Grey Wolf

General information

As the largest of the canine family, the Grey Wolf is a keystone predator as they regulate herd animals by taking out the sick and weak. Their main prey are hoofed animals; such as bison, deer, caribou and moose, although occasionally they will catch small mammals too. Grey Wolves are a social animal living on average in packs of 5 to 8 individuals, consisting of a monogamous breeding pair, their young and older offspring. Breeding season is between January and April, followed by a gestation period of up to 63 days. On average the female will have between 6 to 7 pups in the den she dug herself to raise the pups in. For the next 45 days the entire pack will help feed the pups through regurgitation. 

Although wolves are not particularly fast, running up to only 28mph, they have extreme endurance that allows them to follow their prey day and night if needed! They mainly rely on their keen senses of smell and hearing to locate their prey. Hunting as a pack allows them to prey on large hoofed animals that an individual would not be able to. The dominant member of the pack will eat first, gorging themselves by eating up to 9 kg in one sitting! Their spine-tingling howl attracts the attention of the whole pack so keeping each other safe, alert and in contact.