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Post by Xane;; on Sept 23, 2009 15:08:18 GMT -8
REPRODUCTION;
January-April mating
60 days later, a litter of 5-6 pups are born
2 weeks, pups start eating regurgitated meat
5 weeks, exploring outside den
10 weeks, pups are fully weaned
2 months, pups move dens
3 months, pups watch hunting
8 months, pups are hunting with pack
2 years, pups are fully grown and may disperse
8-10 years, wolf will finally die of age
Generally, mating occurs between January and April. A pack usually produces a single litter unless the alpha male mates with one or more subordinate females. During the mating season, breeding wolves become very affectionate with one another in anticipation of the female's heat cycle. The pack tension rises as each mature wolf feels urged to mate. During this time, the breeding pair may be forced to prevent other wolves from mating with one another.
The pups, which weigh one pound at birth, are born blind, deaf, and completely dependent on their mother. The den is usually on high ground near an open water source, and has an open chamber at the end of an underground or hillside tunnel that can be up to a few meters long. During the first weeks of development, the mother usually stays with her litter alone, but eventually most members of the pack will contribute to the rearing of the pups in some way. Eventually the pups will become more independent, and begin to explore the area immediately outside the den before gradually roaming up to a mile away from it at around 5 weeks of age.
After two months, the restless pups will be moved to a rendezvous site, where they can stay safely while most of the adults go out to hunt. One or two adults stay behind to ensure the safety of the pups. After a few more weeks, the pups are permitted to join the adults if they are able, and will receive priority on anything killed. Letting the pups fight for eating privileges results in a secondary ranking being formed among them, and allows them to practice the dominance/submission rituals that will be essential to their future survival in pack life. During hunts, the pups remain observers until they reach about 8 months of age, by which time they are large enough to participate actively.
Wolves typically reach sexual maturity after two or three years, at which point many of them will be compelled to leave their birth packs and seek out mates and territories of their own. Wolves that reach maturity generally live 6 to 10 years in the wild, but TiME wolves have slightly longer lifespans of 8 to 10 years.
SOCIALITY;
Look here for a basic list of wolf body postures.
Occasionally, single wolves are found in the wild, though packs are more common. Lone wolves are typically old specimens driven from their pack or young adults in search of new territory (dispersal wolves). Normally, the pack consists of a male, a female, and their offspring, but in TiME's case, we'll let the packs form from non-relatives. The size of the pack may change over time and is controlled by several factors, including habitat, personalities of individual wolves within a pack, and food supply. Packs can contain between 2 and 20 wolves, though 8 is a more typical size.
Wolves will usually remain with their parents until the age of two years. Young from the previous season will often support their parents in nursing pups of a later year. Wolves acting unusually, such as epileptic pups or thrashing adults crippled by a trap or a gunshot, are usually killed by other members of their own pack.
Wolves are territorial animals, and packs travel constantly in search of prey. Wolves tend to avoid hunting in the fringes of their territory unless desperate, due to the possibility of fatal encounters with neighboring packs. Established wolf packs rarely accept strangers into their territories, but in TiME's case, alphas may invite newcomers to join their pack. Communication between pack boundaries is achieved in part through scent marking and howling. Howling is the principal means of spacing in wolf populations. Lone wolves, in contrast, rarely respond to howls, instead taking an "under the radar" approach.
HUNTING;
Wolves feed primarily on medium to large sized ungulates (hooves mammals), though they are opportunistic feeders, and will generally eat any meat that is available, including non-ungulate species, and carrion.
Wolves typically attempt to conceal themselves as they approach their prey. Often, they will wait for the prey to graze, when it is distracted. If the prey animal stands its ground or confronts the pack, the wolves will approach and threaten it. The wolves will eventually leave if their prey does not run, though the length of time can range from hours to days. If their prey attempts to flee, the wolves will give chase. Wolves generally do not engage in long chases, and will usually stop a pursuit after a chase of 30-600 feet. Female wolves tend to be better at chasing prey than males, while the latter are more adept at wrestling large prey to the ground once it is caught. Packs composed largely of female wolves thrive on fleet footed prey such as elk, while packs specialising in bison tend to have a greater number of males.
Wolves will target the easiest options available, which includes sick and infirm animals, and also young animals and pregnant females. Though wolves normally hunt large prey in packs, there are cases in which single wolves have successfully killed large animals unaided.
Wolves will typically attempt to disable large prey by attacking the haunches. Once their prey is sufficiently weakened, the wolves will grab it by the flanks and pull it down. Sometimes, with medium sized prey such as dall sheep, wolves will bite the throat, severing the windpipe or jugular. When attacking canid prey, such as dogs, coyotes or other wolves, wolves will kill by biting the back, neck, or head. Usually, it is the dominant pair, the alphas, that work the hardest in killing the pack's target.
Pack status is reinforced during feeding. The alpha pair usually eats first. Wolves of intermediate rank will prevent lower ranking pack members from feeding until the dominant pair finishes eating. Hide and bones are the last to be consumed. Wolves can go without food for long periods, as many as several weeks. Wolves supplement their diet with vegetation.
OTHER PREDATORS;
Wolves are generally intolerant of coyotes in their territory, but coyotes have been known to gang up on wolves if they outnumber them. Wolves may dispatch foxes that are near their kill, though not as frequently as they do with coyotes.
The majority of interactions between wolves and grizzlies usually amount to nothing more than mutual avoidance. Serious confrontations depend on the circumstances of the interaction, though the most common factor is defence of food and young. Grizzlies will use their superior size to intimidate wolves from their kills and, when sufficiently hungry, will raid wolf dens. Grizzlies usually dominate wolves on kills, though they rarely prevail against wolves defending den sites. Wolves in turn have been observed killing bear cubs, to the extent of even driving off the defending mother bears. Deaths in wolf/bear skirmishes are considered very rare occurrences, the individual power of the grizzlies and the collective strength of the wolf pack usually being sufficient deterrents to both sides. Wolves have been recorded to kill Black Bears on numerous occasions without eating them. Unlike grizzlies, Black Bears frequently lose against wolves in disputes over kills.
Wolves are usually hostile toward cougars and will kill cubs if given the opportunity. A pack will, on occasion, steal the kills of adult cougars. Both species have been recorded to kill each other. The cougar usually is at an advantage on a one on one basis, considering it can effectively use its claws, as well as its teeth. Multiple incidents of cougars taking wolves and vice versa have been recorded in Yellowstone National Park.
Modified from Wikipedia. |
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