The
second full week of October is National Wolf awareness week. So here
are some facts about wolves.
- Although dogs evolved from wolves, wolves don't make good pets or even guard dogs - they are more likely to hide from intruders than confront them.
- A wolf pack is usually a family group with the pack leaders being the parents. Wolves mate for life. Lower ranking or younger females in a pack will not mate but will help raise any cubs.
- When wolves howl, it is usually either to rally their own pack or to keep rival packs away. A howl usually lasts around five seconds. When wolves howl together, they harmonize rather than sing on one note to give the illusion of greater numbers.
- Wolves can smell other animals more than one mile (1.6 kilometres) away, and they see and hear well, too. Their night vision is also good.
- A wolf's jaw has a crushing pressure of nearly 1,500 pounds per square inch (compared with about 750 for a large dog), and their jaws can open wider than those of a dog. They have 42 teeth. All adapted to help them eat as much as 20 pounds of meat in a single meal. To put that into perspective, that's the equivalent of 100 burgers.
- A wolf can run about 20 miles (32 km) per hour, and can reach a speed of 40 miles (56 km) per hour for a short time if necessary. If they are travelling all day they will move at a pace of around 5 miles (8km) per hour. Wolves run on their toes, so they can stop and turn quickly. This also prevents their foot pads from wearing down. They can swim, too - up to 8 miles (13 kilometres). They even have small webs between their toes to help them move through the water.
- In the 1600s, Ireland was called “Wolf-land” because there were so many wolves there. Wolf hunting was a popular sport among the Irish nobility, who used Irish wolfhounds to outrun and kill wolves.
- Wolves have a fearsome reputation as fierce predators. However, there have been only 2 human deaths attributed to wolves in North America in the 21st century.
Browse other topics I've covered in this blog - HERE.
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