Wolf Trivia: Five Fun Facts About Wolves

Howling to appear bigger

When wolves howl together, they do so on different pitches in order for their pack to seem larger to the ears of enemy packs. Each wolf has an individual voice and will choose a unique note from its pack mates to start its howl. If two wolves start on the same note, one wolf will change its beginning note. If the pack were to all howl on the same note, they would sound more like a single wolf, rather than many. In order to defend their territory, a wolf pack wants to appear as large as possible.

Wolf Coloring

Not all gray wolves (canis lupus) have gray fur, nor do all red wolves (canis rufus) have red fur. A gray wolf’s coat can vary from white to black and also include red, cream, or tan markings. Red wolves vary almost as widely in color and can also have yellow markings.

Wolves that are only wolf by name not by DNA

The Maned Wolf is not a wolf. It is a dog located in South America and thought to be related much closer to a fox than to a wolf. There was also a creature known as the Tasmanian wolf which is not a wolf. It’s classified as a marsupial (like a kangaroo or wolverine). They lived at one time throughout Australia, New Guinea, and Tasmania. When the dingo was introduced to Australia and New Guinea the Tasmanian wolf was driven extinct. Some survived in Tasmania but none have been spotted in sixty-five years.

Native American Beliefs

Native Americans had great respect for the wolf. Some believed that a prick from wolf’s breast bone could protect them from death. There was also a belief that the howling of wolves were the cries of lost spirits searching for a way back to earth. Not all associations were positive however. The Hopi believed that witches could harness and abuse the powers of the wolf to harm others. This was however, more a statement on the savage nature of humanity, rather than that of the wolf.

Wolf vs. Prey Weight Ratio

While wolves will eat smaller prey including rabbits, beavers, and boars, they also take on very large prey. The average wolf is only about eighty pounds, the heaviest maxing out only slightly over 100 pounds. The average deer ranges in weight from 250-300 pounds. Musk oxen are around 700 pounds. The moose, however, is the most impressive of all wolf prey. The lightest moose starts at about 1200 pounds but they can be as much as 1800 pounds.

Sources and Other Reading:

Brandenburg, Jim and Judy Face to Face with Wolves National Geographic, 2008.

Silverstein, Alvin, Virginia, Robert The Red Wolf The Millbrook Press. Brookfield, Connecticut, 1994.

Greeley, Maureen Wolf Barnes & Nobel, Inc. 1997.

Owen, Oliver S. Pup to Timber Wolf Abdo & Daughters Edina, Minnesota, 1996.

Matthews, Lisa “Why do Wolves Howl” Wolf Song of Alaska http://www.wolfsongalaska.org/wolf_why_howl.html