Gray Wolves
Gray Wolf (Canis lupis) Historically, most Native Americans revered gray wolves, trying to emulate their cunning and hunting abilities. However, wolves became nearly extinct in the lower 48 states in the early part of the 20th century because settlers believed wolves caused widespread livestock losses. Constantly persecuted and targeted by large scale predator eradication programs sponsored by the federal government, wolves have been pursued with more passion and determination than any other animal in U.S. history. By the time wolves were finally protected by the Endangered Species Act of 1973, they had been exterminated from the lower 48 states, except for a few hundred that inhabited extreme northeastern Minnesota. Second only to humans in their adaptation to climate extremes throughout the world, gray wolves were equally at home in the deserts of Israel, the deciduous forests of Virginia and the frozen Arctic of Siberia. Within the continental United States, gray wolves once ranged from coast to coast and from Canada to Mexico. more info
Gray Wolves Listings: (add your listing)
Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center
A not-for-profit educational preserve protecting grizzly bears and gray wolves for research purposes. Come photograph, video and view these animals in a natural setting.
(800) 257-2570
Gray Wolf Inn - One of West's Newest Hotels
Book online now! King & Queen Standard rooms, Economy & Executive Suites, all less than 2 blocks from Yellowstone's entrance. Large pool for kids, free breakfast, near IMAX.
(800) 561-0815
Wolf groups, or packs, usually consist of a
set of parents (alpha pair), their offspring
and other non-breeding adults. Wolves begin
mating when they are 2 to 3 years old,
sometimes establishing lifelong mates.
Wolves usually rear their pups in dens for
the first six weeks. Dens are often used year
after year, but wolves may also dig new dens
or use some other type of shelter, such as a
cave. An average of five pups are born in
early spring and are cared for by the entire
pack. They depend on their mothers milk
for the first month, then they are gradually
weaned and fed regurgitated meat brought
by other pack members. By 7 to 8 months of
age, when they are almost fully grown, the
pups begin traveling with the adults. Often,
after 1 or 2 years of age, a young wolf leaves
and tries to find a mate and form its own
pack. Lone dispersing wolves have traveled
as far as 500 miles in search of a new home.
Wolf packs usually live within a specific
territory. Territories range in size from 50
square miles to more than 1,000 square miles
depending on how much prey is available and
seasonal prey movements. Packs use a
traditional area and defend it from strange
wolves. Their ability to travel over large areas
to seek out vulnerable prey makes wolves
good hunters. Wolves may travel as far as 30
miles in a day. Although they usually trot
along at 5 m.p.h., wolves can attain speeds as
high as 45 mph for short distances.
Indirectly, wolves support a wide variety of
other animals. Ravens, foxes, wolverines,
vultures and even bears feed on the remains of
animals killed by wolves. In some areas, bald
eagles routinely feed on the carcasses of
animals killed by wolves during the winter.
Antelope are swift, elk are alert, and mountain
goats can climb steep cliffs because of the long
term evolutionary effect of wolf predation.
Wolves also help regulate the balance between
these ungulates (hoofed animals) and their
food supply, making room for smaller plant eaters
such as beaver and small rodents.
Wolves are noted for their distinctive howl,
which they use as a form of communication.
Biologists do not know all of the reasons why
wolves howl, but they may do so before and
after a hunt, to sound an alarm and to locate
other members of the pack when separated.
Wolves howl more frequently in the evening
and early morning, especially during winter breeding
and pup rearing. Howling is also
one way that packs warn other wolves to
stay out their territory.
Successful reintroduction and management
programs have greatly accelerated wolf
recovery in the Rocky Mountains. Gray
wolves have greatly expanded their numbers
thanks to science-based wolf and wolf
habitat management; restoration of wolf
prey species such as deer, elk and moose;
and habitat and legal protection.
For the past twenty years, Yellowstone
National Park has been at the center of
debates over the wolf. By about 1930, wolves
had been deliberately extirpated from the
western United States, including Yellowstone.
After years of comprehensive study and
planning, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
reintroduced gray wolves into Yellowstone
and U.S. Forest Service lands in central
Idaho. In 1995 and 1996, 31 wolves from
Canada were temporarily held in pens before
being released in Yellowstone National Park.
At the same time 35 wolves were released on
remote Forest Service lands in Idaho. All of
the reintroduced wolves were fitted with
radio collars and monitored by biologists
from the Fish and Wildlife Service and other
cooperating agencies. The reintroduction has
been very successful and by December 1997
about 80 wolves lived in each area.
The Yellowstone and Idaho wolves are
designated as non-essential, experimental
under the Endangered Species Act. This
designation allows federal, state and tribal
agencies and private citizens more flexibility
in managing these populations. Wolves that
prey on livestock will be removed and, if
necessary, destroyed. Ranchers may kill
wolves they catch in the act of preying on
their livestock on private lands. They may be
issued a permit to do the same on public
lands after certain conditions are met. The
experimental program has worked so well in
the northwestern United States that a
similar effort is being used to restore
Mexican wolves to their historic range in the
southwestern United States.
- contains info from the US Fish & Wildlife Service
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Other pages you might find helpful:
Nez Perce Wolf Pack
The Nez Perce Wolf Pack habitats wild lands near Ashton, Idaho.
