Wolves

Wolves travel in packs. Only the top female in the wolf pack breeds. Any female dog will breed. A female wolf only breeds once a year. A female dog will breed twice a year. Normally a gray wolf is larger than a dog. The entire pack raises wolf puppies. A female dog will not let any other animals near her puppies.
Gray wolves and domestic dogs appear to be very different from one another, and indeed in instinct, appearance and life cycle (specifically frequency of fertility in both males and females; wolves are only fertile once per year for a few weeks whilst domestic dog bitches are fertile several times per year and male dogs tend to be fertile year-round).

However, genetically they remain quite similar; all domestic dogs are descended from gray wolves and taxonomically are the same species (canis lupus; they are distinguished, taxonomically, by subspecies only -- canis lupus familiaris for domestic dogs, with gray wolf covering a variety of gray wolf subspecies such as canis lupus lycaon for the North American Eastern Timberwolf). Gray Wolves, domestic dogs, red wolves (canis rufus, considered a distinct species from the gray wolf/domestic dog) and coyotes (canis latrans) are readily interbreedable and are thus more genetically compatible than, say, donkeys and horses (which can interbreed and produce offspring called mules, but their offspring are almost always infertile due to donkeys and horses having different numbers of chromosome pairs giving the offspring an odd number of chromosomes when an even number of chromosomes are requisite for producing more offspring).

10 are... The wolf is a member of the dog family, this family also includes foxes, jakals and

coyotes.

2. Wolves and other dog species live in almost every country in the world.

3. The entrance to a typical wolf's den is about 14-25 inches across and overal shaped.

4. A wolf pack is like a family. Each pack is led by one male and one female known as the alphas.

5. Wolves and there relatives live up to about 7-10 years.

6. Grey and timber wolves grow to about 5-6 feet long.

7. Wolves are known to have 42 teeth.

8. Wolves can shed there fur once a year.

9. Grey wolves can usually run for a few hours at 7-8 miles.

10. Like other animals , wolfs can get ill. Diseases like distemper and rabies can kill wolves by making them too weak to hunt for food.These diseases can spread quickly and have been blamed for the death of many wild dogs.

1.A wolf will mate for life.

2.Wolves breed only once a year; most dogs breed twice

3.Wolves are often confused with Indian dogs, huskies, malemutes and German Shepherd Dogs

4.A pack's home range will sometimes overlap the territory of another pack. this will cause constant fighting until the packs join as one or a pack decides to move.

5.wolves can move there homes as often as they like for many reasons from a new pack in the neighborhood to lack of prey. wolves have also been known to move for no specific reason to us.

6.Most Experts think the domestic dog may have descended from wolves for many reasons. The two are genetically identical and are capable of interbreeding.

7.Black wolves don't occur naturally. A 2008 study at Stanford University found that the mutation responsible for black fur occurs only in dogs, so black wolves are the result of gray wolves breeding back with domestic canines. The mutation is a dominant trait, like dark hair in humans, and is passed down to the majority of offspring. It is not entirely clear what benefit black fur has for the animals; they do not seem to be more successful hunters, but do show a marked improvement in immunity to certain infections. Black wolves are far more common in North America than they are in the rest of the world.

8.The wolf's massive rear molars aid in cracking and crushing bones

9.Wolves dont usually enter water as they have a strong fear of it.the reason is unknown to us but some scientist say that since they have such a heavy coat that its uncomfortable.

10.Strong bonds are needed to hold a pack together; if there were no bonds, each wolf would go its separate way.

Extra Facts:

~Wolves eat their prey alive.

As reported above, wolves will eat nearly anything to stay alive, but their preferred meal is large ungulates (such as deer, moose, and elk). Unlike bears or big cats, wolves do not have an anatomical weapon capable of quickly dispatching such large animals. They kill by attrition, the entire pack swarming and slashing at the haunches and perineum, ripping away at the legs and the gut, until their victim collapses from exhaustion. They begin eating immediately, even though the prey is often still alive for quite some time.

~Wolves find dogs delicious.

Although they are closely related (practically the same species) and can readily interbreed, many wolves consider dogs prey items. In a fight, the even large dogs are generally outmatched, as wolves of equal size have larger teeth and a more devastating bite. In Russia, where stray dogs have become a serious problem since the fall of the Soviet empire, they have become a staple in the diet of wolves. Often, a single wolf will solicit a dog to follow, and lead it into an ambush by the remainder of the pack. Only the largest and fiercest livestock guardians such as Caucasian Shepherds generally have a chance defending themselves

(Scientific name then species)

~Canis lupus baileyi (Mexican Wolf).

~Canis lupus bernardi (Banks Islands Tundra Wolf).

~Canis lupus columbianus (British Colombian Wolf).

~Canis lupus crassodon ( Vancouver Island Wolf).

~Canis lupus hudsonicus (Hudson Bay Wolf ).

~Canis lupus labradorius (Labrador Wolf).

~Canis lupus lycaon (Eastern Timber Wolf).

~Canis lupus manningi (Baffin Island Tundra Wolf).

~Canis lupus tundrarum (Alaska Tundra Wolf).

~Canis lupus campestris (Prairie Wolf ).

~Canis lupus lupus (Gray Wolf).

~A large percentage of coyotes are actually wolf hybrids.

In areas where wolves have been largely eliminated, coyotes have thrived. Over the last few years, large populations have moved east, into suburban areas and even major cities like New York and Chicago. Genetic testing on 100 coyotes caught in Maine revealed that 22 had some wolf ancestry. Coywolves are generally bigger than regular coyotes, but smaller than wolves, and are said to be extremely cunning. They exhibit a fearlessness of human civilization as seen in coyotes, but seem to maintain the wolf's pack hunting instinct and high level of aggression.

Wolves are excellent hunters and have been found to be living in more places in the world than any other mammal except humans.

When the pack kills an animal, the alpha pair always eats first. As food supply is often irregular for wolves, they will eat up to 1/5th of their own body weight at a time to make up for days of missed food.

Hope this helps who ever asked this question...lolz...

"Wolves have only red and blue photo receptors in their eyes, unlike humans, who have red, green, and blue photo receptors. Tests on domestic canines show that they may not be able to distinguish yellow from green or orange from red."

The above was taken from the website runningwithwolves.org which can be found in the related links section below.