Welcome to the I Can't Sleep Podcast,
Where I help you drift off one fact at a time.
I'm your host,
Benjamin Boster,
And today's episode is about wolves.
This sponsored episode is a gift to Penelope,
Celebrating her 11th birthday.
Happy birthday,
Penelope.
The wolf,
Also known as the gray wolf,
Is a canine native to Eurasia and North America.
More than 30 subspecies of Conus lupus have been recognized,
Including the dog and dingo,
Though gray wolves,
As popularly understood,
Include only naturally occurring wild species.
The wolf is the largest wild extant member of the family Canidae,
And is further distinguished from other Conus species by its less pointed ears and muzzle,
As well as a shorter torso and a longer tail.
The wolf is nevertheless related closely enough to smaller Conus species,
Such as the coyote and the golden jackal,
To produce fertile hybrids with them.
The wolf's fur is usually mottled white,
Brown,
Gray,
And black,
Although subspecies in the Arctic region may be nearly all white.
Of all the members of the genus Conus,
The wolf is most specialized for cooperative game hunting,
As demonstrated by its physical adaptations to tackling large prey,
Its more social nature,
And its highly advanced expressive behavior,
Including individual or group howling.
It travels in nuclear families,
Consisting of a mated pair accompanied by their offspring.
Offspring may leave to form their own packs on the onset of sexual maturity and in response to competition for food within the pack.
Wolves are also territorial,
And fights over territory are among the principal causes of mortality.
A carnivore,
The wolf is an apex predator that feeds on large wild-hooved mammals,
As well as smaller animals,
Livestock,
Carry-on,
And garbage.
Single wolves or mated pairs typically have higher success rates in hunting than do large packs.
The English wolf stems from the Old English wolf spelled W-U-L-F,
Which is itself derived from the Proto-Germanic Wulfas.
The Proto-Indo-European root wulquos is also the source of the Latin word for the animal lupus.
The name grey wolf refers to the greyish color of the species.
In the distant past,
There was gene flow between African wolves,
Golden jackals,
And grey wolves.
The African wolf is a descendant of a genetically admixed canid of 72% wolf and 28% Ethiopian wolf ancestry.
One African wolf from the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula showed admixture with Middle Eastern grey wolves and dogs.
There is evidence of gene flow between golden jackals and Middle Eastern wolves,
Less so with European and Asian wolves,
And least with North American wolves.
This indicates the golden jackal ancestry found in North American wolves may have occurred before the divergence of the Eurasian and North American wolves.
The common ancestor of the coyote and the wolf is admixed with a ghost population of an extinct unidentified canid.
This canid was genetically close to the dole and evolved after the divergence of the African hunting dog from the other canid species.
The basal position of a coyote compared to the wolf has been proposed to be due to the coyote retaining more of the mitochondrial genome of this unidentified canid.
Similarly,
A museum specimen of a wolf from southern China,
Collected in 1963,
Showed a genome that was 12-14% admixed from this unknown canid.
In North America,
Some coyotes and wolves show varying degrees of past genetic admixture.
In more recent times,
Some male Italian wolves originated from dog ancestry,
Which indicates female wolves will breed with male dogs in the wild.
In the Caucasus Mountains,
10% of dogs,
Including livestock guardian dogs,
Are first-generation hybrids.
Although mating between golden jackals and wolves has never been observed,
Evidence of jackal-wolf hybridization was discovered through mitochondrial DNA analysis of jackals living in the Caucasus Mountains and in Bulgaria.
In 2021,
A genetic study found that the dog's similarity to the extant gray wolf was a result of substantial dog-into-wolf gene flow,
With little evidence of the reverse.
The wolf is the largest extant member of the family Canidae,
And is further distinguished from coyotes and jackals by a broader snout,
Shorter ears,
A shorter torso,
And a longer tail.
It is slender and powerfully built,
With a large,
Deeply descending ribcage,
A sloping back,
And a heavily muscled neck.
The wolf's legs are moderately longer than those of other canids,
Which enables the animal to move swiftly and to overcome the deep snow that covers most of its geographical range in winter,
Though more short-legged ecomorphs are found in some wolf populations.
The ears are relatively small and triangular.
The wolf's head is large and heavy,
With a wide forehead,
Strong jaws,
And a long,
Blunt muzzle.
The skull is 230-280 mm in length and 130-150 mm in width.
The teeth are heavy and large,
Making them better suited to crushing bone than those of other canids,
Though they are not as specialized as those found in hyenas.
Its molars have a flat,
Chewing surface,
But not to the same extent as a coyote,
Whose diet contains more vegetable matter.
Females tend to have narrower muzzles and foreheads,
Thinner necks,
Slightly shorter legs,
And less massive shoulders than males.
Adult wolves measure 105-160 cm in length and 80-85 cm at shoulder height.
The tail measures 29-50 cm in length,
The ears 90-110 mm in height,
And the hind feet are 220-250 mm.
The size and weight of the modern wolf increases proportionally with latitude,
In accordance with the Bergmann's rule.
The mean body mass of the wolf is 40 kg,
The smallest specimen recorded is 12 kg,
And the largest at 79.
4 kg.
On average,
European wolves weigh 38.
5 kg,
North American wolves 36 kg,
And Indian and Arabian wolves 25 kg.
Females in any given wolf population typically weigh 5-10 lbs less than males.
Wolves weighing over 54 kg are uncommon,
Though exceptionally large individuals have been recorded in Alaska and Canada.
In central Russia,
Exceptionally large males can reach a weight of 69-79 kg.
The wolf has very dense and fluffy winter fur,
With a short undercoat and long coarse guard hairs.
Most of the undercoat and some guard hairs are shed in spring and grow back in autumn.
The longest hairs occur on the back,
Particularly on the front quarters and neck.
Especially long hairs grow on the shoulders and almost form a crest on the upper part of the neck.
The hairs on the cheeks are elongated and form tufts.
The ears are covered in short hairs and project from the fur.
Short,
Elastic,
And closely adjacent hairs are present on the limbs,
From the elbows down to the calcaneal tendons.
The winter fur is highly resistant to the cold.
Wolves in northern climates can rest comfortably in open areas at negative 40 °C by placing their muzzles between the rear legs and covering their faces with their tail.
Wolf fur provides better insulation than dog fur and does not collect ice when warm breath is condensed against it.
In cold climates,
The wolf can reduce the flow of blood near its skin to conserve body heat.
The warmth of the foot pads is regulated independently from the rest of the body and is maintained at just above tissue freezing point,
Where the pads come in contact with ice and snow.
In warm climates,
The fur is coarser and scarcer than in northern wolves.
Female wolves tend to have smoother furred limbs than males and generally develop the smoothest overall coats as they age.
Older wolves generally have more white hairs on the tip of the tail,
Along the nose and on the forehead.
Hair length in the middle of the back is 60-70 mm and the guard hairs on the shoulders generally do not exceed 90 mm but can reach 110-130 mm.
A wolf's coat color is determined by its guard hairs.
Wolves usually have some hairs that are white,
Brown,
Gray and black.
The coat of the Eurasian wolf is a mixture of ochreous,
Yellow-to-orange and rusty ochreous,
Orange-red-brown colors,
With light gray.
The muzzle is pale ochreous gray and the area of the lips,
Cheeks,
Chin and throat is white.
The top of the head,
Forehead,
Under and between the eyes and between the eyes and ears is gray with a reddish film.
The neck is ochreous.
Long black tips on the hairs along the back form a broad stripe with black hair tips on the shoulders,
Upper chest and rear of the body.
The sides of the body,
Tail and outer limbs are a pale,
Dirty ochreous color,
While the inner sides of the limbs,
Belly and groin are white.
Apart from those wolves which are pure white or black,
These tones vary little across geographical areas,
Although the patterns of these colors vary between individuals.
In North America,
The coat colors of wolves follow Gloger's rule,
Wolves in the Canadian Arctic being white and those in southern Canada,
The U.
S.
And Mexico being predominantly gray.
In some areas of the Rocky Mountains of Alberta and British Columbia,
The coat color is predominantly black,
Some being blue-gray and some with silver and black.
Black-colored wolves in North America acquired their color from wolf-dog admixture after the first arrival of dogs across the Bering Strait 12,
000 to 14,
000 years ago.
Research into the inheritance of white color from dogs into wolves has yet to be undertaken.
The wolf is a social animal.
Its populations consist of packs and lone wolves,
Most lone wolves being temporarily alone while they disperse from packs to form their own or join another one.
The wolf's basic social unit is a mated pair accompanied by their offspring.
The average pack size in North America is 8 wolves and 5.
5 in Europe.
The average pack across Eurasia consists of a family of 8 wolves,
2 adults,
Juveniles and yearlings,
Or sometimes 2 or 3 such families.
With examples of exceptionally large packs consisting of up to 42 wolves being known.
During times of prey abundance caused by calving or migration,
Different wolf packs may join together temporarily.
Offspring typically stay in the pack for 10 to 54 months before dispersing.
Triggers for dispersal include the onset of sexual maturity and competition within the pack for food.
The distance traveled by dispersing wolves varies widely.
Some stay in the vicinity of the parental group,
While other individuals may travel great distances of upwards of 206 km,
390 km and 670 km from their natal birth pack.
A new pack is usually founded by an unrelated dispersing male and female,
Traveling together in search of an area devoid of other hostile packs.
Wolf packs rarely adopt other wolves into their fold.
Wolves are territorial and generally establish territories far larger than they require to survive,
Assuring a steady supply of prey.
Territory size depends largely on the amount of prey available and the age of the pack's pups.
They tend to increase in size in areas with low prey populations,
Or when the pups reach the age of 6 months,
When they have the same nutrition needs as adults.
Wolf packs travel constantly in search of prey,
Covering roughly 9% of their territory per day,
On average 25 km per day.
The core of their territory is,
On average,
35 km2,
Where they spend 50% of their time.
Prey density tends to be much higher on the territory's periphery.
Wolves tend to avoid hunting on the fringes of their range to avoid fatal confrontations with neighboring packs.
The smallest territory on record was held by a pack of 6 wolves in northeastern Minnesota,
Which occupied an estimated 33 km2,
While the largest was held by an Alaskan pack of 10 wolves,
Encompassing 6,
272 km2.
Wolf packs are typically settled and usually leave their accustomed ranges only during severe food shortages.
Wolves communicate using vocalizations,
Body postures,
Scent,
Touch,
And taste.
The phases of the moon have no effect on wolf vocalization,
And despite popular belief,
Wolves do not howl at the moon.
Wolves howl to assemble the pack,
Usually before and after hunts,
To pass on an alarm,
Particularly at a den site,
To locate each other during a storm,
While crossing unfamiliar territory,
And to communicate across great distances.
Wolf howls can,
Under certain conditions,
Be heard over areas of up to 130 km2.
Other vocalizations include growls,
Barks,
And whines.
Wolves do not bark as loudly or continuously as dogs do in confrontations.
Rather,
Barking a few times,
And then retreating from a perceived danger.
Aggressive or self-assertive wolves are characterized by their slow and deliberate movements,
High body posture,
And raised hackles,
While submissive ones carry their bodies low,
Flatten their fur,
And lower their ears and tail.
Wolves are monogamous,
Mated pairs usually remaining together for life.
Females are capable of producing pups every year,
One litter annually being the average.
Dens are usually constructed for pups during the summer period.
When building dens,
Females make use of natural shelters,
Like fissures in rocks,
Cliffs,
Overhanging riverbanks,
And holes thickly covered by vegetation.
Sometimes the den is the appropriated burrow of smaller animals,
Such as foxes,
Badgers,
Or marmots.
An appropriated den is often widened and partly remade.
On rare occasions,
Female wolves dig burrows themselves,
Which are usually small and short,
With one to three openings.
The den is usually constructed not more than 500 meters away from a water source.
It typically faces southwards,
Where it can be better warmed by sunlight exposure,
And the snow can thaw more quickly.
Resting places,
Play areas for the pups,
And food remains are commonly found around wolf dens.
Though they mostly avoid areas within human sight,
Wolves have been known to nest near homes,
Paved roads,
And railways.
During pregnancy,
Female wolves remain in a den located away from the peripheral zone of their territories,
Where violent encounters with other packs are less likely to occur.
The wolf is a common motif in the mythologies and cosmologies of peoples throughout its historical range.
The ancient Greeks associated wolves with Apollo,
The god of light and order.
The ancient Romans connected the wolf with their god of war and agriculture,
Mars.
Norse mythology includes the feared giant wolf Fenrir,
And Geri and Freki,
Odin's faithful pets.
In Chinese astronomy,
The wolf represents Sirius and guards the heavenly gate.
In China,
The wolf was traditionally associated with greed and cruelty,
And wolf epithets were used to describe negative behaviors.
In both Hinduism and Buddhism,
The wolf is ridden by gods of protection.
In Vedic Hinduism,
The wolf is a symbol of the night and the daytime quail must escape from its jaws.
In the Pani creation myth,
The wolf was the first animal brought to earth.
When humans killed it,
They were punished with death,
Destruction,
And the loss of immortality.
For the Pani,
Sirius is the wolf star,
And its disappearance and reappearance signified the wolf moving to and from the spirit world.
Both Pani and Blackfoot call the Milky Way the Wolf Trail.
The wolf is also an important crest symbol for clans of the Pacific Northwest,
Like the Kwakwaka'wakw.
The concept of people turning into wolves,
And the inverse,
Has been present in many cultures.
One Greek myth tells of Lycaon being transformed into a wolf by Zeus as punishment for his evil deeds.
The legend of the werewolf has been widespread in European folklore.
The Navajo have traditionally believed that witches would turn into wolves by donning wolf skins.
The Dena'ina believed wolves were once men and viewed them as brothers.
Aesop featured wolves in several of his fables,
Playing on the concerns of ancient Greece's settled sheep herding world.
His most famous is the fable of the boy who cried wolf,
Which is directed at those who knowingly raise false alarms.
And from which the idiomatic phrase,
To cry wolf,
Is derived.
Some of his other fables concentrate on maintaining the trust between shepherds and guard dogs,
And their vigilance against wolves.
As well as anxieties over the close relationship between wolves and dogs.
Although Aesop used wolves to warn,
Criticize,
And moralize about human behavior,
His portrayals added to the wolf's image as a deceitful and dangerous animal.
The Bible uses an image of a wolf flying with a lamb in a utopian vision of the future.
In the New Testament,
Jesus is said to have used wolves as illustrations of the dangers his followers,
Whom he represents as sheep,
Would face should they follow him.
Isengrim the wolf,
A character first appearing in the 12th century Latin poem Isengrimus,
Is a major character in the Raynard cycle,
Where he stands for the low nobility,
Whilst his adversary Raynard the fox represents the peasant hero.
Isengrim is forever the victim of Raynard's wit and cruelty,
Often dying at the end of each story.
The tale of Little Red Riding Hood,
First written in 1697 by Charles Perrault,
Is considered to have further contributed to the wolf's negative reputation in the Western world.
The Big Bad Wolf is portrayed as a villain capable of imitating human speech and disguising itself with human clothing.
Villainous wolf characters also appear in The Three Little Pigs and The Wolf and the Seven Young Goats.
The musical Peter and the Wolf involves a wolf being captured for eating a duck,
But is spared and sent to a zoo.
Wolves are among the central characters of Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book.
His portrayal of wolves has been praised posthumously by wolf biologists for his depiction of them.
Rather than being villainous or gluttonous,
As was common in wolf portrayals at the time of the book's publication,
They are shown as living in amiable family groups and drawing on the experience of infirm but experienced elder pack members.
Farley Mowat's largely fictional 1963 memoir,
Never Cry Wolf,
Is widely considered to be the most popular book on wolves,
Having been adapted into a Hollywood film and taught in several schools decades after its publication.
Although credited with having changed popular perceptions on wolves by portraying them as loving,
Cooperative,
And noble,
It has been criticized for its idealization of wolves and its factual inaccuracies.
== Notes
