Canidae Central

There are many spieces of wolves but grey wolves (canis lupis) make up most of the wolf population. The grey wolf has 32 subspeices, which the timber wolf is one of those. There are white wolves and black wolves but they still fall under the grey wolf catagory.

Wolves were hunted to extinction in westeren Europe but reintroducuction organizations are trying to get them populated there again. Wolves live in most of North America from the cold north to the hot south of Mexico. They are adaptive to the enviroment which makes them capable of living in nearly any type of enviroment. Wolves are commonly seen in the winter and where there is snow and forest. Wolves tend to stay away from urban areas and live in the wild around trees. Though they have been seen in deserts and plains but most wolves prefer the forest or woods that are on mountains or moutain ranges.

Wolves live in social groups called packs. Though some wolves are seen alone because they split off from their pack as a young wolf and went in search of a mate to start their own pack. A pack usually cosist of 2-8 wolves, depending on the age of the pack, but sometimes there can be over 20 members in a pack. A pack is usually the alpha male and alpha female with thier pups from generation before. Wolves travel all over their territory in which the alpha male and alpha female will choose where to go. They will sometimes attempt to expand their territory for better food. 

When expecting pups, the wolf pack will dig a den for the alpha female in which she'll give birth the pups there and nurse them for the first few weeks of their lives. The other members of the pack will bring back food to the den for the alpha female and pups when they're old enough to eat adult food.

Wolves are carnivores but have been seen eating berries. Their food can range from large game such as elk or moose to earthworms or grasshoppers. Wolves eat their food quickly so that there is a lower risk of being attacked for the food by another predator. They'll eat the best meat first and bury the rest in snow or frozen soil to help keep it perserved for later use.

Wolves are excellent hunters especially when they are in packs. They have excellent teamwork in order to take down a animal that is up to three times thier size. If a wolf is injured during a hunt, they'll be cared for and given plenty food to maintain their health. A wolf's hunt is not always succesful and can sometimes last up to three hours trying to take down an elk or moose. The wolves will surround the target and attack where ever it's not looking.

Wolves will hunt any game in their territory and find the thick snow to their favor as the target may have a tough time running through it in panic and the wolves will leap through the snow and keep on the animal until it is surrounded. When the wolves are migrating near the boundry of their territory, they'll often chase an animal for miles away from their territory boundry but they know where home is no matter where they go. While chasing an animal out of their territory, it can expand if they discover no other predator presence nearby.