Though wolves once roamed far and wide, they are very scarce today. Kingdom: Animalia Subkingdom: Bilateria Infrakingdom: Deuterostomia Phylum: Chordata Subphylum: Vertebrata Infraphylum: Gnathostomata Superclass: Tetrapoda Class: Mammalia Subclass: Theria Infraclass: Eutheria Order: Carnivora Suborder: Caniformia Family: Canidae Genus: Canis Species: This the classification of wolves, according to ITIS: On average, a wolf will live four to eight years in the wild. Young pups start off drinking milk from their mother, but around five to 10 weeks they will start eating food regurgitated from adult pack members.Īt six months, wolf pups become hunters, and at 2 years old they are considered adults. When the pups are born, they are cared for by all of the adult wolves in the pack. The female has a gestation period of nine weeks and gives birth to a litter consisting of one to 11 pups. The leader of the pack and his female mate are usually the only ones in a pack that will have offspring. The gray wolf (Canis lupus) (Image credit: Kramer, Gary U.S. They aren't afraid of going outside their carnivorous diet and will eat berries on occasion, too. Red wolves eat smaller prey such as rodents, insects and rabbits. Wolves are known to attack and kill domestic animals as well as animals they find in the wild. Normally, the pack of wolves will find the weakest or sickest animal in a herd, circle it and kill it together. Gray wolves usually eat large prey such as moose, goats, sheep and deer. Since they are carnivores, their meals consist of meat that they have hunted. Wolves are nocturnal and will hunt for food at night and sleep during the day. Each pack guards its territory against intruders and may even kill other wolves that are not part of their pack. Packs have a leader, known as the alpha male. This usually means about 10 wolves per pack, though packs as large as 30 have been recorded. Usually, a pack will have only one male and female and their young. Packs don't consist of many members, though. The research also found that red wolves and Eastern wolves may be hybrids of grey wolves and coyotes. DNA testing found that only gray wolves are found on the continent. According to research published in the journal Science Advances in 2016, though, there is only one type of wolf in North America. In 2016, the Center Biological Diversity filed a notice of intent to sue the Fish and Wildlife Service to protect red wolves in the United States.
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