How does wolves survive

Wolves growl when they are attempting to threaten another wolf or are behaving aggressively. Wolves rarely bark, however, they may do so as an alarm call or during play. Captive wolves who have been exposed to domestic dogs may bark more often than wild wolves or captive wolves who have not been exposed to domestic dogs. Wolves usually hunt in packs or sometimes individually. A wolf will nearly always eat what it catches almost completely. Wolves have more advantages when hunting in packs because they are intelligent animals working together and are able to take down animals that are much larger and stronger than an individual wolf.

Wolves are strict carnivores and to stay alive, all animals require to eat some sort of food to provide energy and nutrients for their body. Wolves do not kill for sport, but for survival. Wolves are scavengers and hunters and will eat anything they catch from large mammals to small rodents.

Some of the animals wolves hunt and eat include: deer, moose, caribou, elk, bison and musk-oxen as well small animals such as beaver, hares and other small rodents. Wolves have large stomachs and can devour 20 — 25 pounds of food at any one feeding time.

However, wolves are able to survive without food for up to 2 weeks or even longer if prey is scarce. Their digestion is very efficient, with all but 5 percent of large meat feeds able to be digested. Any splinters of bone that are not broken down somehow become wrapped in undigested hair, which protects the intestines from injury. Pups are fed by the adults who regurgitate fresh meat from their stomachs, or carry back fresh pieces of meat to the den.

Wolves play an important role to other animal herds. Because wolves only hunt and eat sick or weak animals, they are actually helping the herds regain strength by ridding them of burden animals. For example, there is a sick deer in a herd which is eating food that could be used to feed healthy young deer. So by eliminating the sick deer, not only will it reduce the possibility of this deer infecting other deer and weakening the herd more, it will make more food available to needy youngsters and therefore performs an important natural function in the eco-system.

Wolves live and hunt mainly in their own territory. The pack members will guard and defend their territory from other intruding wolves. Territory size depends on the availability of prey. Should prey be scarce, territory size can be as small as 25 — 30 square miles, however, if prey is plentiful, wolf territory can cover up to 80 — 90 square miles.

A hunt will begin with pack members gathering, greeting each other and howling. These howls will deter other wolves from entering into the packs territory. The wolves commence their hunt by wading through their territory until they come across an animal for prey. The wolf will approach the prey in the opposite direction of the wind to avoid the animal from detecting the wolf scent and running away.

The wolves will close in slowly, sometimes in single file. As soon as their prey is aware it is being pursued and tries to escape, the chase begins.

The wolves chase their prey and once caught, bite their animals by attacking the rump or sides. Large animals with horns are usually attacked this way so the wolves avoid being injured by the horns which are used as weapons against the wolves. Once down, the animal will be weakened and killed with a bite to the throat or snout. Then it is dragged away for all to feed upon.

Wolf hunts can either last minutes or hours depending on whether attacks are successful or not. If an attack fails, the wolves will continue to hunt until they are successful.

It is a matter of survival. The mating season of wolves can occur anytime between January and March. Only the alpha male wolf and female wolf in a pack mate. This is to prevent over-population. The alpha female wolf has only 5 to 7 days of estrus when she is able to conceive. During this time, the alpha pair will sometimes move out of the pack temporarily to prevent interruption from other pack members.

If other adult wolf members of the pack mate, the alpha female wolf will be aggressive towards the other female wolf and usually the alpha male wolf will chase the other adult male wolf out of the pack. It is common for one litter of pups to be born to one pack of wolves. It is rare for two litters to occur unless the alpha male has mated with another subordinate female.

This is usually when the alpha female wolf gets aggressive. The alpha female will try to prevent this by aggressively dominating other females and physically separating them from the alpha male wolf during the mating season. When breeding season arrives breeding wolves begin to get more affectionate with each other. This occurs in anticipation of the females ovulation cycle. Pheromones in the females urine and the swelling of her vulva, tell the male she is ready to mate.

During the first 5 days of estrus, the female will shed a lining of her uterus and will be unreceptive to the male. Following this, she will begin ovulation and mating will occur.

During the period of mating, the two wolves become physically inseparable for anywhere between 10 and 30 minutes, during which time the male wolf will ejaculate multiple times.

The mating ordeal is repeated many times throughout the females brief ovulation period, which occurs once per year per female unlike female dogs, with whom estrus usually occurs twice per year. It is believed that both male and female wolves can continue to breed in this manner until at least 10 years of age. The water below now became shaded, deep, cool, and clear—a better habitat for aquatic-born insects and trout.

Many coyotes were killed or driven away by wolves, helping to bring about a resurgence in pronghorn. A drop in coyotes leaves more gophers, and other rodents for foxes, raptors, and other mid-level carnivores.

WOLVES , now returned to their original habitat, play a vital role in keeping the world of predator and prey in balance. Wolves cull sick, old and genetically inferior elk and deer, allowing the healthiest individuals to breed and perpetuate their species. The remains of a carcass left behind, unfinished by wolves, help feed grizzly bears, bald eagles, wolverines and many other scavengers. Wolves have redistributed the elk herds, allowing vegetation to recover along rivers and streams.

More willows and aspens provide food for beavers. More beaver ponds benefit aquatic plants and animals. Shade from the trees cools the water, making the habitat better for trout. Wolves kill coyotes, so rodent populations increase, benefiting struggling birds of prey. Also, with fewer coyotes, pronghorn antelope calves are less likely to be preyed upon. Wolves and Our Ecosystems how an apex predator brings life. How Wolves Help. Without Wolves ELK , no longer pressured by predatory wolves, became abundant and began to damage their own habitat.

Wolves Strengthen Ungulates. They chase their prey, often over longer distances, sometimes even a few miles, in order to find the right animal or opportunity.

On the hunt, wolves work together with certain individuals typically carrying out their specific role in the hunt, often based on age, gender and social standing. While wolves will eat hares and other small prey, their preferred targets are ungulates, large hoofed animals such as deer and elk.

Individual packs will specialize in hunting specific prey species. While most often that is elk, caribou, deer and moose, it can also be bison, muskoxen, dall sheep or even salmon. It is not uncommon for wolves to be injured or even killed during the hunt by being kicked by a hoof or gored by an antler. They may be injured, sick, old, very young or genetically inferior. But even healthier animals can at times find themselves in a vulnerable position.

Over time this process allows the most capable prey animals to survive and pass on their genes and it helps to limit the spread of diseases within the herd.

This is an ancient evolutionary success story shared by both predator and prey. It is during a hunt where co-operation between wolves within a pack is most apparent. A wolf pack may trail a herd of elk, caribou or other large prey for days before making its move. During this time, they are already hunting, assessing the herd, looking for an animal that displays any sign of weakness, and this is just the beginning. Wolves must also factor in other conditions that will affect the hunt; weather and terrain can tip the scales in favor of predator or prey.

For example, a wide-open plain favors the ungulates, who, if full-grown and healthy, can outrun the fastest wolf. On the other hand, crusty snow or ice favors the wolves whose wide round paws have evolved to perform like snowshoes and carry them effortlessly over the surface. An experienced wolf is well aware that hoofed animals break through the crust and can become bogged down in deep snow.

Wolves have learned to use these conditions to their advantage. The late wolf biologist, Dr. Gordon Haber speaks of a particular pack in Alaska that he observed following a herd of caribou on a narrow packed trail through deep snow.

The wolves know that their mere presence, following close behind, will eventually panic the caribou.