Many biologists believe that the wolf developed from primitive carnivores known as miacids. Miacids ranged from gopher-size to dog-sized animals, and appeared in the Lower Tertiary about fifty-two million years ago. Relatively late in the evolutionary history of miacids, came the appearance of the first canid. Research done by Robert Wayne suggests that many wolf-like canids diverged from a common ancestor about two or three million years ago.
Canis Lupus (The Gray Wolf) is the largest member of the canid family. The adult gray wolf stands twenty-six to thirty-eight inches at the shoulder and has a head and body length of forty to fifty-eight inches. The tail is thirteen to twenty inches long. Males are fifteen to twenty percent larger than the females. In the north, wolves are considerably larger than in the southern region.
Wolves range from all shades of gray, tan, and brown to pure white to solid black. Some wolves have a saddle-shaped patch of color on their back that contrasts with the rest of their coat. Others have splotches of dark markings on their faces. The tip of a wolf’s tail is often colored black. Most wolves tend to be a grizzled gray-brown color, and it’s not unusual to have a variation of colors within a litter.
The wolf has extremely strong jaws. The upper jaw is equipped with six incisors, two canine teeth, eight premolars, and six molars. The incisors at the front of the jaw are used to cut flesh from prey. The long canines, which may reach two inches in length, pierce into flesh to hold the prey. The molars and premolars are used for slicing and grinding.
Most wolf packs are composed of four to seven members. The largest documented pack appears to be in Alaska of thirty-six members. A twenty-nine member pack was reported in Denali National Park in Alaska. The wolf pack is one of the most cohesive social organization in the animal world.
The social rank of the individuals in the pack is enforced by body positions and movements, intimidation, and harassment. This social structure is one of the most intensely studied facets of wolf behavior. The ranks from the greatest to the least in power goes like such: Alpha, Beta, Delta, Gamma, and Omega. The male and female alphas of the pack are the only two who can mate and are the leaders of their pack. Many wolves leave the pack because they want to mate or get away from the harassment of wolves higher in the social rank.
Thirty-two subspecies of the gray wolf have been recognized by science. While some of them are thriving in the wild, others have gone extinct. The rest are seriously endangered. Persecution by humans killed off wolves through out the lower 48 states. Today, only two subspecies survive in the United States outside Alaska — a sizeable population of eastern timber wolves in Minnesota with a few scattered in northern Michigan and Wisconsin, and some northern Rocky Mountain wolves in northern Montana and Idaho.
As white settlement spread across North America, wild animals such as the bison were slaughtered to make room for farms, and deer were killed for meat. With their food reduced and their land raped and taken over, wolves took to feeding on the easiest and most abundant prey available – sheep and cattle. Wolves need to eat, so they hunt; they have no choice. In a natural situation, wolves rarely kill more then they can eat. Occasionally, they may have killed large numbers of penned domesticated animals that couldn’t escape, but penned, defenseless animals aren’t a part of the natural world wolves live in.
Starting in the 1600s, the government declared war on wolves and paid a bounty – money for each wolf pelt brought in – so the wolves were hunted down and killed. Several wolves were tortured by their human enemies. They were seen as more than just competitors that attacked animals people wanted for themselves. They were thought of as evil and vicious creatures.
Wolves often show their emotion through body language. They also show their mood by making facial expressions, much as humans do. A wolf with its mouth half open and its eyes shining is happy. A playful wolf’s lips may even curl upward as though laughing inside. An apologetic wolf’s lips with curl downward and the ears will flatten. Beware if you see a wolf crinkling its snout, bearing fangs, with its ears standing straight up and its fur puffed out. That is one angry wolf!
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