TIMBER WOLVES
Canis lupus

Timber Wolves are the wild dogs also known as Gray Wolves. The Timber Wolf lives in Canada, Alaska, Pacific Northwest, north Midwest, and northern Europe and Russia. They live in cold praries, forests, and mountains. The Timber Wolf is a very powerful animal. They can be 6 and a half feet in length, and they have long, sharp teeth. During the winter, many Timber Wolves will band together in a pack (group of wolves) in order to hunt for food. They like to eat small animals like rabbits, birds, reindeer and other animals. If they can't find any live food, Timber Wolves will eat any dead animals they find. Sometimes they even eat berries and nuts. When they aren't hunting, you might find Timber Wolves in their dens. This is where they sleep and raise their young. The wolf den could be a cave, hollow tree, or a hole in the ground that the wolf dug. A wolf pack is usually made of one family of wolves, but during the winter wolf families may join together to make one large pack. There is always one male that is the leader of the pack. He is called the alpha male. His mate is called the alpha female.

Although many people believe that wolves are ferocious animals, there have been very few reported attacks of wolves on humans. Usually if a wolf is confronted by a person, he will run away. They are only violent when hunting their prey. Wolves play an important role in keeping the population of small animals in control throughout their habitat. Because of human expansion, there is a decreasing number of Timber Wolves. This has caused an overpopulation of certain small animals in places where Timber Wolves have disappeared.

Click here or here to listen to the sound that Wolves make. It may take a few seconds to download.

Here are some cool facts about Timber Wolves:

• Timber Wolf moms can have up to 11 pups!
• Sometimes Timber Wolf parents feed their pups by regurgitating (throwing up) food.
• Timber Wolves weigh up to 175 lbs.
• Timber Wolves are related to jackals and domestic dogs.