The list of animals I will be studying includes my favorite, and that is wolves. Growing up and living in Minnesota I got to listen and see wolves on occasion. As the kids were growing up, I took them camping in the north woods many times. We would have wolf howls. After it got dark we would howl like wolves and see if we got an answer back. Most times we would hear one return our call. One night, with a full moon overhead, I was out walking in the woods near a lake. The lake was frozen as it was in the winter. I howled like a wolf and I got a reply quite quickly. Then I saw a pack on the lake. I watched for hours as the wolves chased and played with each other on the lake. It was an amazing night.
The closest I have ever been to a wolf was while I was working on my thesis project. I was studying wetlands and was out doing some insect and bird surveys early in the morning. The wetland I was working on was at the bottom of the hill. I had just finished my last stop and climbed the hill to get to my car. The hill had a variety of very tall grasses growing on it. When I got to my car I looked down at the wetland and saw a brown head popping up and down through the grass coming for me. I was trying to figure out what it was when a fawn broke through the grass and ran at full speed right by me. It ran so close to me that I could have grabbed it with my arms and hugged it. I turned to see where it was going. Talking to myself, I asked where it was going in such a hurry and what was chasing it. I turned back around and there 20 feet away was a wolf. He was sitting on the ground looking at me. What did I do? I apologized for letting his breakfast get away of course. What would any self respecting person do. Then I asked if it would sit still for a moment while I got out my camera, but he cocked his head, stood up and trotted back into the grass and disappeared. It was an awesome experience.
Now after boring you with my experiences I think I will give you some facts about the wolf.
1. Alaska is home to the largest remaining wolf population in the world, the population ranges from 7,000 to 11,000 wolves.
2. In Alaska, unlike in the lower 48, wolves are not endangered species and are classified as big game animals and can be hunted.
3. Wolves travel in packs, or family groups consisting of an Alpha male and female, offspring, and other adopted members.
4. They normally feed on members of the deer family, which include caribou and moose.
5. Wolves are very strong for their size.
6. Their front paws have five toes while their back paws have four.
7. They can run up to speeds of 35 mph and can run for 20 minutes.
8. A wolves body can reduce the amount of blood flow to the skin so it can conserve heat in the frozen nights.
9. Their stomachs can hold up to 20 pounds of food.
10. They have enough power in their jaws that they can break most bones with one bite.
11. From ground to shoulder the average height of a wolf is 32 - 34 inches.
12. The average weight for a wolf is around 80 pounds.
13. Their vision during the day is not as good as most hunting dogs but at night their vision is keen.
14. The have very good hearing.
15. Wolves mate for life.
16. Wolves have smaller litters than most other canine species, but the pups tend to be larger.
17. They are very territorial and base their range on the abundance of prey.
18. A wolf may take on a brown bear for food but usually the brown bear wins. I f a brown bear is near the family den, a wolf will fight to the death to protect it, and in most cases will chase off the bear.
19. Wolves express themselves with many body expressions.
20. Wolves howl to gather the pack, locate each other in a storm, pass on alarms or to talk to each other a great distances. Twelve different tones have been recorded that have been made by wolves.
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