9781422276426

ANIMALS IN THE WILD

WOLVES

L e o na r d L e e R u e I I I

ABOUT THE AUTHOR DR. LEONARD LEE RUE III is one of America’s most widely published nature writers and photographers. He is the author of 23 books on wildlife and natural history subjects, including The Deer of North America and How I Photograph Wildlife & Nature . A resident of rural New Jersey, Dr. Rue travels widely, having photographed and studied wildlife on all seven continents as well as spending 17 summers in the Canadian wilderness as a guide for Adventure Unlimited. He is recognized internationally as a respected authority on wildlife and nature. His photographs have appeared in thousands of magazines including Audubon, Life, International Wildlife, Natural History, Outdoor Photographer, and Newsweek .

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Copyright © 2019 by Mason Crest, an imprint of National Highlights, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission from the publisher.

First printing 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

ISBN (hardback) 978-1-4222-4175-2 ISBN (series) 978-1-4222-4163-9 ISBN (ebook) 978-1-4222-7642-6

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PHOTO CREDITS

Photographer / Page Number

Erwin & Peggy Bauer: 3, 4, 11 (top), 23 (top & bottom), 46, 65 (top), 76 (top) Gay Bumgarner: 66 (bottom) Daniel J . Cox: 7, 17, 19 (top), 21, 22, 28 (top & bottom), 29, 30 (bottom), 50 (top & bottom), 78, 79 Jeff Foott/Tom Stack & Associates: 67

Michael Francis/The Wildlife Collection: 58, 72–73 (both) D. Robert Franz/The Wildlife Collection: 27 (top), 74 Henry Holdsworth/The Wildlife Collection: 24, 52 Don Johnston/Photo/Nats: 38 (top & bottom), 47

Thomas Kitchin/Tom Stack & Associates: 14,19 (bottom), 39, 44 (top), 45, 54 (bottom), 69 Joe McDonald: 8–9, 11 (bottom), 12 (bottom), 13, 26, 33 (bottom), 48, 49 (top & bottom), 51 (top), 64 Joe McDonald/Tom Stack & Associates: 65 (bottom) Mary Ann McDonald: 32 (top), 71 Gary Meszaros/Dembinsky Photo Associates: 5 Gary Milburn/Tom Stack & Associates: 8, 20 Brian Parker/Tom Stack & Associates: 15, 36 (top), 68, 77 Leonard Lee Rue III: 9, 35, 37 (top & bottom), 61, 63 (top & bottom), 70 Len Rue Jr.: 44 (bottom), 51 (bottom), 53, 60, 62 Carl R. Sams II/Dembinsky Photo Associates: 10, 16, 31 (bottom), 32 (bottom), 56–57 Reinhard Siegel/Aquila Photographics: 75 (top & bottom) Chase Swift/Tom Stack & Associates: 33 (top) John W. Warden: 12 (top), 66 (top) Robert Winslow/Tom Stack & Associates: 24–25, 27 (bottom), 30 (top), 31 (top) Art Wolfe: 6, 18, 34, 36 (bottom), 40–41, 42, 43 (top & bottom), 54 (top), 55, 59, 76 (bottom)

INTRODUCTION

Even though their white coats would reflect the sun’s rays and warmth, these two wolves seek the shade to escape the heat of a warm summer’s day.

F or centuries, the wolf has been one of the most maligned of all wild creatures. At various times in history, it has been venerated, as was the Roman wolf that reportedly gave suckle to the twins Romulus and Remus. More often, it has been hated and feared, as was the Beast of Gevaudan. This one wolf in the south of France was reported to have killed 123 people. Its depredations against people and livestock became so severe that in the mid–1700s, King Louis XV called out an entire army to hunt it down. It took 43,000 men and 2,800 dogs 2 months to finally kill this wolf. European history abounds with records of the dev- astation of wolves on livestock and attacks on human beings. It is the general consensus today that most of the attacks on humans were done by rabid wolves. Single attacks could be blamed on rabies, but repeated attacks cannot because rabid animals usually die of the virus in a very short time. There are records of the Asian wolf carrying off, and eating, children in India. I found no mention of attacks on human adults.

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There has not been an authen- ticated attack by a healthy wolf on a human in North America. The several recorded attacks were made by rabidwolves, whichwere killed and the disease thereby doc- umented. It may be that because the Eurasian subspecies of wolf was exposed to humans long before the advent of firearms, it had less to fear from them. Wolves originated in the New

World in the middle Pliocene epoch, about 5 million years ago, and had developed and diversi- fied by the middle of the Pleis- tocene epoch, about 1.5 million years ago. One type, the Dire wolf, was the largest wolf known to exist. A small type of wolf crossed into Siberia from Alaska, where it eventually developed into the larger, present-day grey wolf, Canis lupus. The grey wolf then migrated back to North America, where it populated all of what is now Canada and the United States, except for the southeast- ern section of the latter country. That area was populated by the smaller red wolf, C. rufus, which developed there. The United States government is trying to repopulate the Southeast with the red wolf today. The grey wolf was well established inNorthAmerica by the time the first Indians and Eskimos came across Beringia, about 18,000 years ago. Every wild creature was designed and adapted to fill a special niche in the web of life. We may not like what any crea- ture does, but then no one ever asked us to. To paraphrase Ger- trude Stein, “A wolf is a wolf is a wolf.” Let us look at the wolves and then join them on their trav- els throughout the year.

This yawning wolf shows off the dentition of a meat-eating predator. The long canine teeth are used for grasping and tearing the prey animal. The high- ridged carnassial teeth in the back of the mouth are used for scissoring off chunks of meat to be swallowed.

Unless they are sheltering their young in a den, wolves sleep in the open throughout the year.

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The wolf and the dog are very closely related, as can be seen in the frequency with which the two species interbreed and pro- duce fertile offspring. Size Most of the adult grey wolves weigh in the vicinity of 75 to 125 pounds (34 to 56 kilograms). Males are usually larger than females by as much as 25 percent. There are authenticated records of male wolves weighing as much as 175 pounds (79 kilo- grams). As large as wolves are, they usu- ally appear to be much larger because of their long hair. In their winter coats, the hair on their backs and sides averages 2 to 2.5 inches (5 to 6.3 centimeters) in length. Starting at the base of the neck, the wolf has a teardrop-shaped mane of hair that elongates into just a crest down the spine toward the tail. Over the shoulder, the

THE WOLF OBSERVED The wolf is a large member of the canine family. It is not known for sure just when the divergence occurred that split the ancestors of our domestic dog, C. familia- ris, from the grey wolf, C. lupus, but it is thought to have occurred about 4 million years ago. Early people were probably fol- lowed by a wolflike creature that scavenged on the remains of kills. In time, the crea- ture sacrificed its freedom in exchange for those remnants. The dog, for so the crea- ture turned out to be, was not the only one to gain from the exchange. In time, the dog learned how to help people in their hunt- ing, guarded the herds of other animals that the people domesticated, was some- times used as a beast of burden, and at times, even protected the people from other animals.

Wolves spend most of their time hunting, eating, or sleeping. After traveling many miles to make a kill, wolves usually sleep immediately after eating. This wolf, awakening from a deep slumber, is yawning and stretching.

The maned wolf of South America is inappropriately named because it is not even distantly related to the grey wolf. In reality, this animal looks more fox-like than wolflike.

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mane is about 6 inches (15.2 centimeters) wide. The hairs in the mane are 4 to 5 inches (10 to 12.7 centimeters) long and are attached to erectorpili muscles, which allow the hairs to stand on end, making the wolf appear even larger. Extensive studies of the North Ameri- can wolf species show that they measure between 50 to 70 inches (1.3 to 1.8 meters) in total nose-tip-to-tail-tip length. Of that length, one-quarter is the tail length. In 1969, in Aniak, Alaska, I personally saw a wolf skin that measured 90 inches (2.27 meters) in nose-to-tail length. The fur trader told me it was the largest wolf skin he had ever seen in all his years of buying fur. Wolves stand between 27 to 31 inches (68 to 78 centimeters) high at the shoul- der. Compared to dogs of the same size, wolves’ chests are much narrower. Their legs are also longer in proportion to their body weight than are most dogs. Because of its narrower chest, the wolf’s left and right foot tracks are closer together than those of dogs.

Much of a wolf’s power to communicate relies on facial expressions. This snarling wolf is showing aggression, as can be seen by its exposed fangs, curled lips, and erect ears.

Foot Structure and Speed Humans are plantigrade, walking upon the entire flat foot, sole, and heel. All mem- bers of the canine family, and the feline family too, are digitigrade, walking upon just their toe tips. Unless a wolf is lying down, the heel of each foot does not come in contact with the ground. The front feet of a wolf are exceptionally large. This is of great advantage to the wolf when it runs upon snow, as it allows greater weight dis- tribution and more support to prevent the animal from sinking in as deeply when the snow is soft. The wolf has five toes on each forefoot, but only four are actually needed. The fifth toe, corresponding to our thumb, has

Wolves do not run at full speed until they get as close to their prey as possible. At that point, they make a high-speed chase to test the animal.

regressed. It is now found up on the middle of the foot and is known as a dew- claw. There are just four toes on each of the hind feet. Each toe pad is surrounded by stiff, bristly hair, which acts as insu- lation and also provides a better grip on slippery ice surfaces. The claws are strong and blunt because the tips are worn off by constant contact with the ground. These are used for digging and in gripping the earth while running, not for seizing prey. Wolves walk, trot, lope, or gallop. Their legs are long, and they walk at about 4 miles (6.4 kilometers) per hour. Their usual mode of travel is to trot, which they do at various speeds, generally between 8 to 10 miles (12.8 to 16 kilometers) per hour.

The wolf has five toes on its front foot, but only four toes show in the track. This is because the fifth toe, the dewclaw, has regressed. It has only four toes on its hind foot. The larger track at the bottom of the photo was made by the wolf’s right front foot.

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Wolves can keep up this pace for hours on end and have been known to cover 60 miles (96 kilometers) in a single night. They have been clocked at speeds of over 40 miles (64 kilometers) per hour for a distance of sev- eral miles. General Appearance Once a year, a wolf sheds its coat. The long winter hair sloughs off in patches in

the late spring. The new hair that forms the short summer coat continues to grow just enough to gradually form the long winter coat. Although most of the wolves have basically grey coats, hence the common name, the coats usually have a lot of base yellow interspersed between the salt-and-pepper, grey and black hairs. Wolves anywhere can have coats that grade from almost pure white to jet black,

This wolf has on its magnificent winter coat. Wolves shed their winter coats in late spring, and their new coats continue to grow and lengthen throughout the summer and autumn.

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This wolf pup is between 3 and 4 months of age. Not until it is 2.5 years old will it will leave the pack to find a mate.

This wolf splashes into the water without a moment’s hesitation. Alaskan wolves often follow gravel bars and riverbeds in search of prey and constantly wade back and forth in the water on these journeys.

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A trotting wolf is a tireless traveler. Wolves have been known to cover as much as 60 miles (96 kilometers) in a 24-hour period.

A wolf that is bested in either a fight or in play will roll on its back and expose its throat as a sign of complete surrender.

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