Description of the wolf's appearance. Wolves: lifestyle, habits, habitats, relationships with humans

Less than half of the historical “reserve”. This is the number of wolf species on the planet. There are 7 living species of predators. 2 more have sunk into oblivion. Four of the existing species are listed in Red. One of the four wolves was even declared missing. However, scientists managed to film “the last of the Mohicans” on video cameras.

Extinct wolf species

Since ancient times, wolves have been endowed with demonic powers. It is not for nothing that the image of gray was attributed to the dark essence of man. This is how the mythical character appeared - the werewolf. It does not belong to the official species of grays, and the existence of wolf-people has not been proven.

Another question is the existence of 8 ancient species of predator. Their existence has been proven through skeletal finds, drawings and records from bygone eras.

dire wolf

This predator lived back in the late Pleistocene. This is one of the eras Quaternary period. It began 2.5 million years ago and ended 11 thousand years ago. So primitive people hunted dire wolves.

The animal became extinct during the last ice age. There were several of them during the Pleistocene. The latter was distinguished by the severity of the frosts.

Appearance of a wolf terrible lived up to its name. The predator was one and a half meters long and weighed over 100 kilograms. Modern wolves are never larger than 75 kilos, that is, at least a third less. The bite force of prehistoric ones was just as superior to the grip of modern grays.

There lived a dire wolf in Severnaya. The remains of the animal were found in Florida, Mexico City, and California. Wolves from the east and center of the continent had longer legs. Skeletons found in Mexico City and California have short legs.

Kenai wolf

That's who should be called terrible. However, the remains of the Kenai Gray were found later than the prehistoric one. The animal, which once lived in Alaska, reached a length of 2.1 meters. This does not include the 60 cm tail. The height of the wolf exceeded 1.1 meters. The predator weighed about a hundredweight. Such dimensions allowed the predator to hunt moose.

The existence of the Kenai Gray was established by studying wolf skulls found in Alaska. According to research, the species was described in 1944 by Edward Goldman. This is an American zoologist.

The Kenai wolf became extinct by the 1910s. The beast was exterminated by settlers who arrived in Alaska. Predators died while being hunted and due to the use of strychnine by people. It is obtained from the seeds of the cherry grass and is used to kill rodents.

Newfoundland wolf

He lived not only on the island of Newfoundland, but also on the east coast of Canada. Describing wolf species criteria, it is worth mentioning first of all the black stripe along the ridge on a snow-white background. The indigenous people of Newfoundland called the predator Beothuk.

The Newfoundland gray was exterminated by settlers. For them, the predator was a threat to livestock. Therefore, the government set a reward for the killed wolves. Each one was given 5 pounds. In 1911, the last island gray was shot. The species was officially declared extinct in 1930.

Tasmanian marsupial wolf

In fact, he was not a wolf. The beast was compared to the gray one external resemblance. However, the Tasmanian predator was a marsupial. Still premature cubs “came out” into the skin fold on the abdomen. In the bag they developed to the point where they could go out into the world.

Transverse stripes ran along the back of the Tasmanian wolf. They encouraged associations with zebra or. In terms of body structure, the marsupial resembled a short-haired dog.

The official name of the species is thylacine. The last one was shot in 1930. There were still a few animals left in zoos. The Tasmanian wolf lived there until 1936.

Japanese wolf

He was short-eared and short-legged, lived on the islands of Sikoko, Honshu and Kyushu. The last animal of the species was shot in 1905. 5 stuffed Japanese wolves have been preserved. One of them is exhibited at the University of Tokyo. The other four stuffed animals are also in Tokyo, but in the National Museum.

Japanese animal species wolf was small. The body length of the predator was no more than a meter. The animal weighed approximately 30 kilos.

In the 21st century, Japanese scientists reconstructed the genome of the extinct wolf. Protein compounds were isolated from the enamel of the teeth of the disappeared animal. The fangs were taken from the skeletons found. Squirrels were planted on the skin of modern wolves. It turned out that the genome of island grays differs by 6% from the DNA set of continental individuals.

Mogollon mountain wolf

The Mogollon Mountains are located in Arizona and New Mexico. A wolf once lived there. He was dark gray with white markings. The length of the animal reached 1.5 meters, but more often it was 120-130 centimeters. The Mogollon predator weighed 27-36 kilograms.

The species was officially declared extinct in 1944. Compared to other wolves, the Mogollon was long-haired.

Rocky Mountain Wolf

Also an American, but he already lived in the mountains of Canada, in particular, the province of Alberta. Part of the population lived in the northern United States. The color of the animal was light, almost white. The predator was medium in size.

Glacier National Park is located in Montana. The name translates as "Glacier". The area is cold. It was the first in the world to be recognized as an international park. This happened in 1932. Well, there are reports of several wolves living in Glacier that fit the parameters of a Rocky Mountain predator. There is no official confirmation of the information yet.

Manitoba wolf

Named after the Canadian province of Manitoba. Representatives of the extinct species had thick, light, long fur. Clothes were made from it. Also, the skins of Manitoba predators were used to decorate and insulate homes. This served as an additional incentive to shoot predators that were attacking livestock.

The Manitoba wolf was artificially recreated in Yellowstone National Park. However, experiments with the genetic material of an extinct predator made it possible to create a “double” rather than a “twin.” The genome of the modern Manitoba gray differs little from the real one.

Wolf of Hokkaido

Otherwise called edzo, lived on Japanese island Hokkaido. The predator was distinguished by a large skull with large and curved fangs. The size of the animal exceeded the parameters of the island Japanese gray, approaching those of an ordinary wolf.

The Hokkaido wolf's fur was slightly yellowish and short. The predator’s paws were no different in length. The last representative of the species became extinct in 1889. The cause of the death of the population was the same shooting, “fueled” by government rewards. They got rid of wolves by actively plowing the lands of Hokkaido for farmland.

Florida wolf

He was completely black, thin, with high legs. In general, the animal resembled a living red wolf, but of a different color.

From the name of the animal it is clear that it lived in Florida. The last individual was shot in 1908. In addition to hunting, the reason for the extinction of the species was its displacement from its habitat. The Florida wolf preferred the American prairies.

Current species of wolves

In fact, there are not 7, but 24 existing wolves, since the ordinary gray has 17 subtypes. We will separate them into a separate chapter. For now, 6 self-sufficient and “lonely” species of wolves:

Red Wolf

Red Wolf-view, which has absorbed the external signs not only of gray, but also of a fox. The latter is reminiscent of the red color of the fur and its length on the back and sides of the predator. In addition, the wolf has a narrow muzzle, like the red cheat. The long, fluffy tail of the red predator also resembles that of a fox. The body structure is closer to a jackal, just as lean.

Around the eyes, nose and at the end of the red tail the fur is almost black. Together with the tail, the length of the animal is 140 centimeters. A wolf weighs 14-21 kilograms.

Red Predator Presents types of wolves in Russia, but is listed as endangered on Federation lands. However, outside the country the predator is also protected. Hunting is allowed only in India and only with a license.

polar Wolf

He's white. According to the name and color, the predator lives in. In order not to succumb to the cold, the animal grew thick and long fur. The polar one also has short ears. This eliminates heat loss through large sinks.

Among the existing ones, the polar wolf is large. The height of the animal reaches 80 centimeters. Height is also 80, but kilograms.

In conditions of food shortage, the polar predator goes without food for several weeks. Then the animal will either die or still get the game. When hungry, an Arctic wolf can eat 10 kilograms of meat at a time.

Food supplies in the Arctic are declining due to melting glaciers, climate change, and poaching. The number of polar wolves has also decreased. It is listed in the International Red Book.

Maned wolf

The name is due to the presence of a “necklace” of long hair on the wolf’s neck and shoulders. It is tough, reminiscent of a horse's mane. Similarly, the animal lives in the pampas and prairies. The main wolf population settled in Yuzhnaya. There is no animal beyond the ocean.

Maned, lean, high-legged. The latter property allows the animal not to “drown” among the tall pampas grasses. You need to look out for prey, and to do this you need to be above the “situation.”

The predator's coloring is red. Unlike the Arctic wolf, the maned wolf has large ears. At the same time, an American is comparable in height to a resident of the Arctic Circle, but weighs less. On average, a maned wolf weighs 20 kilograms.

There is no threat of extinction of the species yet. However, the maned wolf is listed in the International Red Book as endangered. The status indicates a declining population of a still thriving species.

Ethiopian wolf

How many types of wolves don’t overdo it, but you won’t find anything more like a fox. The animal is red, with a long and fluffy tail, large and pointed ears, a thin muzzle, and high paws.

The predator is endemic to Ethiopia, that is, it is not found outside of Ethiopia. Before the DNA test, the animal was classified as a jackal. After research, it turned out that the predator’s genome is closer to wolves.

Compared to jackals, the Ethiopian wolf has a larger muzzle but small teeth. The height of the African predator at the withers is 60 centimeters. The length of the animal reaches a meter, and Weight Limit 19 kilograms.

The Ethiopian wolf is recognized as a rare species and is listed in the International Red Book. The species' extinction is partly due to interbreeding with domestic dogs. This is how the genetic uniqueness of wolves is lost. Among other reasons for extinction, the main one is human development of wild territories.

Tundra wolf

The least studied of the existing ones. Externally, the animal looks like a polar predator, but is not as big in size, weighing no more than 49 kilograms. The height of large males reaches 120 centimeters. Females are inferior to the stronger sex in height, weight, but not body length.

The thick fur of the tundra wolf consists of guard hairs approximately 17 centimeters long and downy undercoat. The layer of the latter is 7 cm.

Spanish wolf

The small red-gray wolf, as the name suggests, lives in Spain. The species was declared extinct, but scientists were able to find several surviving individuals.

Spanish wolves have white markings on the lips and dark ones on the tail and front legs. In other respects, the predator is similar to the common wolf. Many scientists consider the Spaniard to be its subspecies.

Gray wolf and its varieties

Seventeen subspecies gray wolf- a relative number. Scientists are arguing about the separation of this or that population from others. Let's get acquainted with the subspecies that have clearly “defended” their right to a separate place in the classification. Six of them are found in Russia:

Russian wolf

It lives in the north of the country, weighs from 30 to 80 kilograms. Females are approximately 20% smaller than males. One day, hunters shot an 85-kilogram predator.

Otherwise, a Russian is called ordinary; he does not need to introduce his appearance. As for the temperament, domestic grays are more aggressive than similar animals from America. Some individuals common wolf have a black color.

Siberian wolf

Typical not only for, but also for the Far East. There are not only gray, but also ocher individuals. Their fur is thick, but it cannot be called long.

The size of the Siberian is not inferior to the ordinary one. Only the sexual dimorphism between males and females of the subspecies is less pronounced.

Caucasian wolf

Among Russian wolves, its fur is the shortest, coarse and sparse. The animal itself is small, rarely weighing more than 45 kilograms.

The color of the Caucasian predator is gray-ochre. The tone is dark. Siberian and common wolves are light gray, and thujas are almost black.

Central Russian wolf

This gray wolf species has a formidable Representatives of the subspecies are larger than tundra wolves. The body length of the Central Russian gray reaches 160 centimeters. The height of the animal is 100-120 centimeters. The Central Russian wolf gains weight of 45 kilograms.

The subspecies is typical for the central regions of Russia, occasionally entering Western Siberia. Preference is given to forests. Therefore, there is an alternative name for the subspecies - timber wolf.

Mongolian wolf

Among those found in Russia, it is the smallest. The predator lives in the forest-tundra of Kamchatka and Western Siberia. Externally, the Mongolian wolf differs not only in size, but also in the off-white tone of its coat. It is hard and rough to the touch.

The name of the species is associated with its homeland. This is Mongolia. It was from there that wolves of the subspecies moved to Russian territories.

Steppenwolf

It has a rusty-gray color, tending towards brown. It is darker on the back, and lighter on the sides and belly of the animal. The predator's fur is short, sparse and coarse.

The steppe subspecies of the gray wolf is typical of southern Russia, living in the Caspian lands, steppes in front of the Caucasus Mountains and the Lower Volga region.

It becomes clear why Russians call wolves gray. On the territory of the Federation, a gray tone is present in the color of all predators living here. However, in principle, wolves are both red and black. However, no matter what the color of the animal, the main thing in the social hierarchy is size. The largest individuals become the leaders of wolf packs. Usually these are males.

The wolf (canis lupus), also called the gray wolf or common wolf, is a predatory mammal belonging to the canidae family. The wolf belongs to the wolf genus, which also includes the coyote and jackal. In the canine family, the wolf is the largest animal.

Here are its dimensions: the length of the wolf is up to 150 cm, including the tail - 2 m, height at the withers - 90 cm, body weight - the same as the weight of an adult, maybe up to 90 kg.

According to recent studies of wolf DNA, it has been established that the wolf is the ancestor of the dog. Probably a long time ago, wolves were domesticated and a breed of domestic wolf - a dog - was developed.

The wolf was previously distributed quite widely throughout the world, especially in Eurasia and America. Currently, as a result of the mass extermination of the wolf, and due to the spread of cities and villages, the wolf's habitat has sharply decreased.

Moreover, in some regions this predator is now not found at all. In other regions it appears less and less often, because there are areas in which hunting it is still not prohibited. It continues to be exterminated, since this predator still kills livestock, can attack humans, and besides, hunting a wolf is an old human pastime.

However, the wolf brings great benefits - it regulates the balance of the ecosystem, for example, in the taiga, in the steppes and mountains, in the tundra, the wolf helps nature get rid of dying or sick animals, thereby healing the gene pool of nature.

There are 32 subspecies of wolves in the world. In Russia you can find common and tundra wolves.

Why is a wolf called a wolf?

The word wolf, which is Slavic peoples sounds almost the same, for example in Bulgarian the wolf will be “volk”, in Serbian “vuk”, in Belarusian - voyuk, and in Ukrainian “vovk”.

It is believed that this word is closely related to the word “drag”, “to drag away”, because when a wolf dragged away living creatures, he dragged it in front of him. This is where the word “wolf” comes from.

Wolf Ancestors - Evolution

The wolf's ancestor is canis lepophagus, an ancient mammal similar to the coyote. The ancestor of the wolf lived in North America.

When the ancient canids, the wolf's rivals, the borophages, died out, the ancestor wolf increased its body size. The wolf's skull has also increased in size. The found remains of a wolf tell us this.

A wolf similar to a real wolf was first discovered during the study of the early Pleistocene, which existed more than 1.8 million years ago.

For example, a wolf was found called canis priscolatrans, which resembles the appearance of a real red wolf. This ancient wolf lived in Eurasia. It later evolved into the subspecies canis mosbachensis, which was much more similar to the modern wolf.

This wolf was distributed throughout Europe and only 500 thousand years ago it evolved into the modern wolf.

When geneticists began to study wolf DNA, they discovered that there are at least 4 wolf family trees. These are the African genealogical line of the wolf, the Himalayan, Indian and Tibetan lines.

The Himalayan genealogical line is considered to be the oldest. That is, the Himalayan wolf is considered the most ancient species, but appeared about a million years ago, then comes the Indian wolf - this is a branch from the Himalayan line, the Tibetan wolf is already a descendant of the Indian wolf, it appeared only 150 thousand years ago. The Tibetan line of wolves is otherwise called Holarctic; it is common in Europe and North America.

The extinct Japanese wolf is a descendant of the Himalayan wolf; previously it was very large, but subsequently natural changes led to the disappearance of large ungulates, the Japanese wolf became smaller.

The Hokkaido wolf, however, which lives on the mainland and has the ability to hunt large prey, is much larger than its extinct Japanese cousin.

The Japanese wolf, as well as the Japanese Hondo wolf or shamanu, became extinct due to extermination by humans. The wolf was exterminated due to rabies, cases of which were described in literary sources and dated back to 1732. The most recent wolf was exterminated in Japan in 1905. It was a miniature wolf, more like a fox than a wolf.

Now you can only see stuffed animals of this wolf in museums.

Appearance of a wolf

The wolf looks different in different parts of the world. The appearance of the wolf greatly depends on the prey and the surrounding climate. If we consider the average representative of a wolf, then this animal is approximately 65 to 90 cm at the withers, weighing from 30 to 90 kg.

The wolf reaches maturity at about 3 years of age, gaining height and weight. In Siberia, a wolf up to 80 kg in weight can be found.

But hunters say that it is not at all uncommon to meet an animal weighing more than 90 kg.

The smallest wolf in the world is the Arabian wolf - canis arabs, it can weigh 10-15 kg.

If we consider the wolf population, males are usually 20% larger than females in both height and weight. In appearance, the wolf resembles a large dog with pointed ears.

The habitat of the red wolf is Central, Central and South Asia, as well as the Malay Peninsula. This predator can be seen on the island of Sumatra and on the island of Java.

You can expect a red wolf in Russia, but it is hardly possible to meet one, since this predator has not been seen by anyone on Russian territory for 30 years. Perhaps its population has already disappeared in Russia and yet the red wolf is listed in the Red Book of Russia.

It is quite easy to recognize this predator - it has a fox-like appearance - short legs, a long body with a long tail, a small head and thick red-red long hair. It is possible that when you meet this wolf, you feel like you have met a fox.

The red wolf is a pack animal; scientists believe that there are no more than a few thousand of these unusual wolves left. This wolf hunts at any time of the day or night and always lives where there are many ungulates. Since his hunting targets are mountain sheep, goats and deer.

The number of red wolves has been reduced due to the fact that its habitat has been destroyed by humans, the number of wild grazing ungulates has decreased, and therefore the number of red wolf individuals has also decreased.

How is a wolf different from a dog?

His legs are strong and taller, his paw is slightly larger and more extended. The head has a wider forehead, compared to a dog's, its muzzle is wide and there is quite a lot of hair on the sides, which makes it look like a lion. The wolf has narrow-set eyes and an elongated muzzle. It is narrower and much more expressive than a dog's.

The wolf's muzzle is very expressive. So scientists have identified about 10 emotions that can be “read” on his face - anger, humility, tenderness, fear, threat, fear, anger, calm and submission.

The wolf has a large and high skull. The wolf's nose protrudes forward and widens slightly at the bottom.

A separate discussion will be about wolf teeth. Legends and fairy tales were written about them. A wolf’s teeth are its most important tool, which is influenced by the way this predator hunts and lives. The upper jaw contains 20 teeth, of which only 6 incisors and 2 large canines.

There are 22 teeth on the lower jaw. The wolf grabs and holds its prey with its fangs. The fangs are very strong and can hold up a fairly large animal. For a wolf, its teeth are not only a great assistant in hunting, but also a means of protection. If a wolf suddenly loses its teeth, it will lead to starvation and ultimately death.

The wolf has a long tail. It is much longer and thicker than the dog's and is lowered down. The wolf does not wag its tail like a dog. You can tell a wolf by a wolf's tail, just like by a dog's. If the tail is lowered and does not move, then the wolf is calm; if the wolf twitches its tail, it is dissatisfied.

A wolf's fur is thick and hard. It has two layers - coarse hair and undercoat. The undercoat gives the wolf warmth in winter, and the hard fur protects this predator from dirt and water.

A wolf can shed. This usually happens when spring turns into summer. The wolf's body temperature heats up and the fluff begins to peel off from the body. The wolf is simply hot. He begins to rub against the trees to quickly get rid of his winter fur.

The fur color of the predator depends on the subspecies of the wolf. For example, a forest wolf has gray-brown fur, a tundra wolf has almost white fur, and a wolf living in the desert wears a grayish-red fur coat.

There are unusual wolves - pure white, red or even black. Small wolves or cubs have a uniform coat color - usually dark. Over time, their cover becomes several tones lighter.

However, only the second layer of fur is different in wolves. A wolf's undercoat is always gray.

A wolf is also distinguished from a dog by the tracks it leaves on the ground or snow.

The following differences will help you recognize wolf tracks:

The wolf's index and little fingers are positioned further back than the middle fingers.
the wolf holds his paw collected - so his footprint is more prominent,
The path of wolf tracks is always straighter than dog tracks and more crowded, which will reliably indicate that a wolf passed here.

The size of a wolf's track is from 9.5 to 11 cm in length, that of a she-wolf is from 8.5 to 10 cm in length.

Wolf eyes have been a subject of mysticism for many centuries and artists often depict them in their paintings.

Wolf cubs are born with blue eyes, but after 2-4 months their eyes turn yellowish or even orange. Very rarely, a wolf’s eyes remain blue even after the period of “childhood”.

It is also very rare to find a wolf with green, brown or green-blue eyes.

How the wolf howls

It is believed that the wolf howls mainly at the moon on one note and no longer gives voice. However, this is not at all true. The wolf's voice is quite diverse in frequency range. His ability to change the frequency of his voice can only be compared with that of a human.

Wolves can howl, howl, whine, growl, yelp and bark. And at the same time, every howl, bark, etc. may have thousands of variations.

Even a wolf's howl at the moon is the singer's aerobatics - the wolf starts from the lowest note and gradually brings his singing to a high note, but this note is not the last. We hear it last, since the human ear is not capable of perceiving all the frequencies that the wolf’s throat is capable of transmitting.

A wolf can “talk” to its packmates and warn, for example, that people are about to appear, call for an attack, or that there is prey somewhere.

Wolves howl at dawn and when the moon appears, and they howl collectively; at this moment, according to scientists, wolves show their belonging to the pack and feel an emotional upsurge. This is comparable to the emotional uplift people experience during choral singing.

However, wolves do not howl every day; perhaps the howl of wolves begins when they need the general support of the pack, the feeling of a friendly shoulder.

People have been learning to understand the language of the wolf for centuries, and now there are people who understand wolf negotiations.

How a wolf finds prey

The wolf has a very sensitive sense of smell. Its sense of smell is tens of times stronger than that of a human, so a wolf can smell prey at a distance of 3 km from it.

The wolf distinguishes hundreds of millions of different smells and has a wealth of information about the reality around it. In addition, the wolf sometimes marks its territory through urine and feces. The wolf marks its territory most strongly during the rut.

Current habitat of the wolf

Previously, the wolf lived everywhere in the world, but due to the advent of weapons in humans, the wolf’s habitat decreased significantly. Now the wolf can be found throughout the temperate zone of the Northern Hemisphere. In Russia it is absent only in Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands.

The wolf inhabits the tundra, forests, steppes, penetrates south to desert areas, and can live in the mountains above the forest belt (3000 - 4000 m).

Wolf Pack

The gray wolf is a social animal whose main social networks consist of wolf families and their offspring.
On average, a pack consists of 5-11 animals (1-2 adults, 3-6 juveniles and 1-3 yearlings), and sometimes two or three such families.
It happens that the number of wolves in a pack can reach up to 40.

IN ideal conditions a wolf couple can produce puppies every year, without separating for this up to 5 years. The reason for separation for wolves is the beginning of puberty of the offspring and competition in the fight for prey.

For wolves it has great importance size of hunting territory per wolf stab. Sometimes wolves can move long distances—up to 400 km from the starting location—in search of food.

It is important for a wolf pack that the wolves within it are not hostile towards each other. Therefore, the larger the flock, the more food there is in the territory, and the smaller the flock, the less food there is. Wolves can search for unoccupied territory for a long time in order to create a pack that has no enemies among other wolves.

A created wolf pack rarely accepts other wolves into its fold; as a rule, it kills them. In rare cases, when a wolf pack adopts another wolf, this can only be due to its youth (up to 3 years), that is, a wolf that a wolf couple can “adopt” without harm to themselves and their offspring.

Sometimes a lone wolf is accepted into a wolf pack, but only for the purpose of replacing a deceased male wolf.

During times of abundance of ungulates, different wolf packs may unite.
Wolves are very territorial animals, and tend to occupy a territory much larger than they need to survive. This is done so that random fluctuations in the number of prey do not prevent the wolf pack from surviving.

In general, the territory depends not only on the number of prey, but also on the number of wolf cubs. After all, wolves, reaching 6 months of age, have the same food needs as an adult wolf.

The wolf pack constantly moves around its territory in search of food and covers approximately 25 km per day. Basically, almost all the time they are in the center - the core of their territory. This is done in order to avoid accidental collision with another wolf pack.

The core of a wolf pack's territory is approximately 35-40 square kilometers, while the entire territory can be up to 60-70 square kilometers. A wolf pack can leave its territory only in an emergency, for example, when there is an acute shortage of food.

Wolves are excellent at protecting their territory from other wolf packs, using special marks as warnings to ensure that the wolf pack's territory is not disturbed by another wolf pack. If suddenly this happens, then the wolf pack attacks the intruders, but first they try to scare them away by howling.

Marking their territory, as we have already said, is done by urinating or defecating; sometimes wolves scratch the ground, then mark the scratches. They leave a scent every 200 meters, and usually mark for 2-3 weeks.

Territorial fights between wolf packs are considered the main causes of wolf mortality in natural conditions, without human intervention. Scientists believe that this kills between 15 and 65% of wolves.

Reproduction and development

Wolves, as a rule, are monogamous; pairs are usually created for life, until one of the wolves of the pair dies. After the death of one wolf of a pair, the pair is usually quickly restored with the help of the other wolf.

Males predominate in a wolf pack, so unpaired females are rare. The age of first mating in gray wolves depends on environment- if there is enough food, or when the wolf population has decreased enough that the laws of population regulation come into force - already quite young wolves can be capable of reproducing.

This is confirmed by the fact that in good conditions reserves with sufficient food - wolves can create families as early as 9-10 months of age. However, in the wild, the standard breeding age for wolves is 2 years.

Females can give birth to wolf cubs every year. Unlike the coyote, the wolf never reaches reproductive senescence. Estrus usually occurs in late winter. Wolves mate with old she-wolves 2-3 weeks earlier than with young ones. What explains this is unknown.

During pregnancy, female wolves remain in the center of the wolf pack's territory to protect the female from clashes with other wolves, which usually occur on the periphery of the pack's territory.
Pregnancy in a she-wolf lasts 62-67 days; wolf cubs, as a rule, are born in the spring and summer.

Wolves give birth to many more wolf cubs per litter than other canine species. The average litter consists of 5-6 cubs, with increasing fertility in areas where prey is abundant, although even a particularly large litter does not exceed 14-17 cubs.

Wolf cubs are born blind and deaf, and are covered with short, soft grayish-brown fur. The weight of a born wolf cub is 300-500 grams. Wolf cubs begin to see at 9-12 days. Their primary fangs appear 1 month after birth. After just 3 weeks, a small wolf cub can leave the den, and already at the age of 1.5 months they are strong and flexible enough to be able to run away from danger.

The mother wolf does not leave her den for a minute for at least 3 weeks. And all the concern about providing both mother and wolf cubs with food falls on the father wolf. Already at 3-4 weeks from birth, wolf cubs can eat solid food.

Wolf cubs grow very quickly - their weight from the beginning of the wolf cub's birth increases 30 times in the first four months. Wolf cubs begin to play at the age of 3 weeks. The games are mainly of a fighting nature.

Although, unlike coyotes and young foxes, their bites are painless. The wrestling of wolf cubs establishes a hierarchy in the family among the kids. The fight can last for 5-8 weeks. By autumn, the cubs are old enough to accompany adults in their hunt for large prey.

Wolf and hunting

Wolves usually hunt in packs, sometimes individually. The wolf will almost always eat its prey completely. Wolves have more advantages when hunting in a pack because they are intelligent animals, can work together, and are capable of preying on animals that are much larger and stronger than a single wolf. Wolves are strict predators and often survive after a hunt, they calculate their strength. Wolves do not kill for sport, only for survival.

Wolves feed on carrion, hunt and eat everything. Large game animals wolves prey on include deer, elk, caribou, bison, and musk ox. Small animals include beavers, hares, and small rodents.

Wolves have a large stomach and can absorb 10 kg at a time. However, wolves can survive without food for 2 weeks or even longer if food is scarce. Their digestion is very efficient, but the wolf's intestines cannot digest 5 percent of the meat. Any bone fragments that are not broken down somehow can be found in the wolf's stomach, wrapped in undigested hair, which protects the intestines from injury.

The wolf cubs feed from the adults, who regurgitate fresh meat, or for the wolf cubs to grow up, the wolves carry fresh pieces of meat into the den. Wolves play important role in the lives of other animals. Because wolves eat sick or weak animals, and then they actually help herds of large ungulates regain their strength, relieving them of the burden of sick animals.

For example, there is a sick deer in the herd that eats food that could be used to feed a healthy young deer. Thus, by eliminating a sick deer, the wolf not only reduces the possibility of infection from this deer to other deer, but also contributes to the availability of more food for the rest of the herd.

Wolves live and hunt mainly in their own territory. Members of the pack will guard and defend their territory from invading wolves. The size of the territory depends on the availability of prey. If prey is scarce, the size of the territory may be small, however, if prey is abundant, the wolf's territory may be much larger.
The hunt will begin with the gathering of pack members, they greet each other with howls. This howl will deter other wolf packs from entering that pack's territory. Wolves begin their hunt by passing through the entire territory of the pack until they discover their prey.

The wolf drives its prey in the opposite direction from the wind in order to avoid the opportunity for the animal to detect the wolf's scent and run away. As soon as their prey realizes that it is being pursued and tries to escape, the chase begins. The wolves chase her and as soon as they catch up, they immediately bite her, usually from the side.

Large animals try to avoid being bitten and turn around to attack the wolf with their horns. The wolf is afraid of being wounded by its horns. Therefore, in this case, the animal is surrounded by other members of the wolf pack in order to attack from behind. At this time, the wolf standing in front, taking advantage of the prey turning backwards, seeks to bite it in the throat or face. Then the entire flock attacks the prey and kills it. The wolf immediately begins to eat its prey.

A wolf can hunt all day long until their hunt is successful. After all, this is a matter of the wolf’s survival.

Quick facts about the wolf

1. The average lifespan of a wolf in the wild is 10 years. Wolves live in packs, which usually consist of an alpha male wolf, his alpha female, and their offspring of varying ages. Other wolves may also join the pack.
2. The wolf has no real natural predators; their biggest threat is other wolf packs in the surrounding areas. Wolves are known to live up to 20 years in captivity.
3. Wolves are predatory animals and typically hunt large animals, but wolves also hunt small animals. Wolves hunt together in a pack and work together as a team to catch and kill a large animal, such as elk or deer. Wolves are opportunists and will not waste their energy chasing a healthy deer 10 km when a wounded or sick deer is more accessible. Alaska Native peoples call the wolf "Wild Shepherd."
4. Wolves have a layer of thick fur, which is particularly necessary for wolves living in areas of the Arctic where it can be very cold. It was during winter months in these areas, the wolf's accumulated calories are most critical. Large animals such as elk and deer suffer greatly from cold and lack of food, and during this time they become slow, lethargic and therefore easier to catch.
5. Wolves are endangered today, as wolves in large quantities destroyed by human hunting, poisoned or captured for their fur and to protect livestock. Wolves have also been severely affected by the loss of their habitat and have been pushed into smaller areas where food sources may not be plentiful enough to feed a hungry wolf pack.
6. Wolves typically mate in late winter to early spring and cubs are born a couple of months later when the weather is warmer and prey is plentiful. The wolf cubs develop intensively for the next part of the year in order to survive their first cold winter. The wolf cubs remain with their mother in the wolf pack.
7. Wolves can freely interbreed with dogs, coyotes, and jackals to produce fertile offspring. This is a case of incomplete speciation. There are physical, behavioral and environmental differences between these species, but they are completely genetically compatible. None of the animals in this group can breed with foxes, which are too different from wolves genetically.
8. Wolves are the largest representatives of the canine family.
9. The wolf does not run fast. Maximum speed wolf - approximately 45 km/h. Instead of running, they rely more on their hearing and smell to detect prey.
10. Wolves have great endurance - they can run day and night until they reach their prey.
11. Wolves develop close relationships and quite strong social bonds. The wolf often shows deep affection for his family and may even sacrifice himself to protect his family.
12. The wolf can be expelled from the pack or leave the pack at will- then he becomes a lone wolf. Such a wolf rarely howls and tries to avoid contact with the pack.
13. The wolf is a favorite character in legends and fairy tales, it is a very intelligent animal and does little to live up to its terrible reputation in legends and fairy tales.
14. People still fear wolves and persecute them more than any other predator. Several centuries ago, people even tortured a wolf and burned it at the stake. However, the wolf has high intelligence and instinct, which helped him save himself from extinction.

The final fate of the wolf depends on whether man allows the wolf to coexist next to him.

However, it is worth remembering that the wolf is nature’s most important orderly. And by depriving her of the wolf, the person risks dying himself.

Many people experience genuine horror in front of these dangerous predators. This is largely due to the stories that hunters tell. They often characterize wolves as intelligent and even treacherous animals. However, not everyone knows that a wolf in nature rarely attacks a person. These ferocious predators prefer to stay away from people; they are accustomed to living their own lives, the main meaning of which is hunting.

Wolves: types of wolves

It should be noted that the genus of wolves on Earth is one of the few in number. There are only seven species:

• Canis lupus (wolf);
• Canis aureus (common jackal);
• Canis latrans (coyote);
• Canis rufus (red wolf);
• Canis adustus (striped jackal);
• Canis mesomelas (black-backed jackal);
• Canis simensis (Ethiopian jackal).

The wolf family includes arctic foxes, foxes, maned wolves, and raccoon dogs.

Habitat

Scientists associate the origin of the wolf with carnivorous predators that lived on our planet one hundred million years ago, and about twenty million years ago dogs evolved from wolves. As a separate species, Canis lupus formed in Eurasia a million years ago, and at the end of the Pleistocene it had already become the most widespread predator.

In our time, the habitat of wolves has been recorded in Europe, North America, and Asia. They inhabit open and semi-open areas. In the north, the predator's distribution limit is the shore Arctic Ocean. In Hindustan (in southern Asia) the wolf lives up to 16 degrees northern latitude. Over the past two and a half centuries, the number of these formidable predators has decreased significantly. While protecting domestic animals, humans exterminate them and force them out of populated areas.

Already today, wolves have been completely destroyed in Japan, the British Isles, Holland, France, Denmark, Belgium, Switzerland, and Central Europe. Wolf species have continued to disappear rapidly in Europe over the past decades.

The wolf is still quite common in the steppes and mountainous regions of Kazakhstan, in the tundra and forest-tundra. The characteristics of wolves, which are given in many special publications, indicate that the wolf is quite variable in its habitat - it has many subspecies, differs in size, color, and way of life in natural conditions.

Zoological scientists distinguish several dozen subspecies of wolves. The largest individuals live in the tundra, the smallest - in the southern regions. The weight of an adult animal can range from 18 to 80 kg, their body length can reach 160 cm, and the tail length is about sixty centimeters.

Wolf color

It largely depends on the habitat. The characteristics of the wolf living in the Arctic indicate that white individuals are often found there. In addition, in other regions there are other colors - black and white wolf, variants of gray with white, cinnamon, brown, and sometimes completely black fur.

Predators living in North America have three color phases. The first is a mixture of gray, black and cinnamon-brown. The second is black (a mixture of dark brown and black). The third phase is gray with brown.

Coat

These wild animals have excellent fur coats. The wolf has thick fur (length up to eight centimeters). It has a thick undercoat. The outer layer is formed by long, stiff, black-tipped guard hairs that repel water, while the undercoat does not get wet at all.

Wolf teeth

Wolves have the most powerful weapons. Species of wolves, regardless of their habitat, have 42 strong and sharp teeth. In front there are 4 curved five-centimeter fangs - two below and two above. The predator easily bites through the thickest skin of its prey. And with its carnivorous (molar) teeth, an adult wolf is able to gnaw even the thigh bone of an elk.

Limbs

Animals that are canines, including wolves, are digitigrade. In other words, they walk using their toes. Only when the predator lies down does its heels touch the ground. The wolf's forelimbs are very powerful, thanks to this the load is evenly distributed and the animal does not fall into the loose snow.

Each wolf's front paw has five toes, but only four work. The paws have well-developed bare flesh, and the toes are collected into a dense and oval lump. They are completed with strong claws that are slightly dull due to contact with the ground. The wolf uses them when digging the ground.

Wolves move by jogging, skipping or galloping. While walking, their speed is about six and a half kilometers per hour. They jog at speeds of up to sixteen kilometers per hour. Very for a long time a wolf can run almost without stopping. There are cases when these dangerous predators covered distances of up to one hundred kilometers in one night.

Smell and Hearing

The characteristics of the wolf indicate that when hunting, it is not the ears or eyes, but the nose that first helps the wolf find prey. They pick up the scent of even a very small animal in the wind, which is located at a distance of up to two kilometers. A keen sense of smell allows it to follow the trail of its prey.

True, predators are not deprived of keen hearing. Having heard a noise, they begin to move their ears and accurately determine where the sound is coming from, often located several kilometers away.

Wolf Pack

A family of wolves in some cases numbers up to fifteen individuals, but more often there are eight animals in it. A pack is a family group consisting of animals of different ages. Usually it consists of parents, newborns (this year's brood) and overage ones (animals that have not reached sexual maturity). Sometimes it also includes adult animals that do not take part in reproduction.

In years rich in food, up to 30 or more wolves can gather in packs. The offspring stays in the family for 10-14 months and then leaves it. This is how a lone wolf appears. He goes in search of free territory, which he immediately marks, declaring his rights to it. As a rule, such an animal soon finds its mate and a new flock appears. Although there are cases where a lone wolf lives for quite a long time outside the pack.

The wolf family is a self-regulating mechanism. In cases where the population density is quite low, its size is small, and the separation of growing offspring occurs much faster. When environmental conditions are more favorable, the size of the flock increases, however, up to a certain limit. As a rule, its growth occurs thanks to non-pack lone wolves, who are given a subordinate position.

The pack is led by a pair of predators - a male wolf and his girlfriend, whom, by the way, he chooses for life. Thus, the pack has a core of wolves with high social status, and their subordinates. The leaders of the pack are very different strong character, which allows them to maintain order in the family and prevent skirmishes and fights, especially between young wolves.

Family hunting plot

The pack survives due to the size of its hunting grounds, so predators protect them fiercely. The border of such territories can range from fifty to one and a half thousand square kilometers. Wolves mark their territory, and you will not envy a stranger who dares to violate its borders.

Sign language

As a rule, wolves express their feelings through body movements and facial expressions. The wolf's tongue helps unite the pack and act in an organized manner. For example, when an animal's tail is raised high and its tip is slightly curved, this means that the predator is confident. A friendly wolf keeps its tail down, but the tip is slightly raised up. A predator with its tail between its legs is either afraid of something, or in this way communicates sympathy.

In addition, the position of the tail can tell about the status of the animal in the pack. The leader always raises it high, and his subordinates keep the tail lowered. By wagging its tail, the formidable predator invites its relatives to play.

Welcome ceremony

Members of the pack show respect and devotion to their leader in the welcoming ceremony. With their ears back, crawling, with their fur tightly smoothed, they carefully approach the leader and his companion, lick them and carefully bite their muzzles.

Wolf diet

The diet of wolves is based on large ungulates - noble and saigas, moose, goats and sheep. In the absence of such food, the wolf hunts rodents, rabbits, and in rare cases eats carrion. In regions where there are no ungulates, wolves are not found or live in very small numbers. Predators are attracted to large aggregations livestock. In the north, in areas with developed sheep and reindeer herding, the presence of wolves is common.

Wolves are quite widespread in Russia. The species of wolves that inhabit our country are well known. There are only six of them:

• forest Central Russian wolf;
• grey;
• tundra;
• forest Siberian;
• Caucasian;
• Mongolian.

Gray wolf

This representative of wolves is considered the most common in the world. Descriptions of the gray wolf today can be found in all reference books of zoologists. It stands out for its impressive size. The appearance of this predator is not without nobility. Apparently, this is why he more than once became the hero of writers writing about animals.

The gray wolf can be found in Europe, America and Asia. A built, strong body with a wide massive chest, high muscular legs leave no doubt that this is a real predator. This wolf has a forehead, but at the same time graceful head with small ears and decorated with dark stripes that are located around the almost white cheeks and very light spots above the eyes. The tail is not long, it is located almost straight.

The fur is long (up to eight centimeters) and thick, with undercoat. The coat of animals living in the middle and southern regions is coarse. Wolves from the northern regions have soft and fluffy fur coats.

Russian wolf

This is a special subspecies of the gray wolf that lives in northern Russia. The Russian wolf is one of five subspecies living in our country. Canis lupus communis (Russian wolf) is what Western biologists call this animal. On average, a male weighs from 40 to 80 kilograms, a female from 30 to 55 kilograms.

Siberian wolf

This is no less a large animal than the Russian wolf. Many scientists believe that today this species is still designated conditionally, since the taxonomy of Siberian predators has not yet been completed. These animals have several colors. The most common color is light gray. Ocher shades are barely noticeable or completely absent. The fur is not very high, but quite thick and soft. Most often found on Far East, Kamchatka (except tundra), in Eastern Siberia and Transbaikalia.

Steppenwolf

This animal is somewhat smaller than the representatives of the forest subspecies. He has coarser and sparse hair. On the back there is a color with a noticeable predominance of gray-rust and often brown hair. In this case, the sides remain light gray. Today this wolf can be found in the steppes of the Caspian Sea, the Urals, and the Lower Volga region. The species is poorly studied. A system of characteristic features has not yet been developed. The number of these animals is small, especially in the western regions of the range.

Caucasian wolf

This animal is a medium-sized predator. The Caucasian wolf has coarse and short guard hair, the undercoat is poorly developed. The color of this animal is much darker than that of previously described species. This is explained by the uniform distribution of black guard hairs throughout the skin.

In our country it lives in the areas of the Main Caucasian ridge, including its forested foothills.

Mongolian wolf

And this wolf is the smallest of those living in Russia. The weight of an adult animal rarely exceeds forty kg. Its fur is dull, dirty gray in color, coarse and tough. This species is common in the east and southwest of Transbaikalia, as well as in the Primorsky Territory.

Tundra wolf

A large and beautiful animal. You can see his photo below. The body length of males often exceeds 150 cm. Predators have long, soft and thick fur. Color - light tones. In our country, this wolf lives in the forest-tundra and tundra zones of the European part of Kamchatka and Siberia.

Central Russian (forest) wolf

A powerful predator that lives in forest-steppe and steppe zone Russia, and often inhabits Western Siberia. In the northern regions, its entries into the forest-tundra are noted. Although it is generally accepted that the largest representative of this subspecies in Europe and Asia often exceeds it in size.

An adult animal can have a body length exceeding 160 cm, and its height reaches a meter. Of course, such parameters are typical for the largest individuals. On average, an adult male weighs 45 kg, a mature male (1 year and 8 months) - 35 kg, and a mature male (8 months) - 25 kg. She-wolves are 20% lighter.

The predator has a classic coloration, in gray tones with an admixture of ocher. The Central Russian wolf lives in the forests of Central Russia and often penetrates into western Siberia. In the northern regions it enters the forest-tundra.

polar Wolf

This beautiful and powerful animal inhabits the Arctic. perfectly adapted to harsh climate conditions. Warm and dense wool protects it from frost and piercing winds.

This type of wolf is distinguished by its keen eyesight and excellent sense of smell, which help in hunting the few living creatures that live in these harsh places. An insufficient amount of biological food and difficulties in obtaining food lead to the fact that the predator eats the prey completely, leaving neither the bones nor the skin of its victim.

The average weight of the animal is from 60 to 80 kg, height up to 80 centimeters. Amazingly, if the hunt is unsuccessful, this animal can live without food for several weeks. True, then the wolf can eat up to ten kilograms of meat in one go. Wolves living in Russia are more aggressive than North American ones. Attacks on people have been recorded.

Wolf is carnivorous mammal, which belongs to the order Carnivora, the canid family (canines, wolves).

The Russian word “wolf” is consonant with some Slavic names of the beast: Bulgarians call the predator vylk, Serbs - vuk, Ukrainians - vovk. The origin of the name goes back to the Old Slavonic word “vylk”, which meant to drag, to drag away.

Predators have a long and thick tail, which in some species grows up to 56 cm in length and is always lowered down. The wolf's head is massive, with pointed ears set high, and the muzzle is elongated and wide. The skull of the red and maned wolves is shaped like a fox.

The wolf's mouth is armed with 42 teeth: the carnassial teeth are designed to tear prey into pieces and grind bones, and with the help of fangs the animal firmly holds and drags its victim.

Only red wolves have a dental formula that contains fewer molars.

Wolf cubs are born with blue eyes, but by the third month the iris becomes orange or golden yellow, although there are wolves who remain blue-eyed all their lives.

The wolf's fur is thick and two-layered: the undercoat is formed by waterproof down, and the top layer is made up of guard hairs that repel dirt and moisture. The low thermal conductivity of wool allows animals to survive in the harshest climatic conditions.

The color of wolves has a rich spectrum of shades, including various variations of gray, white, black and brown colors, although the fur is often red, pure white or almost black. It is believed that the color of the coat allows predators to blend harmoniously with the surrounding landscape, and the mixture of different shades emphasizes the individuality of the animals.

Wolves are digitigrade animals: relying on their toes allows them to balance their weight while moving. Strong limbs, a narrow sternum and a sloping back allow predators to travel long distances in search of food. The usual gait of a wolf is a light trot at a speed of about 10 km/h. The speed of a wolf chasing prey can reach 65 km/h.

The wolf has excellent hearing, vision is much weaker, but the sense of smell is excellent: the predator can smell prey 3 km away, and the ability to distinguish between several million different shades of smell is of great importance during the rutting season, during hunting and in the communicative communication of animals. Urine and fecal marks are used to mark territory boundaries.

The vocal range of wolves is rich and varied: predators howl, grunt, bark, squeal, growl, whine and convey complex messages to other members of the pack. At dawn you can hear the “choral singing” of wolves. It is believed that wolves howl at the moon, but in fact, by howling, animals inform pack members about their location and drive away strangers. Solitary animals that live outside the pack rarely howl, so as not to get themselves into trouble.

The facial expressions of wolves are also very highly developed: thanks to the position of the mouth, lips, ears and tail, as well as the display of teeth, predators express their emotional condition. Like a domestic dog, a wolf's raised tail and ears indicate wariness or aggression.

Lifespan of wolves

In nature, wolves live from 8 to 16 years; in captivity, life expectancy can reach 20 years.

Historically, wolves' range was second in area to that of humans in the Northern Hemisphere, but today it has declined significantly. Wolves live in Europe (the Baltics, Spain, Portugal, Ukraine, Belarus, Italy, Poland, the Balkans and Scandinavian countries), Asia (countries such as China, Korea, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan, Iran , Iraq, northern Arabian Peninsula), Africa (Ethiopia), North America (Canada, Mexico, USA, including Alaska), South America (Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay). In Russia, wolves are distributed throughout the entire territory, except for Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands.

The following types of wolves live in Russia:

• red wolf (2 subspecies out of 10);
• Gray wolf;
• tundra wolf;
• steppe wolf;
• Eurasian wolf, also known as Tibetan or Carpathian;
• polar Wolf.

Predators have mastered and adapted to life in a wide variety of natural zones: wolves live in the tundra, forests, deserts and semi-deserts, on plains, in mountains forest areas, sometimes settle near populated areas.

Wolves are territorial and social animals, forming packs of 3 to 40 individuals that occupy a personal range of 65-300 square kilometers, marked by scent marks. At the head of the pack is a monogamous pair of leaders: an alpha male and an alpha female, the remaining members of the pack are their offspring, other relatives and lone wolves, subordinate to a strict hierarchy. During the rutting period, the flock breaks up, the territory is divided into small fragments, but the best area always goes to the dominant pair. While moving through their territory, leaders leave scent marks once every 3 minutes. At the border of the territory, the density of tags may be even more frequent.

Being nocturnal animals, during the day wolves rest in various natural shelters, thickets and shallow caves, but they often use the holes of marmots, arctic foxes or, and they themselves dig holes extremely rarely.

What does a wolf eat?

Wolves are one of the most agile, fast and hardy predators, tracking and tirelessly pursuing their prey. The wolf's diet depends on the availability of food and in most species consists primarily of animal food. Wolves hunt equally successfully in packs and alone, but they can drive and attack large prey, for example, reindeer, bison or yak can only be hunted together. In 60% of cases, wolves attack young, old, sick or wounded animals, and they perfectly sense whether the animal is strong and healthy or sick and weakened.

In the wild, the wolf feeds on large animals (roe deer, saigas, bison, wild boars), smaller mammals (armadillos, lemmings), as well as fish, brooding birds, and their eggs. The prey of wolves is often large and small domestic animals and birds (geese,), as well as foxes, wild dogs and corsacs.

In the absence of a main source of food, wolves do not disdain small amphibians (for example,), insects (,) and carrion (for example, dead seals washed ashore). In the warm season, berries, mushrooms and ripe fruits appear in the diet of predators.

In the steppes, wolves quench their thirst in fields with melons - watermelons and melons. Hungry predators even attack hibernating animals; they will not miss the opportunity to tear apart a weakened and sick animal, eating up to 10-14 kg of meat at a time. A hungry polar wolf eats a white hare whole, with bones and skin. An interesting feature of wolves is their habit of returning to the corpses of half-eaten prey, as well as hiding excess meat in reserve.

Types of wolves, photos and names

In the canine (wolf) family there are several genera, which include different types wolves:

1. Genus Wolves (lat. Canis)
   • Wolf, also known as the gray wolf, or common wolf (lat. Canis lupus), which includes many subspecies, including domestic dogs and Dingo dogs (secondary feral):
     • Canis lupus albus(Kerr, 1792) – tundra wolf,
     • † Canis lupus alces(Goldman, 1941)
     • Canis lupus arabs(Pocock, 1934) – Arabian wolf,
     • Canis lupus arctos(Pocock, 1935) – Melville Island wolf,
     • Canis lupus baileyi(Nelson and Goldman, 1929) – Mexican wolf,
     • † Canis lupus beothucus(G. M. Allen and Barbour, 1937) - Newfoundland wolf,
     • † Canis lupus bernardi(Anderson, 1943)
     • Canis lupus campestris(Dwigubski, 1804) – desert wolf, also known as steppe wolf,
     • Canis lupus chanco(Gray, 1863),
     • Canis lupus columbianus(Goldman, 1941)
     • Canis lupus crassodon(Hall, 1932) – Vancouver Island wolf,
     • † Canis lupus deitanus(Cabrera, 1907) (in some classifications it is a synonym of the subspecies Canis lupus lupus),
     • Canis lupus dingo(Meyer, 1793) - Dingo dog, or secondarily feral domestic dog,
     • Canis lupus familiaris(Linnaeus, 1758) – dog,
     • Canis lupus filchneri(Matschie, 1907),
     • Canis lupus floridanus(Miller, 1912)
     • † Canis lupus fuscus(Richardson, 1839)
     • Canis lupus gregoryi(Goldman, 1937)
     • † Canis lupus griseoalbus(Baird, 1858)
     • Canis lupus hallstromi(Troughton, 1958) – New Guinea singing dog (in some classifications it is a synonym for the subspecies Canis lupus dingo),
     • † Canis lupus hattai(Kishida, 1931) - Japanese wolf, or shaman,
     • † Canis lupus hodophilax(Temminck, 1839),
     • Canis lupus hudsonicus(Goldman, 1941) – Hudson wolf,
     • † Canis lupus irremotus(Goldman, 1937)
     • Canis lupus labradorius(Goldman, 1937)
     • Canis lupus ligoni(Goldman, 1937)
     • Canis lupus lupus(Linnaeus, 1758) - European wolf, also known as Eurasian wolf, Chinese wolf, or common wolf,
     • Canis lupus lycaon(Schreber, 1775) - eastern wolf, or North American timber wolf,
     • Canis lupus mackenzii(Anderson, 1943)
     • Canis lupus manningi(Anderson, 1943)
     • † Canis lupus minor(M. Mojsisovics, 1887) (in some classifications it is a synonym of the subspecies Canis lupus familiaris),
     • † Canis lupus mogollonensis(Goldman, 1937)
     • † Canis lupus monstrabilis(Goldman, 1937)
     • Canis lupus nubilus(Say, 1823) - buffalo wolf, or Great Plains wolf,
     • Canis lupus occidentalis(Richardson, 1829) - Mackenza plains wolf, also known as Alaskan wolf, Canadian wolf or Rocky Mountain wolf,
     • Canis lupus orion(Pocock, 1935)
     • Canis lupus pallipes(Sykes, 1831) – Asian, also known as Indian or Iranian wolf,
     • Canis lupus pambasileus(Elliot, 1905),
     • Canis lupus rufus(Audubon and Bachman, 1851) – red wolf,
     • Canis lupus signatus(Cabrera, 1907) – Iberian wolf (in some classifications it is synonymous with the subspecies Canis lupus lupus),
     • Canis lupus tundrarum(Miller, 1912) – polar wolf,
     • † Canis lupus youngi(Goldman, 1937) is a wolf of the southern Rocky Mountains.
2. Genus Maned wolves (lat. Chrysocyon)
   • Maned wolf, or guara, or aguarachai (lat. Chrysocyon brachyurus)
3. Genus Red wolves
   • Red wolf, or mountain wolf, or Himalayan wolf, or buanzu (lat. Cuon alpinus)

Below is a description of several varieties of wolves.

• Red Wolf, aka mountain wolf, Himalayan wolf or buanzu(lat. Cuon alpinus)

A large predator, externally combining the features of a wolf, fox and jackal. Mature males grow from 76 to 110 cm in length. At the same time, the weight of the red wolf is 17-21 kg. The animals' tail is longer than that of other wolves, fluffy, like a fox's, and grows to 45-50 cm in length. The red wolf has a short, pointed muzzle and large, high-set ears. The main color of the animals is various shades of red, and the tip of the tail is always black. Distinctive feature The subspecies is considered to have fewer teeth and 6 to 7 pairs of nipples. Differences in fur density, color and body size made it possible to divide the species into 10 subspecies.

The biotopes of predators are tied to mountains, rocks and gorges (up to 4 thousand m above sea level). The red wolf feeds on small animals - amphibians and rodents, as well as large animals: sambar, axis and antelope. In summer, wolves happily eat various vegetation.

A significant part of the animals’ range extends across Central and South Asia; predators live from Altai mountains and Tien Shan to Hindustan, Indochina and the Malay Archipelago. The largest population is found in the Himalayas, southern Iran, India and Pakistan's Indus Valley. In other habitats, the red wolf is extremely scarce or completely extinct, so the species is classified as endangered and is protected.

• Maned wolf, aka guara or aguarachai (lat. Chrysocyon brachyurus)

A unique representative of the family, its name translates as “short-tailed golden dog.” Long hair up to 13 cm long grows on the nape of predators, forming a thick mane. Externally, the maned wolf resembles a large long-legged fox, the body length of adult individuals is 125-130 cm, due to excessively elongated limbs, the height of the wolf at the withers reaches 74-87 cm, and the animals weigh from 20 to 23 kg. The obvious disproportions of the body are especially emphasized by the long muzzle, large, high-set ears and a short tail with a length of 28 to 45 cm. The wolf's fur is reddish-yellow in color, a strip of black fur runs along the spine, the legs are almost black, and the chin and the end of the tail are light.

Maned wolves live exclusively on the plains, and, having evolved, acquired their surprisingly long limbs, allowing them to make their way through thickets of grass. The species' range extends from the northeast of Brazil to the eastern regions of Bolivia, in the south it covers Paraguay and the Brazilian state of Rio Grande Do Sul. According to the IUCN, the population is becoming vulnerable.

Predators feed on rodents, rabbits, armadillos, amphibians, insects, and also eat guava and nightshade, which rids animals of nematodes.

• Eastern wolf, aka North American timber wolf(lat. Canis lupus lycaon)

It still does not have a specific classification: a number of scientists consider it as an independent species ( Canis lycaon) or is considered a hybrid of a gray wolf with a red wolf or coyote. The height at the shoulders of mature males reaches 80 cm, females - 75 cm, with a body weight of 40 and 30 kg, respectively. The fur of the eastern wolf is yellowish-brown, shaggy, black hair grows on the back and sides, and the area behind the ears is distinguished by a reddish-brown tint.

Eastern wolves are primarily carnivores, their prey being deer, elk and rodents.

These animals live in forests from the southeast of the Canadian province of Ontario to the province of Quebec.

• Common wolf or Gray wolf(lat. Canis lupus)

One of the largest predators among canines, with a body size reaching 1-1.6 m. The height at the shoulders of seasoned individuals is from 66 to 86 cm, in particularly large specimens it can be up to 90 cm. An ordinary wolf weighs from 32 to 62 kg, among the inhabitants of the northern regions of the range, body weight varies from 50 to 80 kg. The tail of predators grows up to 52 cm. The color of animal fur is quite variable: forest inhabitants are usually gray-brown, tundra inhabitants are almost white, desert predators are gray with red, only the undercoat is always gray.

The favorite food of wolves is various ungulate mammals: deer, elk, roe deer, antelope, wild boar and small animals: mice, hares, gophers. Wolves do not disdain representatives of their own family, for example, small foxes and raccoon dogs; various domestic animals often become their prey. During the ripening period, predators quench their thirst on melon fields, eating watermelons and melons, because they need a lot of moisture.

The range of the gray wolf extends across Eurasia and North America. In Europe, predators are distributed from Spain and Portugal to Ukraine, Scandinavia and the Balkans. In Russia, the gray wolf lives everywhere except Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands. In Asia, animals are distributed from Korea, China and Hindustan to Afghanistan and the north of the Arabian Peninsula. In North America, the animals are found from Alaska to Mexico.

• Red wolf(lat. Canis lupus rufus)

At first it was considered as an independent species (lat. Canis rufus), but DNA tests allowed it to be considered a hybrid of a gray wolf and a coyote.

These predators are smaller than their gray relatives, but larger than coyotes, their size ranges from 1 to 1.3 m excluding the tail, and the height of the animals ranges from 66 to 79 cm. Seasoned wolves weigh from 20 to 41 kg. Red wolves are slimmer and longer-legged than their gray relatives, their ears are more elongated and their fur is shorter. The red color of the fur is characteristic of the inhabitants of Texas; other animals have gray, brownish and black tones in color along with red; the back is usually black.

The diet of predators consists mainly of rodents, raccoons and hares; hunting for large prey is rare. The secondary food is insects and various berries; on occasion, carrion is eaten.

The red wolf is the rarest subspecies, its range, originally covering the eastern United States, was reduced to small areas of Texas and Louisiana, and in the 70s of the 20th century the red wolf was completely exterminated, with the exception of 14 specimens preserved in captivity. Thanks to measures aimed at restoring the population, of the 300 individuals bred, about a hundred predators today live within the state of North Carolina.

• Tundra wolf(lat. Canis lupus albus)

One of the particularly large and little-studied subspecies, externally similar to its close relative, the polar wolf, but somewhat inferior in size: the average weight of predators is about 42-49 kg. Although pure white wolves are found among the population, most individuals are gray-white and dark gray in color with a complete absence of brown.

The developed massive jaws of the wolf with strong teeth allow it to hunt large prey, although the diet includes rodents and white hares.

Tundra wolves live throughout the tundra and forest-tundra of Europe and Siberia up to Kamchatka and the Arctic coast.

• Steppenwolf, or desert wolf(lat. Canis lupus campestris)

A poorly studied species of predators of small size, with rather sparse and rough fur of a grayish-ochre color.

Desert wolves inhabit the steppe and desert landscapes of Central Asia, including the Kazakh steppes and southern Russia: Ciscaucasia, Caspian lowland, Priuralsky region and Lower Volga region.

• Eurasian wolf, aka European, steppe, Carpathian, Tibetan or to Chinese wolf, also called common wolf(lat. Canis lupus lupus)

Externally, the predator resembles the North American subspecies, but its fur is denser and shorter. The height of mature males at the shoulders is about 76 cm with a body weight of 70 to 73 kg.

The smallest individuals inhabit Eastern Europe, the most massive ones are found in northern Russia. Wolves can be solid in color or include various combinations of grey, white, black, red and beige, and the brightest colored specimens live in Central Europe.

The diet of European wolves depends on the range and consists mainly of medium and large prey such as saigas, chamois, mouflons, deer, roe deer, wild boars and even bison and yaks. Predators do not disdain smaller animals, catching hares and frogs, and in the complete absence of food, they feed on slaughterhouse waste in garbage dumps.

The Carpathian wolf is considered a particularly common subspecies of the common wolf and is found over a significant range that extends across Eurasia through Western Europe, the Scandinavian countries, Russia, China, Mongolia, Azerbaijan and the Himalayas.

• polar Wolf(lat. Canis lupus tundrarum)

The closest relative of the European wolf and the completely extinct Japanese wolf. Adult males grow from 1.3 to 1.5 m in length, not including the tail, and weigh about 85 kg, their height at the shoulders reaches 80-93 cm. The light fur of the polar wolf is extremely dense, adapted to survive in extremely cold climates and warming the animal during long hunger strikes.

The most accessible prey for predators are lemmings and Arctic hare; if the hunt is successful, the pack gets a musk ox or reindeer.

The species' range extends throughout the Arctic and undergoes minor fluctuations caused by migrations of animals - the main sources of food. The lifespan of a polar wolf is about 17 years.

They call it a nurse. It lives in Eurasia and North America, preferring to settle in forests, taiga, mountains and tundra. The color depends on its environment. For example, an animal living in the forest has a gray-brown color, while in the tundra it has a fawn-white color. There are pure white, black and red predators.

The animal has a strong body, long strong legs, and like any predator powerful jaws with sharp and strong teeth. The body length is about 160 cm, the height at the withers is 90 cm, and it weighs 65 kg. Females are smaller in weight and size than males.

By the behavior of a wolf you can determine its mood. The tail is also involved in the animal’s emotions. A warm thick fur coat consists of two layers. The undercoat is always gray in color - it is waterproof fluff, it warms the animal, and the upper hard hair protects from dirt and water. Molting occurs in early summer. On the foot of the paw there is fur in the form of bristles, and in combination with blunt, non-retractable claws, this is an excellent “platform” that allows it not to slide and stay on the surface.

They communicate with each other using sounds. They can growl, howl, bark and even whine. Hearing and sense of smell are well developed. The smell can be smelled 2 km away. His vision is good, he sees no worse at night than during the day. There are 42 teeth in the mouth. The largest of them are fangs, 3 cm long. With their help, the predator grabs, holds and tears the victim into pieces.

They live in flocks, which usually contain married couples(created for life), small wolf cubs and individuals from previous litters.They have clear certain rules life. The entire flock obeys the leader and his girlfriend. They rarely fight; all conflicts are resolved with a warning roar, grin or bite. They have their own large territory, where foreign wolves are prohibited from entering.

Young males lead a solitary lifestyle, looking for a new territory after leaving their native flock. They usually settle in crevices, or occupy other people's burrows of other animals. The gray robber doesn’t want to dig his own lair.

To complete a successful hunt, they hunt more in a pack, especially for large prey. Usually the gray one runs several kilometers at a speed of 10 km/h. In pursuit, he accelerates, and his speed can reach 65 km/h, while jumping up to 5 meters. and ungulates are the main food of the wolf. A strong and healthy animal is unlikely to get into his teeth.

The predator will catch up with a sick or weak poor fellow, and he usually exhausts strong and healthy animals with the chase, but this happens very rarely. In summer, animals replenish vitamin reserves in their bodies by eating forest fruits. They are no strangers to catching and eating bugs, rodents, etc. They eat some herbs.

Not every pack hunt ends in success. It happens that they go hungry for several days. And if the gray robbers drove and killed a large animal, for example, an elk, then “a feast for the whole world,” i.e. feast for the whole flock. The leader and his female eat first: they eat all the most delicious things ( internal organs), then everyone else starts dinner. Each person eats up to 8 kg of meat.

The mating season begins in spring. New married couples will be created, and the flock will split up for a while, because the pregnant female is looking for privacy. In two months, blind, deaf, dark-colored puppies will be born. There are from 3 to 9 puppies in a litter, and one weighs about 400g. Most often they are brown. Mom will be with them in a secluded place for about two months, without leaving the den.

She feeds them milk, licks them and warms them. A caring father brings her food. The cubs' eyes open after 10 - 12 days, and they are blue. When babies grow up, their eye color will change to golden yellow. For some lucky people, the eye color will remain the same as it was at birth.At three weeks, teeth grow, and the puppies try to eat the food that the father brought and regurgitated.

At two months, the cubs come out of hiding, sniff the grass, the air, moving their legs unsteadily and uncertainly - they get acquainted with the world around them. Adults bring raw meat, purring and pushing, the wolf cubs try it. Then they begin to play, tumble and run. When their mother goes hunting, the remaining members of the pack look after the little pranksters. Soon the leader will lead his grown-up puppies on their first hunt. In a pack, no matter which pair has cubs, all members help each other in caring for them.