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If you do not talk to them you will not know them, and what you do not know you will fear. What one fears one destroys." CHIEF DAN GEORGE wb ga |
The Wolf is one of the worlds most notorious animals, both loved and hated as no other. Because of the wolfs high intelligence, its senses, great adaptability and great skill in hunting it could manage to live almost anywhere. Something that proves this, is that the wolf in former days lived in every biotope in the northern hemisphere except plains desert.
Many people hate the wolf, they see it as a cruel and vicious beast, a devil's companion that would gladly tear a human apart whenever an opportunity occurs. One story about this "blood thirsty beast" is a story from France, "The Beast From"
Gévaudan."This single wolf was accused of having killed numerous cattle and more than fifty people. An army of 43000 soldiers and 2300 dogs was instructed by King Ludvig XV to track and kill this wolf. Despite this HUGE army, it took over two months to track and then murder this poor animal.
There are a lot of similar stories in the world. Every country with humans, cattle and wolves has similar tales. I believe that everyone of us has heard such stories as "Little Red Riding Hood" and "The Three Little Pigs" that portray wolves as vicious and bloodthirsty beasts, but is there any truth to the claims made in these fairy tales ? Are wolves these beasts; and if not, why all this hatred?. Today there is not a single case where a healthy wolf has attacked and killed a human.
The Wolf's body is formed like a large German shepherd, except that its heart is broader and more massive. The length from nose to tail tip is 120 to 200 cm and sometimes even longer (230-240cm). The weight of a wolf is between 20 to 80 kg for a male and between 18 to 55 for a female. The normal wolf has a weight of between 35-45 kg and a wolf that has a weight of 80 kg or above is a very rare wolf.
The length of the winter fur is 5 to 6 cm and the mane is about 10 to 12 cm. A wolf can survive in very low temperatures as this thick fur offers good protection against the cold. The wolf sheds it's coat of heavy fur at the onset of summer.Beyond that all they can do is slumber in the shadows or other cool places.The hair in the mane is connected to muscles that make it possible for the wolf to raise its hair to communicate a threatening gesture to wolvesor other animals.
Most wolves have grey fur with small areas of white, black, yellow or brown hairs. They range from white wolves like the polar wolf to black wolves such as some timber wolves. In between you will find wolves in the colors of grey, brown, yellow and red. Wolves in the same area usually have the same colors.
The front paws are 11 cm long and 10cm wide and have five toes, four normal and one small toe. The back paws are 8 cm long and 7cm wide with only four normal toes. If you look at the paw pad you will see that it is covered with small, silver hairs. This hair works both as an insulation and as a grip on ice and other slippery surfaces. Normally a wolf will travel at a speed of 12-16 km/h. The wolf when it trots can move at the same speed for hours. The maximum speed for a wolf is about 60 km/h. The distance a wolf moves in a day; from just a few kilometers to as much as 100 kilometers, depends on how far it must travel to find food.
The wolf has well developed eyesight, hearing and sense of smell. These tools are good companions for both hunting and communication with other wolves. Smell is an important factor in a wolfs life, and is necessary for survival. It is used for tracking, hunting, communication and a lot more. Under good circumstances a wolf can sense prey 3 kilometers away. The wolf's equivalent to our fingerprint is two scent glands, one on the back and one at the rectum. The secretions from these two glands are different for every wolf. Wolves also use smell formarking out boundaries and paths in their territory. They mark with either urine, excrement or by digging in the ground. The distance between two marks is normally 100m, but the distance is smaller near borderlines to other wolves.
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