Wolves are one of the smartest animals walking this path with us. If they are having trouble finding food, they will not breed. If the alpha female cannot have young, the male will breed with another but the pups belong ot the alpha female. The mother of the pups becomes like an aunt or babysitter, watching after them when the othes go hunting, caring for them, but it is the alpha females place to teach them. Wolves also have a large language spoken with the full body.

The greatest threat to the wolf is people's misconceptions about the threats these animals pose to them and their livestock, and the resultant poaching that still occurs.

Wolves are the top predator in their ecosystems, and as such perform a vital role in keeping those ecosystems healthy, balanced and diverse.

Some ranchers fear that wolves will eat their herds, but the vast majority of wolves do not prey on livestock. If wolves do kill, then programs are in place to pay the rancher for their loss.

Do wolf hybrids must be licensed and vaccinated for rabies?

You bet. But while a wolf hybrid is considered a dog, and therefore must be licensed and vaccinated, there is currently no USDA-approved vaccine for these animals. Many wolf hybrids are vaccinated with the dog vaccine, but because of the lack of a federal approval for this serum, a wolf hybrid may be treated differently from a dog if it bites a human.

Wolves breed once yearly, in February or March and four to six pups are born, sixty three days later. Usually, only the alpha pair breeds, although the entire pack assists in the raising of the pups. When a pup becomes sexually mature at two years, he may stay with the pack or start one of his own.

Social relationships are maintained by vocalization, and postural and facial expressions. Due to an understood dominance hiarchy, pack members rarely injure one another. Fatal encounters with other wolf packs are avoided by the use of territories with overlapping boundries, which are held by scent marking and howling.

GRAY WOLF (Canis lupus) -
The "lone wolf" is very rarely found in the wild. Gray wolves are by nature extremely social animals, and live and travel in packs. Each pack has a very strict order of authority - the leader is called the alpha, and all the other wolves of the pack are submissive to him/her. He or She is assisted by an alpha female/male. Commonly, only this pair mates in the breeding season, but every member of the pack guards and protects the offspring.

The cubs are born with black, dark brown, or gray coats. As they grow, their colors may change. Adult gray wolves can be pure black, snow white, or in between any of the shades. Aside from humans, wolves have the most complex social order of all animals in North America - and are extremely valuable members of the wildlife community. In their natural role as predator, wolves tend to remove only the old, weak or injured - yet these sleek, swift animals are normally shy, reclusive... and rarely observed in the wild. From pup to adult, the gray wolf is one of nature's most fascinating creatures, vital to the health of our nation's wilderness.

Scientists have noticed and documented certain benefits that come from the presence of wolves in the wilderness. Bears consume carcasses that wolves often leave behind. There are also an increased number of scavengers that benefit from wolf carrion such as wolverines, bald eagles and magpies. Traditional coyote prey has increased tremendously because the active presence of wolves in the ecosystem has limited the coyote population.

Prey and General Diet

Wolves predominately prey on hoofed animals including Deer, moose, Bison, Elk, and caribou. Because wolves usually hunt for large animals, (although wolves are opportunistic and will eat smaller prey) they work together to catch their prey. Wolves will eat a healthy, strong animal if they can catch it. (Wolves need an average of three to ten pounds of meat each day). Wolves will also eat grass to purge their digestive system when they have eaten something that does not agree with them. Food sources may differ and change depending on the season and geographical area, when large prey animals are scarce wolves will prey on mice, Rabbits and squirrels, these smaller prey do not provide a substantial part of the wolf's diet but supplement it when larger prey are less avalible.

Beavers play an important roll as an alternative food source in the summer months, in some areas 60% of the wolf's diet is beaver. One of the most odd part of the diet of wolves is fish! Biologist Bod Bromley once observed a wolf in Canada's Northwest Territories catch five fish in fifteen minutes in the Talston River. Wolves will also scavenge, In one study of moose carcasses in Algonquin Park, of 30 moose only 4 were killed by wolves, the rest died of natural causes. Wolves will also eat wild berries and other fruit as a minor part of their diet.