What are wolves?
Wolves are related to dogs. Their scientific classification is Canis Lupus. They are similar in many ways to dogs, except that in most cases, they are larger. Wolves generally have longer legs than dogs. Dogs are in fact related to wolves. It is estimated that wolves were first domesticated about 12,000 years ago. A lot of time has taken place since, allowing plenty of variation. It is difficult to imagine, but everything from a Pug, to a Pitbull, to a Chihuaua came from the wolf. Wolves are wild animals. They survive by hunting and consuming large ungulate (hooved) animals. They used to be common to most of the Northern Hemisphere. Currently, they are found in Canada in the greatest numbers, and also occur in much smaller numbers in Russia, Northern Europe, and some isolated regions in the United States. Most wolves in the United States are in Alaska and extreme northern Minnesota. Some wolves are also in the northern Rocky mountains. There are also a very few (22 as of December 1999)
Wolves are large, predatory canids once common throughout North America, Europe, Africa and Asia, now living mostly in remote wilderness. They are the largest living members of the canid family, which also includes foxes and coyotes. Wolves are the ancestors of all domestic dogs. There are two species of wolves in North America. The smaller species is the red wolf, Canis rufus, which has shorter, redder fur than the gray wolf. The gray wolf, Canis lupus, has thicker fur which is more gray or golden, and is larger than the red wolf. The gray wolf lives in the northeastern United States, Canada, and Europe. The red wolf lives in the southeastern United States. There are many subspecies of the gray wolf, such as the arctic wolf, a white subspecies which lives in Alaska and northern Canada, and the Mexican wolf, a smaller subspecies which has been recently reintroduced in parts of the southwestern United States.
Wolves are very intelligent, social animals that live in packs (families). The wolf pack is usually made up of the alpha pair, a male and female couple, and their offspring. (The lowest-ranking member of a pack is known as the omega.) Sometimes unrelated adults also live in the pack. The alpha pair decide where the pack will live and when it will hunt.
