 Undoubtedly, one of the more popular species now found in
Yellowstone Park is the gray wolf (Canis lupus). The adult male gray wolf stands 26 to 38
inches high at the shoulder and is usually 40 to 58 inches in length (excluding the tail).
Males are 15 to 20 percent larger than females. The weight of gray wolves varies from 40
to 175 pounds. Coyotes are often mistaken for wolves; however, the coyote is actually much
smaller at only 20 to 30 pounds in weight.
 Although most wolves in North America are a grizzled gray color, they can range in color
from tan to pure white or solid black. The gray wolf utilizes its acute senses to survive
and flourish in the wilderness. Scientists have estimated that the wolf's sense of smell
is up to one hundred times more sensitive than that of a human. One researcher found that
a cow moose with twin calves was scented by wolves over four miles away. The sense of
hearing is the next most acute of the wolf senses. Wolves can hear much higher frequencies
than humans. While the upper auditory limit is 20 kHz for humans, wolves may detect
frequencies as high as 80 kHz. Sight is perhaps the least developed of the wolf senses;
however, it has been shown that the wolf's sight is at least as acute as that of humans.
Wolves are social animals that hunt, travel, and live in packs. The pack is primarily an
extended family unit that is bonded very closely. The pack will consist of a dominant pair
of breeding wolves known as the alpha pair, their current offspring, and a few yearlings
or other young wolves. There is a definite hierarchy system within every pack with the
dominant pair being referred to as alpha and the lowest member in the hierarchy known as
the omega wolf. The social order of pack members will change throughout time as wolves
sexually mature, reach old age, become ill or wounded, and become weakened. If one of the
alpha pair dies or becomes weakened, the next most dominant wolf (called the beta wolf)
will take its place. In a pack, only the alpha male and female are allowed to breed. Any
attempt at breeding by other members of the pack is met with aggression by the alpha pair.
Although the largest documented pack was one of 36 animals in Alaska, the average wolf
pack consists of four to seven individuals.
Click here to read for Part II: Yellowstone's Wolves |
