Wolves

Wolves once had the largest natural range of any terrestrial mammal except man. Their original range in North America extended from Central Mexico north to Ellesmere Island. Currently, the only significant populations in North America are in Canada, Alaska, and northern Minnesota.

Wolves are nocturnal or crepuscular (meaning that they come out at twilight); diurnal activity is not uncommon, especially during cool weather and in winter. Almost entirely carnivorous, wolves prey primarily on large mammals. These include moose, caribou, wapiti (North American elk), deer, bison, mountain sheep, and mountain goats. A group of wolves can even kill an adult black bear. Wolves also prey on cattle and other domestic species, which has led to their wholesale slaughter in the Western Hemisphere. However, wolf predation of livestock is very small with perhaps only 30-35 wolves a year attacking domestic animals. An adult wolf can consume 20 lbs or more meat at a single feeding, though average intake is around 6-13 lbs per day. As a general rule, wolves can consume up to 1/5 of their body weight. Wolves also consume beaver, hares, small rodents, birds, frogs, lizards, fruit and carrion.

Related topics are:

• Behavior
• Pelage
• Reproduction
• Physical
• Society
• Demographics

Other Online Resources:

Wolf Subspecies This site has amazing information on the different subspecies of wolves. More than three dozen subspecies, including the range, build, and coloration of each. Should be a good resource for fleshing out those lupus descriptions!

Wolf.org, with excellent material on wolf biology and behavior]

Wolfpark.org, an organization that adopts orphaned wolves, with interesting anecdotes]