Wolves, large predators from the canine family, strong and fast, from ancient times excited the imagination of man. They represented themselves as companions of the gods, a reservoir of spirits, totem animals.
Some are afraid of them, while others sincerely consider it almost an ideal creation of nature. Since childhood, we have been instilled with fear of dangerous predators, and they often become the main negative characters in fairy tales and legends.
But what does the average person know about wolves? Often not so much. That they are one of the largest predators of forests and steppes, orderlies of the forest, exterminating weak individuals and regulating the population. That they hunt in packs and howl at the moon.
Meanwhile, wolves are unusual animals that people have devoted years to studying. We have collected ten interesting facts about wolves that will allow you to learn a little more about them.
10. Ireland 17th century bore the name "Wolf Land"
In the 17th century, Ireland was known as "Wolf land». Then a huge number of wolf packs inhabited the territory of this country.
Fierce predators were the main threat to livestock and caused great damage to the shepherds, so the profession of wolf hunter quickly became popular and quite in demand. In addition, hunting for these animals was one of the noble's favorite pastimes; for her, specially trained wolfhounds were kept in the kennels.
9. The weight and dimensions of different species differ significantly from each other
Wolf wolf strife. These animals live in almost all climatic zones from the far north to tropical forests, and each species is characterized by its own parameters..
For example, a familiar gray wolf grows in length from a meter and a half, and its height at the withers is 80-85 cm. The weight of a predator in Europe is on average 39 kg, while its counterpart from North America weighs 36 kg. The farther south, the lower their weight, which is logical.
Individuals living in India have a mass of 25 kg. Record-breaking large individuals reach a weight of 100 kg and live in northern latitudes. They have thick hair, a powerful undercoat and a reliable layer of fat to protect from harsh conditions.
8. The tail of the animal expresses his feelings
Along with the expression of the muzzle, the tail helps companions to understand the mood of the individual and its position in the pack. So, for example, the leader keeps the tail raised or parallel to the back, while a frightened animal lowers it between the hind legs, pressing it to the stomach.
To understand that a wolf in a good mood can be along a lowered, relaxed tail, and if he is satisfied, he will wave it from side to side, but not as actively as dogs. An angry animal moves slowly and deliberately, each step is filled with a threat, including tail movement.
7. In some countries of the world they are completely exterminated
The wolves delivered the main trouble to the population of Europe, its farmers, and to a greater extent - Great Britain. We already talked about how popular hunting for wolves in Ireland was, and the last predator was killed there back in the late 17th century.
Officially, the date of the extermination of wolves in Scotland is considered to be 1680, but there are legends that some individuals were found until the 19th century. By and large, in most of Europe, these animals are completely destroyed. Some wild packs manage to survive in the remote forest and mountain regions of Russia, Romania, Greece.
Their population in Italy is 250 goals, and they are protected. Only about a dozen individuals remained in Sweden, and they are under the strict protection of the state. True, if a careless predator wanders into the territory of Norway, there he may well meet with the gun of a local farmer. In Europe, the question of preserving the wolf population is an acute issue, but this is not so simple.
6. In North America there are animal hybrids (crossbreeds with dogs)
The fact that dogs quite successfully interbreed with wolves, scientists have known for a long time. Archaeological discoveries confirming these theories have been made. And today free crossbreeding is possible if the wild wolves for some reason did not consider stray dogs to be competitors.
Such hybrids, which were called wolfhounds, have much better abilities than dogs, they have a sharper sense of smell and hearing, they are much stronger. And also at times more aggressive. Hybrids possess the power of a wolf, but are completely deprived of its caution and can attack a person. More than once attempts were made to artificially cross a dog and a wolf, but the resulting puppies turned out to be too angry and could not be trained.
The experiment of the Perm Institute of Internal Troops can be called the most successful; for all its positive qualities, its hybrids could be trained and used for service.
5. Can attack people as a result of rabies
Despite the fact that most people are reasonably afraid of wolves, the animals themselves, like everyone else, are afraid of humans and prefer to bypass. An exception is a particularly hungry year, when the wolf decides to take a chance and attack the people who turned up at the wrong time.
If the animal goes to the person, does not show fears, then the reason is most often one - rabies. Such an animal can attack even without an obvious reason, and it is unlikely that everything will end in one bite.
4. A wolf pack lives according to its own laws
There is a strict hierarchy in the wolf pack. At its head is the leader. This is not always the strongest individual, but necessarily the most intelligent and mentally stable. The female leader also enjoys great authority. Beta is the next wolf after the leader. There are warriors, males and females without puppies in the pack. Old and sick individuals are at the very bottom.
This hierarchy determines in which order members of the pack gain access to food, whether they will have puppies, or whether they are required to obey. Fights and showdowns are a rare case, as a rule, the strongest quickly explain everything to the daredevils.
At the same time, the flock exists according to altruistic laws, and each of its members does everything for the well-being of the collective as a whole.
3. The brain of a wolf is 30% larger than that of a dog
The brain of a wolf is 15-30% bigger than a dog’s brain. But the size and weight of the brain alone does not mean anything: the sperm whale, with whom it can reach a weight of 8 kg, is considered far from the most intelligent animal.
But scientists have proven that, on average, a wolf has a more outstanding intellect. For example, he is able to open the door of an aviary in a nursery by spying on a person.
Scientists conducted an experiment in which puppies of a dog and a wolf were shown how to open a box of goodies, and wolf children coped with everything, and dogs in only 4 out of 10 cases.
2. Howl - a means of communication
Wolf howl is one of the most chilling sounds that people often mentioned in the most terrible tales. Meanwhile howling - a means of communication of animals at a distance. With its help, an individual can convene a flock for hunting or migration, to warn members of other flocks to stay away.
Lone wolves also howl, for example, in order to find a mating partner, or simply because they are alone. The howl lasts only a few minutes, but due to the echo it seems to be much longer.
1. Monogamous animals
Speaking of relationships, they recall any examples from the animal world, about swans or cats in love, but never about wolves. But in vain. After all joining a pair, wolves remain in it for life.
Moreover, in the spring, during the rutting season, a wolf with a she-wolf can leave the pack to be only with each other. And they behave surprisingly sweet and gentle: they look after each other, rub their faces, lick and gently bite.
A wolf before the birth of puppies can behave aggressively with other members of the pack, as the most faithful friend, and with the advent of the wolf, their father is actively involved in caring for them.