|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Wed Oct 20, 2010 3:33 am
66. The range of the red wolf once extended from eastern Texas to Georgia and Florida and northward through Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Illinois
67. The basic unit of wolf society is the pack
68. The wolf's front teeth are sharp and pointed and adapted to puncturing, slashing, and clinging
69. The wolf's pointed premolars and molars are useful for tearing and shearing once the prey has been killed
70. The wolf's massive rear molars aid in cracking and crushing bones
71. The wolf does little chewing
72. A wolf can consume almost twenty pounds of prey at a feeding
73. Wolves can maintain a chase for at least twenty minutes
74. The wolf feeds almost exclusively on flesh, bones, and other animal matter
75. Lone wolves have no social territory and rarely scent-mark or howl
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Oct 20, 2010 3:36 am
76. The range size for a given pack of wolves depends on many environmental factors, particularly prey density
77. It is common for wolves to be moving eight to ten hours in a day
78. A pack may cover distances from 30-125 miles in a day
79. Wolves possess upwards of two hundred million olfactory cells
80. A wolf's tail hangs while the tail of the dog tends to be held high and is often curly
81. The average gestation period is around 63 days
82.Pups are born blind and defenseless. The pack cares for the pups until they mature at about 10 months of age
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Oct 20, 2010 3:42 am
83. Northa American wolves primarily eat Elk, Moose, Deer, Musk-oxen, Beaver, Bison, and Caribou
84. While wolves can eat every five hours, they can last upwards of 14 days before requiring meat
85. Wolf puppies will hone their hunting skills by killing small rodents. Occasionally they will eat these creatures, but only in hard times.
86. Wolf pups rely on older, stronger members of the pack to either regurgitate previously eaten food, or to bring meat back to the den.
87.If they are fearful of predators, wolves will haul food back to the den or hide it in the snow from scavengers.
88. Wolves devour their prey quickly in order to avoid losing it to larger predators, such as grizzly bears. The alpha male will be given the best part, followed by the female, and it progresses down the hierarchy.
89. Loss of habitat and persecution by Humans are leading factors in the Wolves "Endangered Species Status". This protection had been removed in Montana and Idaho in 2009 but reinstated in August of 2010.
90. Wolves have large feet, the average being 4 inches wide by 5 inches long.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Oct 20, 2010 3:53 am
91. DR. Robert K. Wayne from UC Davis in 1993 showed in a report that domestic dogs differ from Gray Wolves by only 0.2% of the total mtDNA sequence. The Gray Wolfs closest wild relative is the Coyote who differs by 4%.
92. the study mentioned above led scientists at the American society of mammalogists and the Smithsonian Institute of science to reclassify domestic dogs from Canis Familiaris to a sub species of Canis Lupis in 1993
93. High-content wolfdogs cannot digest most packaged dog food due to it's high soy content
94. The first record of a wolf and dog breeding in Great Britain comes from the year 1766 when what is thought was a male wolf had mated with a Pomeranian, which resulted in a litter of nine pups
95. According to the National Wolfdog Alliance, 40 U.S. states effectively forbid the ownership, breeding and importation of wolfdogs, while others impose some form of regulation upon ownership.
96. Today, at least seven breeds of dog exist which acknowledge a significant amount of recent wolf-dog hybridization in their creation.
97. One of the most famous wolf-stories is White Fang form JUack London's "White Fang", I recommend btw
98. Eight million years ago a powerful canid called Epicyon lived on the earth. Epicyon were the size of large wolves and lived in North America.
99. The Eucyon, a fox-size canid, moved west from North America around 4 to 6 million years ago and gave rise to most modern canids, including wolves, coyotes, and jackals.
100. The Dog linage began 37 million years ago in North America in predators that had distinctive pairs of shearing teeth and ran down prey. Early canids reached Europe seven million years ago.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Oct 20, 2010 4:00 am
101. The poor wolf has been demonized in North America ever since the first settlers started ranching and providing a handy food source for the native wolf pack.
102. Through a combination of misunderstanding and vengeance, most native wolf populations have been devastated and decimated to the point where the species is now endangered. Only in North Western Canada and a few northwestern states is there a remnant of a sustainable wolf population.
103. the lesser-known Abyssinian wolf is native to Ethiopia
104. Wolves' chests are narrow and protrude and their front legs are distinguishable by the inward bend of the elbows and the paws that face outwards from their body
105. Wolf dens are always located near water, dug into well-drained soil on a slope facing south. They can be under a boulder, tree roots, or in banks or hollow logs
106. Wolves will use and enlarge coyote or fox dens.
107. The entrances are about 18 inches in diameter. There is a passageway, which is 4 to 17 feet long with a chamber approximately 18"H by 48"W by 41"Deep. There is no bedding is in the den. A well-used den will have bones scattered about and well-worn trails should lead from it. Dens are often used for several years.
108. Wolf pups vary greatly in size. By August, the pups weigh about 40 lbs. or the size of a coyote.
109. In Minnesota, wolves kill the equivalent of 15 to 18 deer each per every year
110. They have a long and bushy tail, which is usually carried down or straight out. The rounded ears stand erect and are about 2 inches long
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Oct 20, 2010 4:03 am
111. The Arikara believed that Wolf-Man made the Great Plains for them and the other animals.
112. The Kwakiutl of the Pacific Northwest believed that before they became men or women, they had been wolves.
113. The Sioux and Cheyenne of the Great Plains and many other tribes credited the wolf with teaching them how to survive by hunting and by valuing family bonds.
114. When Europeans arrived in the New World, roughly 250,000 wolves flourished in what are now the lower 48 states.
115. Mythology, legends and fables such as those popularized by Aesop and the Brothers Grimm intensified people’s fear of wolves. In America, the killing of wolves came to symbolize the triumph of civilization
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Oct 20, 2010 4:06 am
116. In 1630, just ten years after the Mayflower landed at Plymouth Rock, the Massachusetts Bay Colony began offering a reward (bounty) for every wolf killed.
117. As domestic livestock replaced the wolf’s natural prey base of bison and deer, the threat of wolf predation on cattle led to a massive campaign to exterminate the wolf in the American west. Professional “wolfers” working for the livestock industry laid out strychnine-poisoned meat lines up to 150 miles long.
118. the livestock industry laid out strychnine-poisoned meat lines up to 150 miles long. When populations dropped to such low levels that wolves were difficult to find, states offered bounties with the goal of extirpating wolves altogether. Wolves were shot, poisoned, trapped, clubbed, set on fire and inoculated with mange, a painful and often fatal skin disease caused by mites.
119. In a 25-year period at the turn of the century, more than 80,000 wolves were killed in Montana alone.
120. More than 5,000 wolves now inhabit the wild south of Canada.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Oct 20, 2010 4:12 am
121. In Altaic mythology of the Turkic and Mongolian peoples, the wolf is a revered animal. The shamanic Turkic peoples even believed they were descendants of wolves in Turkic legends.
122. According to the Roman tradition, a wolf was responsible for the childhood survival of the future founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus
123. Norse mythology prominently includes three malevolent wolves, in particular: the giant Fenrisulfr or Fenrir, eldest child of Loki and Angrboda who was feared and hated by the Æsir, and Fenrisulfr's children, Sköll and Hati. On the other hand, however, the wolves Geri and Freki were the Norse god Odin's faithful pets who were reputed to be "of good omen."
124. According to legend, the establishment of the Lithuanian capital Vilnius began when the grand duke Gediminas dreamt of an iron wolf howling near the hill.
125. In Japan, grain farmers once worshiped wolves at shrines and left food offerings near their dens, beseeching them to protect their crops from wild boars and deer. Talismans and charms adorned with images of wolves were thought to protect against fire, disease, and other calamities and brought fertility to agrarian communities and to couples hoping to have children.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Oct 20, 2010 4:15 am
126. The Tanaina of Alaska believed that wolves were once men, and viewed them as brothers
127. In the Cardinal directions of the Plains Indians, the wolf represented the west, while for the Pawnee, it represented the southeast
128. According to the Pawnee creation myth, the wolf was the first creature to experience death. The Wolf Star, enraged at not having been invited to attend a council on how the Earth should be made, sent a wolf to steal the whirlwind bag of The Storm that Comes out of the West, which contained the first humans. Upon being freed from the bag, the humans killed the wolf, thus bringing death into the world.
129. The Pawnee, being both an agricultural and hunting people, associated the wolf with both corn and the bison; the "birth" and "death" of the Wolf Star (Sirius) was to them a reflection of the wolf's coming and going down the path of the Milky Way known as Wolf Road
130. The Netsilik Inuit and Takanaluk-arnaluk believed that the sea-woman Nuliayuk's home was guarded by wolves
131. The Bible contains 13 references to wolves, usually as metaphors for greed and destructiveness.
132. In Canto I of Dante's Inferno, the Pilgrim encounters a She-Wolf blocking the path to a hill bathed in light. The She-Wolf represents the sins of concupiscence and incontinence. She is prophecised by the shade of Virgil to one day be sent to Hell by a greyhound.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Oct 20, 2010 4:17 am
133. Wolves are mentioned three times in the Qur'an, specifically in the Sura Yusuf.
134. With the ever expanding growth of Scandinavian based heavy metal, the wolf has been commonly used throughout visual and audio imagery. Bands such as Sonata Arctica (who use the wolf as their "mascot"), Marduk, Wintersun, and Wolf, whose logo contains the image of a wolf paw, have used the wolf throughout their lyrics.
135. The symbol of the wolf has been reputed to represent varying degrees of power as well as connections to Nordic countries (such as Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden) and their natural habitats (snow, mountains, and forests). Additionally, images of wolves can be more violent, with the focus on their potential ferocity and ability to hunt.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Oct 20, 2010 4:44 am
1.Wolves can live up to 13 years in the wild but the average is only 6 to 8 years.
2.Gray wolves once populated large portions of North America, Europe, and Asia, but were hunted to near extinction. Their numbers have rebounded due to conservation and reintroduction efforts.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Oct 20, 2010 4:44 am
3.Wolves are legendary because of their spine-tingling howl, which they use to communicate. A lone wolf howls to attract the attention of his pack, while communal howls may send territorial messages from one pack to another. Some howls are confrontational. Much like barking domestic dogs, wolves may simply begin howling because a nearby wolf has already begun.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Oct 20, 2010 4:46 am
4. Wolves have 42 teeth.
5.Wolves breed once a year, December through March, depending on latitude, the gestation period is 63 days.
6. Wolf pups are born in northern climates as late as early June and in southern climates as early as late February
7. The average litter size is 4 to 6 cubs.
8. The cubs weigh approximately one pound at birth and cannot see or hear.
9. Fur color varies from gray, tan and brown to pure white or black.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Oct 20, 2010 12:42 pm
136. An endangered species of wolf was cloned by Korean scientists including the controversial scientist Hwang Woo-Suk
137. There are two cloned wolves in a zoo in Korea for public view, they are called Snuwolf and Snuwolffy which are names taken from the university in Korea, Seoul National University.
138. In order for a new wolf cub to urinate, its mother has to massage its belly with her warm tongue.
139. The Vikings wore wolf skins and drank wolf blood to take on the wolf’s spirit in battle. They also viewed real wolves as battle companions or hrægifr
140. Wolves do not make good guard dogs because they are naturally afraid of the unfamiliar and will hide from visitors rather than bark at them
141. Wolves have about 200 million scent cells. Humans have only about 5 million. Wolves can smell other animals more than one mile (1.6 kilometers) away
142. A wolf pup’s eyes are blue at birth. Their eyes turn yellow by the time they are eight months old.
143. Lower-ranking males do not mate and often suffer from a condition of stress and inhibition that has been referred to as “psychological castration.” Lower-ranking females are sometimes so afraid of the alpha female that they do not even go into heat
144. Wolves can swim distances of up to 8 miles (13 kilometers) aided by small webs between their toes.
145. In the 1600s, Ireland was called “Wolf-land” because it had so many wolves. Wolf hunting was a popular sport among the nobility, who used the Irish wolfhound to outrun and kill wolves. The earliest record of an Irish wolfhound dates from Roman times in A.D. 391.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Oct 20, 2010 12:44 pm
146. Biologists have found that wolves will respond to humans imitating their howls. The International Wolf Center in Minnesota even sponsors “howl nights” on which people can howl in the wilderness and hope for an answering howl
147. Biologists describe wolf territory as not just spatial, but spatial-temporal, so that each pack moves in and out of each other's turf depending on how recently the “no trespassing” signals were posted.
148. Dire wolves (canis dirus) were prehistoric wolves that lived in North America about two million years ago. Now extinct, they hunted prey as large as woolly mammoths.
149. The smallest wolves live in the Middle East, where they may weigh only 30 pounds. The largest wolves inhabit Canada, Alaska, and the Soviet Union, where they can reach 175 pounds.
150. A light-reflecting layer on a wolf’s eye called the tapetum lucidum (Latin for “bright tapestry”) causes a wolf’s eyes to glow in the dark and may also facilitate night vision. While a wolf’s color perception and visual acuity maybe be inferior to a human’s, a wolf’s eyes are extremely sensitive to movement.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
