Timber Wolf

Timber Wolf is the other name of the Gray Wolf. It’s the largest canine of today. Southern populations of wolves are smaller than northern ones, but Arctic wolves are much smaller than their southern relatives. Once, Gray wolves were spread throughout the Northern hemisphere, but nowadays they are restricted to remote areas. Timber wolves are found in a wide variety of habitats where they can find enough prey. They are well adapted to living in forests, in mountainous areas, taiga, chaparral, prairie and steppes. In the USA, Timber wolves are found in Alaska, Arizona, Idaho, Washington, Minnesota, Michigan, Montana, New Mexico, and Wyoming. Habitat destruction, human encroachment, and lack of typical prey are the reasons of population decline of the Gray Wolf. These animals are considered endangered in many areas of their former range.

The Timber Wolf is a very efficient predator, but a lone wolf is unable to kill large game. That’s why lone wolves don’t mate and don’t have cubs. Only a pack of wolves can provide necessary care and socialization for the cubs. Pack hunting is typical of all canids. Timber Wolves live in family packs consisting of the alpha pair and their adult cubs and siblings. The hierarchy in the pack is strict, which allows providing the best survival rate for the cubs of the alpha pair. If the prey is abundant, other wolves can also breed.

The Timber Wolf mates for life. The litter size in this species varies from 1 to 11 cubs depending on climate and food availability. Not only parents, but all pack participates in rearing the young. Pups are born blind, deaf and helpless. Mother cannot leave them for about a month. The whole pack feeds the cubs regurgitated food until the age of 1.5 months. After that time, young wolves can eat meat. When the cubs mature, their social status depends both on the status of their mother and on their own personality and strength.

A pack of Gray wolves uses a territory that can range in size from 50 to 1,000 square miles depending on prey availability, climate and human impact. The pack defends the territory from other wolves. Young animals leave the pack and search for unoccupied areas. The style of hunting typical of the Timber Wolf gives food for a variety of other animals: foxes, wolverines, ravens, and other animals feeding on carrion.