There are several types of wolves including gray wolves, timber wolves, red wolves, and arctic wolves. Wolves come in a variety of colors from gray to black and white. They spend time grooming each other to reinforce social bonds. Wolf packs typically have an alpha male and female leaders and can range in size from under 10 to over 50 wolves. Wolves hunt in packs and target weak animals in herds. Their main prey includes deer, elk, and moose. Historically, wolves inhabited most of the Northern Hemisphere but have been pushed to more remote areas by human activity.

2. Types of WolvesTypes of Wolves
• Gray Wolf
• Timber wolf
• Red wolf
• Arctic wolf

3. Wolf colors & coatsWolf colors & coats
• Wolves range from all
shades of gray, tan, and
brown to pure white or
solid black.
• 32% of wolves were
black.
• Most wolves in north
America are a grizzled
gray color.
• Wolves depend upon
their thick coat for warmth
in the northern portions of
their range.

4. Wolf groomingWolf grooming
• It is not surprising that Wolves
spend part of their leisure time
in grooming behavior.
• It is likely that the grooming of
other pack members help
reinforce the social bonds that
tie the pack together.
• Two wolves will each other’s
coat’s, nibbling gently with
their teeth to remove foreign
matter.
• Reciprocal grooming is
especially common during
courtship.
• Injured wolves are intensely
groomed by other pack
members, providing both
physical and mental comfort.

5. Wolf tracksWolf tracks
• The large feet of the
wolf act as
snowshoes in the
winter.
• Wolf tracks are very
similar to those of a
domestic dog,
consisting of four pad
prints plus claw
marks.

6. Wolf diseasesWolf diseases
• Wolves are susceptible to
more that 100 diseases and
parasites, including various
protozoa, roundworms,
heartworms, tapeworms,
flatworms, mange, mites, ticks,
fleas, distemper, cataracts,
oral papillomatosis, tularemia,
trichinosis, bovine
tuberculosis, encephalitis,
arthritis, brucellosis, cancers,
rickets, pneumonia, Lyme
disease, parvovirus, rabies,
and many other ailments.

7. Wolf sense of smellWolf sense of smell
• The wolf’s keen
sense of smell allows
it to track many types
of game.
• A wolf’s sense of
smell may be 100
times more accurate
than a human’s.

8. Wolf sense of hearingWolf sense of hearing
• Wolves may be able
to hear up to 10 miles
away.
• Next to smell, the
sense of hearing is
the most acute of the
wolf senses.
• Next to smell, the
sense of hearing is
the most important
sense of the wolf.

9. Wolf mouthWolf mouth
• Wolves have a total of
42 teeth 10 more than
humans.
• The jaw of the wolf
has a crushing power
of 1,500 pounds per
square inch.

10. Lone wolvesLone wolves
• Lone wolves usually
comprise less that 15% of
a total wolf population.
• When individual pack
members die, lone
wolves sometimes move
in to fill the gap.
• Lone wolves tend to
cover a large territory in
their search for food or a
mate and travel longest
distances when they are
cast out.

11. Wolf pack sizeWolf pack size
• A wolf pack can range
from under 10 wolves
to over 50 wolves.
• Extra – large packs
may provide improved
hunting efficiency
when game is scarce
or may alternatively
be a response to
abundant prey.

12. Wolf pack ranksWolf pack ranks
• Alpha – Leader
• Beta – assistant
leader
• Other- hunters, pup
sitters
• Omega – lowest
ranking wolf

13. The leader of a wolf packThe leader of a wolf pack
• The leader of a wolf
pack is called the
alpha.
• There are 2 leaders in
the pack, the alpha
male and alpha
female.
• The alpha male and
the alpha female in a
wolf pack are the
head of the social
hierarchy of a wolf
pack.

14. Wolf sleepingWolf sleeping
• The Wolf curls up, sleep
for 5-10 minutes, and
wake up again.
• They turn around a few
times, making sure to see
what's happening, before
they curl up again, and go
back to sleep for another
5-10 minutes.
• Almost half a wolf’s time
is spent sleeping

15. Mates in a wolf packMates in a wolf pack
• The alpha male and
female are not the
only pair in the pack
that mates but mostly
it is the alpha’s that
mate.
• Domesticated dogs
can also mate with a
wolf but rare to see.

16. The wolf denThe wolf den
• Shortly before giving
birth, a pregnant female
will seek out a den to
protect the young pups.
• Dens can be a deep
riverbank hollow, a cleft
between rocks, a hollow
log, a space under
uprooted tree roots, or a
space under a rock
overhang.
• Some female wolves
reuse previous dens.

17. Wolf litter sizeWolf litter size
• A wolf litter size
averages between 5 –
6 pups.
• Some litters can be
between 1-11pups

18. Dangers to wolf pupsDangers to wolf pups
• Wolf pups are preyed
upon by a wide
variety of predators,
including bears,
cougars, and other
wolves.
• Hunters are also a
danger to many wolf
pups.

19. Wolves hunting part 1Wolves hunting part 1
• Wolves detect prey by
three primary means:
– Scent (most common)
– Tracking
– Chance encounters
• After prey is detected,
wolves may split up to
search though brush,
travel on ridge tops
searching for the prey
below, or test herds
looking for signs of
weakness.
• It has long been
recognized that wolves
often take advantage of
weak individuals in a herd.

20. Wolves hunting part 2Wolves hunting part 2
• Weakened animals may show their
conditions to predators through
– Body stance
– Uncoordinated body movement
– The smell of wounds or infection
– Some other tangible signal
• Once a weak individual is selected by
the pack, it is brought down after a
chase.
• While a majority of the pack rests, one
or two members test the prey for signs
of fatigue.
• When the attack comes, the prey is
usually seized by either the nose or the
rump.
• The actual death of the prey is usually
caused by massive blood loss, shock,
or both
• Sometimes with smaller prey a neck
bite will snap the backbone.
• Wolves usually begin to feed on the
rump if it was exposed during the
chase, or else on the internal organs.
• The muscle and flesh is the last
portion of the prey that is eaten, in
contrast to human eating habits.

21. Prey of the wolfPrey of the wolf
• Moose, mice, deer, elk,
caribou, beaver, hare, buffalo,
birds, sheep, Ground squirrel,
goat, saiga and Tibetan
antelope, yak, urial, argali,
Tibetan gazelle, camel, Ibex,
Chamois, wild horse, wild
boar, porcupine, rabbit,
gopher, shrew, mole, rat,
raccoon, muskrat, woodchuck,
marmot, insects, nuts, berries,
fruits, shellfish, earthworms,
carrion, and human garbage.

22. The old wolf habitatThe old wolf habitat
• The old wolf habitat had
included the high arctic,
tundra, taiga, forests,
plains, deserts, and
virtually every ecological
niche that provided
sufficient food for it’s
existence.
• The tropical jungle
appear to be the only
ecological niche not
inhabited by wolves.

23. The size of a wolf territoryThe size of a wolf territory
• The average size of a
wolf territory is 223.88
square miles.

24. The current wolf habitatThe current wolf habitat
• Currently, the majority
of wolves inhabit the
most forested,
rugged, and remote
regions of the
Northern Hemisphere,
pushed there by the
spread of their most
deadly enemy, MAN!!!

25. Wolf as a petWolf as a pet
• One of the most
serious problems
faced by humane
societies across North
America is that of
exotic pets.
• Many pet wolves end
up in small backyard
pens far too small for
their needs.

26. Wolf – dog hybridWolf – dog hybrid
• Crossing a dog and a
wolf undoes 12,000 years
of domestication.
• The most common wolf –
dog hybrid crosses are
those resulting from the
breeding of wolves with
Siberian Huskies,
Alaskan Malamutes, or
German Shepherds.
• Over 200,000 wolf – dog
hybrids are kept as pets
across the United States.

27. Wolf CommunicationsWolf Communications
• Vocal Expressions
such as Howling,
barking, growling.
• Scent marking
• Tail positions

28. The Wolf howlThe Wolf howl
• The howl is used to notify other pack
members or other packs of their
whereabouts, or to reassemble a scattered
pack.
• To attract a mate.
• To stimulate and rally the pack before the
hunt.
• To startle prey and cause it to come out of
hiding.
• When disturbed, but not sufficiently alarmed
to run away.
• Upon awakening.
• After intense sessions of play or presence
of an intruder.
• When stressed; lonesome wolf pups often
howl their distress.
• The wolf howl can be heard from 10 miles in
the winter.
• Wolf pups learn to howl by imitates the older
wolves in the pack.
• Wolf howls help maintain contact among
wolves in thick woods.
• The howl of a wolf is the voice of the
wilderness.

29. Wolf fun factsWolf fun facts
• Science term for
wolves - Canis Lupus
• Population size in the
United States is 9,000
wolves but they are
still endangered.

30. Wolves in gamesWolves in games
• The legend of Zelda
Twilight Princess
• Wolf Quest
• Okamiden
• Etc

31. Wolves in movies TV showsWolves in movies TV shows
• White Fang
• Wolf’s Rain
• Alpha and Omega
• Etc

32. Wolf websitesWolf websites
• Wolf song of Alaska
• Wolf hollow
• Etc

33. Wolf documentariesWolf documentaries
• Living with wolves
• Growing up wilderness
• Champions of the wild
• Etc

34. Wolf sanctuariesWolf sanctuaries
• Wolf hollow
• Wolf song of Alaska
• White wolf sanctuary
• Wolf haven
international
• Etc