It gives the wolves a better chance of taking down the large animal and prevents

The gray wolf is one of the world’s most well known and well researched animals with more documentation on them than any other wildlife species. It is a canid whose main habitats are in the wilderness of remote areas in North America, Eurasia and North Africa. It is the largest member of the wolf family, usually weighing between 70 and 120 lbs, and closely resembles in general appearance and proportions to a modern day breed of dog known as the German Sheppard, although they typically have a larger head, narrower chest, longer legs, straighter tails and bigger paws. The narrow chest of the gray wolf allows for swift and efficient movement through the common elements of their environment such as snow, brush and other conditions. Their larger heads indicate their higher level of intelligence and their large paws, webbed with fur aid in movement across mud and snow. The colour of a gray wolf’s fur lives up to its name and is predominantly a mottled gray although the gray wolf can also have fur that is nearly pure white, mixes of red, brown, or black. Being very social animals, gray wolves do mostly everything in packs of 2 – 15 animals; living, traveling and hunting. They can hunt and feed off smaller game, yet with their large pack size, they can work collectively to bring down large game such as deer, moose or bison. There are 37 recognized subspecies of the gray wolf in total ranging across six continents with familiar names that one

There are approximately only 150,000 gray wolves left in the world today, but the numbers are steadily decreasing because of us humans. The gray wolf is a strong and very powerful animal seeing as it has large canine teeth, powerful jaws, keen senses, and they have the power to pursue their prey at up to 37 miles per hour. Contrary to their name the gray wolf comes in all colors from black, pure white, and also a brownish red which can cause confusion between between them and coyotes. You can tell the coyote and wolf apart because the gray wolf has round ears and a broad snout. The gray wolf can live up to more than twelve years while protected but while unprotected they can only live up to seven or eight.

Red wolves are very similar to the coyotes. As their name name suggests the have red coat but also a little brown mixed into it. They are the smaller and leaner version of their cousin, the grey wolf. They are native to the southeast region of North America. Red wolves are mostly found in forest and swamps but can survive mostly anywhere in the southeast. They are a carnivorous species and their diet ranges from small rodents to white tailed deer. If they can not find anything else they have been to eat berries and insects to survive. Red wolves breed once a year during January through February. They

The gray wolf, also known as the timber wolf or western wolf, is a generalist species and can be found in North America, Canada, Europe, and Asia. The gray wolf is a very diverse species, able to withstand different environments. The gray wolf can thrive in forests and woodlands, grasslands, desserts, and even the tundra. In the United States, this species is mainly found in the northern states such as Michigan, Wisconsin, Montana, Idaho, Oregon, Wyoming, and Alaska. Other states include Arizona and New Mexico where they were reintroduced to a protected parkland.

A Gray wolf has a long bushy tail often blacked-tipped. A Red wolf also has blacked-tipped bushy tail. Red wolves often live about 5-6 years in wild and 14 years in captivity. Gray wolves live about 8-13 years in the wild and 15 years in captivity. The Gray wolf weighs about 110 lbs and 2.6-2.8 ft long. The Red wolf weighs between 45-80 lbs and about 4 ft long. These two wolves develop strong social bonds with their packs.

The pack of two black adult wolves and five 4-month-old puppies has been captured on film and the screenshots were released on Thursday by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Long before the settlers started to make the United States their home, “American Indians lived long beside the Gray Wolf before settlers started to come here.” (Rowe, Mark) The wolf is native to the North American continent and has been inhabiting its land for centuries. It is a canid species, or member of the canine family and is a cunning, smart, fast, and sly animal. Gray wolves range in color from black, brown, gray, and white and also look like a grown German Shepherd. They are well known for traveling in family sizes from 7-9 wolves, led by the alpha male and have a mate. They are a fierce animal that has been researched extensively because of their unique qualities and that they are near extinction.

Grey wolf Habitats: They are normally found in North America.Today, their range has shifted to Canada, Alaska, the Great Lakes, northern Rockies, Pacific Northwest and Yellowstone park.

The Canadian wolf can look many different ways.They can grow anywhere from 2-3 feet tall. The Wolf has fur and claws. When you think of a wolf, you can compare it to a dog. The teeth are just like a dog’s teeth. The Wolf’s tail is just like the rest of it’s body, fluffy and soft. A wolf is most likely to have blue or brown eyes. A wolf has four short legs, but they can run fast. The male can weigh anywhere from 70 lbs- 200 lbs. The female weighs about 50 lbs- 100 lbs.

California's last solitary wolf was reportedly killed in 1924 in Lassen County. Once a widely distributed species throughout the Pacific Northwest, the settlement of European Americans brought the eradication of the Gray wolf from California.

As the population is growing more crops and cattle for farms are expanding and this has started to cause the Gray Wolves to get in the endangered list in 1976. Within those farms, Gray wolves would invade the livestock and gather food from the farms. When the farmers witness their livestock being eaten and taken away from the wolves they would kill and shoot the animals to defend their farm. Since there are so many farms the food stock has become limited for them so they have to find whatever food they can. Besides limited food disease is also a huge problem within their community, diseases such as canine distemper which is caused by unvaccinated dogs and kills young pups to older adults. Gray wolves are also a dangerous predator to themselves,

A single pack may contain animals that are black, shades of gray-brown, and white. Wolves in the heavily forested areas of eastern North America are more uniform in color. They are often a grizzled gray-brown like some German shepherd dogs. This color variation is a good example of natural selection, which enables those animals best suited to a particular environment to survive. On the arctic islands, where much of the ground is snow-covered for at least nine months of the year, being white is a distinct advantage, so wolves in the Arctic may be nearly white. In the mottled grey, green, and brown world of the eastern forests the normal coat of the wolf is an effective camouflage. As a wolf moves stealthily, or rests, it blends into the background and is hardly seen. Wolves in the Arctic have extremely dense under-fur, which insulates them against rigorous winters. Another adaptation to environment is their habit of hunting in packs, or groups, which enables them to kill large animals.

The grey wolf has been transformed into what we, today, call a dog. After years of traveling with humans, the wolf began to change and became adapted and tame enough to socialize with humans. The environment it was placed into was one of the causes for change, and another was the role it played for humans.