The Big, Not-So-Bad, Wolf

By Randi Lynn Mrvos

Photos by L. David Mech


Arctic wolf
© 2003 L. David Mech

What comes to mind when you hear the word "wolf"? Do you imagine the big, bad wolf in Little Red Riding Hood or The Three Little Pigs? Wolves have a bad reputation because they are the "bad guys" in many traditional children's stories. According to wolf biologists, however, we have wronged wolves all along. Now, let's take a closer look at wolves.

Biologically, wolves are large dogs that belong to a group of mammals called Carnivores, or meat eaters. They look like Eskimo sled dogs, but are leaner and narrower. Wolves live throughout most of the Northern Hemisphere, except near tropical rainforests and in dry deserts. There are two main types of wolves: the gray wolf (Canis lupus) and the red wolf (Canus rufus). Their coats are either gray, soot black, or cinnamon red, and in the arctic and Greenland they are pure white.

Wolves live in family groups or packs, which consist of an alpha male, the dominant wolf which leads the pack's activities, and an alpha female, his mate. Alpha wolves produce offspring each year. In March, five or six pups are born to an alpha female. The pups are born blind and deaf, and they rely on their mother's milk and body warmth to survive. In about three weeks they can see and hear. Members of the pack provide food and assist in taking care of the pups until they are ready to travel with the adults.

Wolves' keen sense of smell and sharp eyesight help them hunt. Their major food sources are deer, moose, elk, musk ox, mountain sheep, reindeer, small rodents and fish. They prey mostly on aged, young, and diseased animals, but sometimes hunt animals in their prime. Indirectly, wolves provide food for foxes, ravens, vultures and bald eagles, which feed on the remains of animals killed by the wolves.


Gray wolf
© 2003 L. David Mech
Wolves have earned a bad reputation because they learned to kill livestock. As early settlers moved westward, wolves' prey animals were severely depleted, making them to turn to sheep and cattle. In addition, wolves are believed to have killed humans. Though there is no written record of a wolf killing a person in North America, there are reports of wolf-attacks in Russia and Europe. These incidents, however, are thought to have involved a rabid wolf or wolf hybrid, which is part dog and part wolf.

According to wolf biologists, wolves usually don't like to fight. They are nevertheless, aggressive in defending their pups, capturing prey, and protecting their territory. They are fiercely loyal and affectionate. In fact wolves are highly respected in some cultures. The Native Americans admire the wolf because it is a great hunter and provider. The Oglala Lakota tribe of South Dakota treats wolves as equals. People of the Blackfeet tribe of northwestern Montana recognize the wolf as a sacred medicine animal. The inland Dena'ina, a tribe that lives in South Central Alaska, believes wolves are their brothers and once lived as humans.

Wolves are powerful, sensitive, and intelligent animals. They are also one of the nature's food providers for other animals. Wolves are truly worthy of a better reputation!

Bibliography-Printed

Lopez, Barry (1978) Of Wolves and Men. NY: MacMillan Publishing Co. pp.34, 38, 39, 54, 55, 69-71, 102, 103, 108, 109,

McIntyre, Rick (ed.) (1994) War Against the Wolf, America's Campaign to Exterminate the Wolf. MN: Voyageur Press. pp. 261, 263, 265, 270.

Meck, L. David (1970) The Ecology and Behavior of an Endangered Species. NY: Doubleday & Co., p.325.

Mech, L. David (1970) The Wolf. NY: The Natural History Press. pp.20, 30, 334.

Mech, L. David (1991) The Way of the Wolf. MN: Voyageur Press. pp. 14, 20, 47, 97.

Steinhart, Peter (1995) The Company of Wolves. NY: Alfred A. Knopf. pp.12, 13, 16, 23, 24, 26, 31.

Wolf!/ Wolves in American Culture Committee, Boise, Idaho (1986). WI: Northword, Inc., pp.5, 9, 10, 11, 12, 15.

Bibliography-Online

Gray Wolf

International Wolf Center

Wolf Species Characteristics

About the Author

Randi Mrvos is a homeschool teacher and a freelance contributor for Weeones, an educational e-magazine for children. Her publishing credits include The Christian Science Monitor, Highlights for Children Magazine, Scholastic Books, The Lesson Plans Page, and Parents and Children Together Online Magazine. She lives in Lexington, KY with her husband, Jim and eight-year old daughter, Abby.

Photo Credits

L. David Mech, PhD
Senior Research Scientist,
Biological Resources Division,
U.S. Geological Survey


Play a Crossword Puzzle and Learn About Wolves


Across
3. The dominant wolf in a group
5. A wolf family group
8. Meat eaters
9. Noise that wolves make
10. A characteristic of wolves
11. One of Native American tribes


Down
1. Place that you will find wolves
2. Month wolf babies are usually born
4. Wolf babies
6. A person study living things
7. One of wolf's food sources

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