Gray Wolf Facts | Grey Wolves | Timber Wolf (original) (raw)
The gray wolf (or timber wolf) has played the role of the “Big, Bad Wolf” in many stories and fairytales throughout the ages. But in reality, gray wolves may not embody such extreme vices. In fact, gray wolves play a vital role in maintaining ecological harmony.
Big Bad Wolf? In reality, gray wolves are vital to maintaining ecological harmony. Photo by hkuchera / iStock.com.
Gray wolves are the largest of all canines. These ancestors of domestic dogs measure 60-90 cm (2-3 ft.) at the shoulder and 1.5 m (4.5-6.5 ft.) in length. They vary in weight from 25-60 kg (55-130 lb.).
Gray wolves are also one of most widespread land mammals. They inhabit various ecosystems throughout North America, Europe, Asia, and a small portion of Africa.
In general, gray wolves’ size and weight increase the further north they reside.
One interesting fact is that not all gray wolves are gray! Although they are called gray wolves, they actually range in color from brownish-gray, to all black, to all white.
Arctic Wolf
One subspecies of gray wolf, the Arctic wolf (or polar wolf), has white fur. Inhabiting the Arctic regions of Alaska, Canada and Greenland, the Arctic wolf’s fur stays white year-round to blend in with its snowy tundra surroundings.
Some gray wolves are white! Arctic wolves are a subspecies of gray wolf that live in the Arctic tundra. Their fur stays white year-round. Photo by karlumbriaco / iStock.com.
Social Life
Gray wolves are social animals, living and hunting in packs of 2-12. A typical pack is composed of an alpha male and an alpha female (the pack leaders), their pups, and several subordinate or juvenile wolves.
Gray wolves live and hunt in packs. Photo by AB Photography / iStock.com.
The pack members exhibit close relationships and communicate with each other with a range of sounds including barks, whines, growls, and howls.
What Gray Wolves Eat
The gray wolf’s diet consists of ungulates (large hoofed mammals) such as elk, deer, moose, and caribou, as well as smaller mammals like beavers and rabbits.
Keystone Predators
Gray wolves are known as keystone predators because they help maintain a balanced ecosystem. Because gray wolves eliminate only weak animals, herds become stronger and healthier as a whole.
In fact, studies have shown that gray wolves have helped prevent the spread of chronic wasting disease, a contagious neurological disease, in deer.
Furthermore, in Yellowstone Park, researchers found that the presence of wolves forced herds of elk to move around more frequently.
This allowed aspen and willow trees to flourish in areas where they had previously been overgrazed. In turn, beavers and riparian birds returned to the region.
Gray wolves are keystone predators. They help maintain a balanced ecosystem by eliminating weak animals and deterring herds of elk from overgrazing. Photo by JohnPitcher / iStock.com.
Gray Wolf Reproduction
In general, only the dominant male and female breed to prevent the pack from becoming too large. The alpha couple will begin the bonding process early in the year and will mate in January or February.
The alpha female then chooses a den site and gives birth to a litter of about six pups, who will reach maturity at two to three years old.
A mother gray wolf and her pups at their den in Montana. Photo by JohnPitcher / iStock.com.
If a subordinate wolf feels a strong inclination to breed, and his/her attempts to mate are denied by the alpha pair, the subordinate wolf may leave the pack.
However, leaving the safety of the group can prove to be a dangerous choice for the lone wolf, who may have to travel hundreds of miles to find a new territory and mate.
Conservation Status
According to IUCN’s Red List, gray wolf populations are stable in Asia, Europe, and northern North America. So on a global level, the gray wolf is considered a species of least concern.
Although the gray wolf is a species of least concern, some subspecies, like the Mexican gray wolf (pictured here), is listed as endangered by the U.S. Endangered Species Act. Photo by sykadelx / iStock.com.
However, the gray wolf is considered very vulnerable of extinction on a regional level. For example, the Mexican gray wolf, which lives in northern Mexico and the southwestern United States, is listed as endangered by the U.S. Endangered Species Act.
Gray wolves are threatened by loss of habitat, trapping, shooting, and poisoning.
What You Can Do to Help
If you would like to help gray wolves, you can “adopt” a wolf through organizations like the National Wildlife Federation.
You can also support initiatives that help gray wolves, such as banning aerial gunning in Alaska, fighting to preserve federal protections, and helping ranchers find effective ways to protect their livestock so they refrain from killing wolves.
Gray Wolf Range
Gray wolves are one of most widespread land mammals. They inhabit various ecosystems throughout North America, Europe, Asia, and a small portion of Africa.
More Gray Wolf Resources
- International Wolf Center
- US Fish and Wildlife Service’s Mountain-Prairie Region Page
- Defenders of Wildlife Gray Wolf Page
Quick Fact Sheet
Common Name(s): Gray Wolf, Timber Wolf
Scientific Name: Canis lupus
Animal Type: mammal
Size: 60-90 cm (2-3 ft.) tall at the shoulder, 1.5 m (4.5-6.5 ft.) long
Weight: 25-60 kg (55-130 lb.)
Lifespan: 6-8 years
Conservation Status: Least Concern
About the Author
Abi Cushman is a contributing editor of Animal Fact Guide and My House Rabbit. When she's not writing about weird animal facts, Abi writes and illustrates funny books for kids. Her picture books, Soaked! and Animals Go Vroom!, are available now from Viking Children's Books.
To learn more and to download free activity sheets, visit www.abicushman.com. Follow her on Instagram at @Abi.Cushman.