Lifestyle and habitat of the polar wolf. polar Wolf
Melville Island wolf (lat. Canis lupus arctos), which is also called Arctic or Ellesmere, lives on the group arctic islands located around North America, as well as in northern Greenland. It received its two names in honor of the islands of Melville and Ellesmere.
It differs from other representatives of the wolf genus by its small ears, which help it retain heat in cold climates. In general, it has long been noted that the further north one or another subspecies of wolves lives, the smaller their ears are.
In general, in wildlife everything is always harmonious. For example, the Melville wolf simply cannot be big, because a large individual is much more difficult to feed itself.
Thus, the average length of his body is in the range of 90-180 cm, and the height to the shoulder is usually from 69 to 79 cm. The weight of an adult arctic wolf barely reaches 45 kg, although some particularly large and strong males can weigh 80 kg.
They are, as a rule, the leaders of the pack. By the way, the packs of Melville wolves themselves are small - a maximum of 5-10 individuals. And here, too, the inexorable rationality of nature can be traced: if there are fewer group members, then they will not be able to hunt effectively, but if there are more, then it will be difficult for them to get food for everyone.
But getting food for Ellesmere wolves is not so easy. Let's start with the fact that their diet includes deer, musk oxen, hares and numerous rodents, which do not want to end up on the dinner table of a pack of hungry wolves, which is why they have come up with numerous ways to leave predators hanging.
For example, when they see danger, they gather in a tight ring, inside which they hide their females and cubs. Try to break through this barrier! The Wolves have to make a lot of effort to break the defense even for a second.
What about fleet-footed deer? After all, it is simply impossible to catch up with them. Melville wolves are forced to set up ambushes, “calculate” the weakest and sickest individuals, and also pursue prey one by one, waiting until it is exhausted. By the way, wolves themselves get tired much more often, so only every tenth such hunt ends with a hearty dinner for them.
Sometimes predators are lucky and manage to lure a large one into a snow trap, which, having fallen into a snowdrift, cannot give a worthy rebuff to the aggressors. But more often they have to make do with skinny Arctic hares or small rodents.
Harsh living conditions also left their mark on the reproduction of Ellesmere wolves. The female from the dominant pair gives birth to only 2-3 cubs in May-June, compared to 4-5 cubs of other species.
They remain with their mother until they are 2 years old and reach sexual maturity only at three years of age. Since it is impossible to dig a hole in frozen ground, she wolves use any natural shelter: caves, rock ledges, and even very small depressions in the ground.
In general, care for the younger generation in this subspecies gray wolf no different from the customs of his brothers. Members of the pack also bring prey to the nursing female and similarly protect their older brothers and sisters when they begin to briefly leave the den.
The Melville wolf managed to retain almost the entire range of its original habitat. It’s just that, unlike other species, it does not have to compete with humans, because the latter does not really like the difficult living conditions on the Arctic islands.
White color has traditionally been considered special among various groups of people. And animals with white coloring were often endowed with unusual characteristics. People believed that this color was a sign of something supernatural. It's no surprise that white (or polar) wolves are a fascinating subject for study. Indeed, among all wolf species (with the possible exception of albinos), they are the most distinguished by color.
Where does the white wolf live?
Like any other wolf, white look used to hiding from possible enemies. Therefore, the wolf's lair is located in a remote place where people usually do not go. However, in the case of white wolves, the habitat also contributes to this. After all, this subspecies lives in the Arctic and Tundra.
Such living conditions leave their mark on privacy wolves. After all, if for a gray wolf it is not a problem to find a fairly quiet corner in the forest, then the polar wolf has a significantly limited choice. Tundra and Arctic conditions do not leave enough free forest for all wolves. Therefore, this species has adapted to a different method of making a den.
The white wolf's lair is usually dug into the ground. Of course, this is not possible everywhere, so the she-wolf uses all methods to somehow cover the wolf cubs. Often she uses someone's old home, or, in the absence of one, just a rocky crevice. We can say that polar wolves not only live their lives, but also spend their childhood in rather harsh conditions.
At first, wolf cubs cannot independently feed on the food that adults eat. However, after about a month they are already able to digest the meat regurgitated by the father wolf. By the beginning of summer - if there was enough food - the wolves gain strength and join the migration of the pack.
Adulthood
Adult white wolves regularly comb large areas in search of food. The reason is simple: it is more difficult to find food in the Tundra than in the forest. Everything that can be caught is eaten, including lemmings. And when the flock catches a reindeer or a musk ox, a celebration ensues. And then the white wolf can fully enjoy life.
(arctic wolf) - vast expanses of the polar regions, immersed in the darkness of the polar night for almost half of the year and characterized by a harsh climate. To be able to survive in such conditions, the wolf had to adapt to a food system that included any food that it could get. He was able to adapt well to Arctic life: he lives for years at sub-zero temperatures (rarely warmer than -30 °C), does not see sunlight for five months a year and goes without food for weeks.
An adult wolf reaches a length of 100–150 cm, and its height at the withers is usually 65–80 cm, Weight Limit– 80 kg.
The average lifespan of polar wolves is seven years.
Polar wolves have their habitat in one of the most barren areas of our planet, where their food is provided by polar hares and lemmings - representatives of the largest group of animals living here. But to survive, a pack of wolves also needs larger prey.
Well suited for these purposes reindeer and musk oxen, but they are rare guests in wolf territories, so predators have to explore vast areas of up to 2000 km2 in order to track down their food.
In winter, when the temperature drops, all small animals hide under the snow, and musk oxen and reindeer go further south in search of food. The wolves have to follow them, waiting for the moment for a surprise attack, because... in the open space of the tundra it is difficult to hide in order to be invisible.
Packs of polar wolves consist of a dozen individuals, including only direct relatives: parents, their last litter and individual individuals remaining from previous litters.
Most often, the leader of the pack is the alpha male, and his female is classified as a beta in the hierarchy. The rest of the pack obeys them.
Intra-pack hierarchical relationships are built on a complex language that includes movements, barking and growling.
Leaders demand unquestioning obedience from their subordinates, and they express their obedience by humbly hugging the ground or lying on their backs.
Clashes to the point of bloodshed between wolves are extremely rare. With their howls, wolves also provide information to other packs to avoid encounters that could lead to fights over territory or females.
Lone wolves become young males who are looking for their own place where they can organize a new pack.
In the found free territory, he marks his presence with urinary points or feces in prominent places in order to claim his right to it.
Mating in polar wolves begins in February and ends in April. Gestation of cubs is 61-75 days. Most often, 4-5 wolf cubs are born in a litter.
In the autumn-winter period, the flock in its entirety migrates along large territories, but after finishing mating season the female leaves the pack to prepare a den for herself. She can dig it out herself, but if the ground is too frozen, the she-wolf will whelp in the old den.
Cubs appear from eyes closed and underdeveloped ear openings. But after a month, not a trace remains of their helplessness - the wolf cubs eat half-digested pieces of meat regurgitated by the male, who takes care of his pack by bringing food to the she-wolf’s lair.
When wolves starve for several days, then, having caught big catch, they can eat a ten kilogram piece of meat at one time.
Polar wolves are nocturnal animals with well-developed hearing.
The color allows it to blend in with the snow, which is very convenient for camouflage when hunting large herbivores. When wolves chase musk oxen, moose, deer and caribou, they can run more than 100 kilometers in one day.
Polar wolves have all the qualities to be the masters of the Arctic - their magnificent warm fur coat, night vision, and the skills of good hunters give them every right to this honorary title.
See photos and pictures of polar wolves:
The wolf is probably not just beast of prey from the canine family, found in our forests, but also a whole archetypal image, perfectly familiar to us from the very early years at least from children's fairy tales, cartoons, where he, as a rule, personifies a negative, evil character who wants to feast on Little Red Riding Hood, the three little pigs, or some other fairy-tale living creature. In fact, from ancient times, people’s attitude towards the wolf was ambiguous; it was either revered (at the same time feared) or demonized; we see an echo of this demonization in many children’s fairy tales. The very name of this animal “wolf” is not without reason consonant in many languages, the English “wolf”, the “Bulgarian” vylk, the Serbian “vuk”, our Ukrainian “vovk” perhaps comes from Old Slavonic word“vylk” means to drag, drag away, the fact is that when dragging away prey, the wolf dragged it in front of him, hence its name.
Wolf Ancestors
According to the theory of evolution, the ancestor of the wolf was Canis lepophagus, an ancient mammal resembling a coyote and living in North America. Over time, the wolf's ancestor increased its size, including the size of its skull. The most ancient representative of the wolf family, already similar to the modern wolf, was found during the study of an early pleistocyte that existed 1.8 million years ago. Although he was only similar to the modern wolf, which was somewhat later - from a million to 150 thousand years ago.
In general, zoologists have discovered as many as four family trees of wolves: African, Himalayan, Indian and Tibetan lines. The Himalayan line is the oldest of them, which means that the Himalayan wolf is the most venerable representative of the wolf order, its appearance took place about a million years ago. The Tibetan wolf is conditionally the “youngest”, since it appeared “only” 150 thousand years ago.
Wolf - description, structure, characteristics. What does a wolf look like?
All wolves are notorious predators, there are no options here, and they are quite predators large sizes, the largest are the gray and polar wolves: their height reaches 85 cm, body length - 150-160 cm, this does not include the tail, weight - 85-90 kg. Moreover, the harsher the habitat, the bigger beast, it is not for nothing that the largest representatives of the wolf family live in the Siberian taiga.
The smallest wolves are Arabian, their maximum height does not exceed 66 cm, and average weight is only 10 kg. Also, in general, in all wolves, females are slightly smaller in size than males.
Outwardly, wolves look like dogs, which is not surprising, because they are their distant relatives.
The wolf's mouth has 42 teeth, including four fangs, which serve the owner to tear prey into pieces, grind bones, and the fangs are excellent for dragging the victim.
Interesting fact: all wolves are born gob-eyed, but by the third month their eyes turn orange or golden yellow. Although there are wolves who remain blue-eyed.
Wolf fur is thick and double-layered; it perfectly protects them from the cold in the cold conditions of the tundra or taiga, and also has waterproof down.
Coat colors can be different colors, depending on the type of wolf and its habitat, there are a variety of variations of gray, white, brown and black. Red wolves are also found. Often their color helps them blend in with their surroundings.
You may know the proverb “the wolf’s legs feed him”; it also has scientific and zoological basis, since his legs really feed him, and for this reason they are well developed, allowing him to move considerable distances in search of food. Wolves usually trot at an average speed of 10 km per hour, but the speed of a wolf chasing prey can reach 65 km per hour.
A wolf's vision is not the best strong quality, is not very developed, moreover, he does not distinguish colors, but this deficiency is more than compensated by excellent hearing and especially charm - he can smell prey 3 km away, in general, his nose distinguishes millions of shades of smell.
Also one more characteristic feature wolves are their famous howl, which actually has a practical meaning for them - wolves do not just fight against the moon (as was previously thought), but in this simple way they inform the members of the pack of their location, and at the same time drive away strangers.
How is a wolf different from a dog?
A wolf differs from a dog, first of all, in more powerful paws, an elongated muzzle, set eyes and, of course, more sharp teeth with sharp fangs.
How long do wolves live?
The lifespan of a wolf ranges from 8 to 16 years. In captivity, it can reach up to 20 years; the fact is that in the wild, old wolves, unable to hunt with the same prowess, die faster than, say, in a zoo, where they are guaranteed to be fed.
Where do wolves live?
Unfortunately, in our time, the wolf's habitat has noticeably decreased; in past times, wolves lived throughout the territory of Eurasia and North America, where humans lived. For example, historical chronicles testify that during the Hundred Years' War between England and France there was such great devastation and desolation that wolves even appeared on the streets of Paris. Now, of course, you are unlikely to be able to meet a wolf not only in the vicinity of Paris but also in other cities; they remain, and even then in small numbers in wild places, including in our Carpathians, in the Siberian taiga.
Wolves are social animals that live in packs, which always have a pair of leaders: a male and a female. The remaining members of the pack: the offspring of the leaders, their relatives or lone wolves who have joined are subject to a strict hierarchy. A pack of wolves has its own area of territory, amounting to up to 300 square kilometers, which they mark with special odorous marks that serve as a warning to stranger wolves.
What does a wolf eat?
Wolves are excellent hunters, and they hunt equally successfully both in a pack and alone. Their prey in the forest is many herbivores: moose, deer, roe deer, saigas, antelope, hares, and gophers. At the same time, wolves are a kind of useful orderlies of the forest, because old, weak, sick animals first come to them for dinner, thus natural selection occurs. Interesting feature The wolf's practical habit is to hide excess meat in reserve.
Types of wolves, photos and names
Let us describe the most interesting species of wolves in our opinion.
He is the Himalayan wolf, as we mentioned above, he is the oldest of the order of wolves, since he appeared a million years ago. Outwardly, it combines the features of a wolf and a jackal. It is 76-110 cm in length, weight is 17-21 kg. It has a short, pointed muzzle and large ears. The color is red. Also distinctive feature It differs from other wolves in having fewer teeth. The red wolf lives in Asia: from Altai mountains to the Tien Shan, but most of them live in the Himalayan mountains, southern Iran, India and Pakistan. As a rule, it feeds on various small animals. It is on the verge of extinction.
A unique representative of the wolf kingdom, its other name is guar or aguarachay, which translates as “short-tailed golden dog.” It has long hair on the back of the neck, which forms a thick mane. Outwardly very similar to a fox. The length of its body is approximately 125-130 cm, weight - 20 kg. Lives exclusively on the plains, feeding on rodents, rabbits, and armadillos. Habitat maned wolf – South America: Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay.
He is also a North American timber wolf, lives in North America, especially in Canada - from Ontario to Quebec. Interestingly, it does not have its own classification; some scientists consider it a hybrid of a gray wolf with a red wolf or coyote. Its height reaches 80 cm, body weight – 40 kg.
common wolf
He is also the gray wolf - the same type of wolf that is widely known, starting with children's fairy tales. It is one of the largest representatives of the wolf kingdom and, moreover, one of the most formidable predators in our temperate latitudes. The habitat of the gray wolf is wide - the territory of Eurasia and North America, everywhere in the wilderness and wild forests you can meet this formidable predator.
It is a hybrid of a gray wolf and a coyote. Red wolves are smaller than their gray relatives, but larger than coyotes, their size reaches 79 cm, weight - 40 kg. It is also distinguished by greater slenderness, more elongated ears, but shorter fur. They especially like to hunt hares and other small rodents, but they can also attack larger prey. The red wolf lives in the eastern United States, in Texas, Louisiana, and is one of the most rare species wolves on the ground. Now, unfortunately, it is on the verge of extinction.
Living in the tundra, this species of wolf is the least studied. Outwardly similar to its closest relative, the polar wolf, but not so large, its average weight is only 42-49 kg. Like polar relatives have white color wool, which helps to blend perfectly with the white snowy landscape of the tundra itself.
Also one of the largest representatives wolf family, living in the extreme northern regions of our planet. It has a white color and the weight of the polar wolf can reach 95 kg. Loves to feast on both small and larger Arctic musk ox. During the famous lemming migrations, polar wolves can also migrate along with their favorite food.
Wolves breeding
Female wolves become sexually mature in the second year of life, males in the third, mating season for wolves usually occurs from January to April. There are frequent fights for a female between competing males, as well as mutual courtship and flirting of both males and females.
During mating, “loving” wolves leave the pack, retire, setting up a den in a secluded place. A she-wolf's pregnancy lasts 62-65 days and from 3 to 13 cubs are born at a time. True, not all of them survive; the weaker wolf cubs die.
Little wolf cubs feed on milk and burps from their mother, and after just six months of life they become able to take part in hunting.
Enemies of wolves
The wolf has practically no natural enemies in nature, except that sometimes the wolf can suffer from even more large predator temperate latitudes - but only if they do not share the spoils. And so the main enemy of the wolf (as well as many other animals) is, of course, man, whose destructive activities have brought many species of wolves to the brink of extinction.
- In the Middle Ages, wolves were often endowed with demonic powers; fear of them even led to the appearance of such a character as the werewolf, a man who turns into a wolf on a full moon.
- Some European coats of arms contain an image of a wolf, meaning that the distant ancestor of this family was a bit of a werewolf.
- To raise morale and rage in battle, the Vikings, and especially their elite warriors- berserkers not only ate special “magic” foods, but also drank wolf blood and wore the skins of these animals.
- Wolves often crossed with dogs, and thus several dog breeds were developed, such as the Czechoslovakian Wolfdog and the Saarloos Wolfdog.
Wolves, video
And in conclusion, we invite you to watch an interesting film about wolves from the channel National Geographic- "Rise of the Black Wolf."
1. The polar wolf lives in vast areas of the polar regions, which are immersed in darkness for 5 months. To survive, the wolf has adapted to eat any food that comes across. It is well adapted to life in the Arctic: it can live for years at sub-zero temperatures without seeing for months sunlight and remain without food for weeks.
2. The length of an adult wolf is 100–150 cm, height at the withers is 65–80 cm, weight is up to 80 kg.
3. Polar wolves live up to seven years.
4. Polar wolves inhabit one of the most barren areas on Earth, where in April the temperature very rarely rises above −30 °C
5. The most numerous group of animals living in these parts are lemmings and polar hares. However, in order to survive, a pack of wolves sometimes needs larger prey.
6. This could include musk oxen and reindeer, but they rarely enter these territories. Therefore, a wolf pack must bypass areas of up to 2000 km². In winter the temperature drops. Small animals hide underground, and reindeer go south in search of food. The wolves follow them.
7. In the open spaces of the tundra, it is difficult to find cover for a surprise attack on the victim.
8. Polar wolves live in packs of 7-10 individuals. Most often, there are family flocks that consist of parents, their cubs and individuals from previous litters.
9. The pack, as a rule, is headed by the leader, and his female occupies a similar position in the pack. The rest of the pack obeys them and forms its own hierarchy.
10. Hierarchical relationships within the pack are carried out with the help of complex language consisting of movements, barks and growls.
11. Wolves that occupy a high position in the pack demand unquestioning obedience from their subordinates, who, in turn, expressing devotion, humbly press themselves to the ground or lie on their backs. Serious, bloody conflicts between wolves are rare.
12. Wolves howl to notify other packs of their presence, thus they mark the territory and try to avoid an encounter that would lead to a fight.
13. Lone wolves are, as a rule, young animals who left their pack and went in search of a separate area.
14. When such a wolf finds unoccupied territory, he marks it with urinary points or feces in certain clearly visible places, claiming his rights to it.
15. The mating period for polar wolves is from February to April. Pregnancy lasts from 61 to 75 days. And 4-5 cubs are usually born per litter.
16. In autumn and winter, the pack migrates, but after the mating season, the pregnant wolf leaves it to find a den for itself.
17. Sometimes the she-wolf digs a den herself, but in winter, when the ground freezes heavily, the female gives birth in an old den or in a rocky crevice.
18. Cubs are born blind, with closed ear openings and absolutely helpless. They are completely dependent on their mother.
19. After about a month, the wolf cubs can already eat semi-digested meat regurgitated by the male, who has been bringing food to the she-wolf and the cubs all this time. If there is enough food, then from the beginning of summer young wolves become full members of the pack and migrate along with the adults.
20. Only every tenth hunt of a pack is successful.
21. Sometimes wolves remain without food for many days, but then eat up to 10 kg of meat at a time.
22. There is so little food in the tundra that a wolf, for example, eats a polar hare with skin, wool and bones.
23. Wolves mostly lead night look life. Their hearing is well developed.
24. The color of the polar wolf is very suitable for its habitat: its skin merges with the whiteness of the snow. This allows wolf pack unexpectedly approach their prey: mainly large herbivores, such as musk ox and elk.
