Wolves, known for their intelligence, social structure, and iconic howls, are among the most fascinating and misunderstood animals in the wild. These highly social predators play a crucial role in maintaining the balance of ecosystems. Here are 15 fun facts that provide a closer look at the life and habits of wolves. These fun facts highlight why wolves are considered one of the most remarkable and important animals in the wilderness.
Wolves
Wolves’ natural habitat is historically one of the largest of any mammal besides humans. You could find them across the whole northern hemisphere – from artic areas to deserts – and even today, they survive in tundras, mountain forests and swamps.
However, humans have destroyed one third of their natural habitat. This drove some of the subspecies, such as Japanese, or Texas wolf, to extinction.
There are strong social connections within each wolf pack, where every individual has their given role. In Northern America, those packs can consist of up to 8 wolves, in Europe, the number usually averages a bit lower on 5-6.
Similarly to humans, wolves can show surprising faithfulness and stay with their partners until the death makes them part. Only after that, the wolves tend to search for their next partner.
It’s not just howling that wolves use to communicate with each other. They can also screech, whine, or use their body language to show what’s on their mind. Markings and smells are then very common for indirect communication.
The howling of a wolf can get very loud. You can hear it in a field size of up to 130 km².
Wolves are very fast and in their top form, they can reach up to 58–64 km/h.Unlikefelines, it’s not just a momentarypeak, as theycankeepthis speed up fortenthsofkilometers to chase theirprey.
The wolves’ paws are almost like natural snowshoes. They have wide finger pads with fur that fills the gaps between the fingers, preventing them from sinking into the snow, and allowing them to travel sneakily and effectively.
When it comes to hunting, wolves are not afraid of taking on a bigger prey. They can coordinate their pack very effectively, taking on the animals of the size of an adult bison.
When eating, wolves don’t care about manners. They are able to swallow up to 15-19% of their overall weight at once, which is a several kilograms of meat on average! No wonder people often say “You are hungry as a wolf.”
Feeding of the young pups can get quite disgusting. The female wolves usually eat the food first to digest it. Then, once they are done, they vomit it up for the younglings to eat. For the pups, it is natural and they are able to communicate their hunger by sniffing around the mouth of their mother.
Contrary to the popular belief, wolves aren’t as aggressive as they seem to be. They are known to protect hurt or otherwise weakened ungulates, making themselves an important part of the ecosystem balance.
Czech wolf is known the biggest subspecies of the Canidae biological family.As their name suggests, they were inhabiting the whole area of Czechia, but due to the deforestation, they were retreating and only came back during last years.
The gene ancestor of the black wolf might surprise you, as it is none other than an ordinary dog.A black coat mutation appeared in dogs 45,000 years ago and transferred to wolves through hybridization.
Wolves have deep roots in mythologies and cultures. Some cultures, such as Dacians, saw them as the God’s animals. Others turned them into sworn enemies, such as Northern mythology with Fenrir.
