Meet the Animal Park's Gray Wolves

NATIVE RANGE

Once much more widely distributed, the gray wolf now is limited primarily to northern portions of North America, Europe, and Asia. They are found in a variety of habitats, including forests, prairies, tundra, deserts, and swamps.

DIET

Wolves are carnivores that prefer to eat large hooved mammals such as deer, elk, caribou, musk oxen, bison, and moose but will also hunt smaller animals or eat carrion. Adults can eat 20 pounds of meat in a single meal.

BEHAVIOR

Primarily nocturnal hunters, wolves are social animals and will cooperatively hunt their preferred prey. They live in packs, which are typically family organizations, made up originally by a male/female pair and their offspring. Most packs have four to nine members but can range from as few as two to as many as 15.

FASCINATING FACTS

• Wolves are the largest wild canid, weighing up to 145 pounds. Individuals are generally the largest in the most northern parts of the species’ range.
• Wolves have great stamina and can cover a distance of 18 miles or more at a quick trot. They will travel as far as they need to when searching for prey.
• Their jaws have a bite force of 400 pounds per square inch, enough to crush the thigh bone of a moose.
• A lone wolf howls to attract the attention of his pack. Communal howls may send territorial messages from one pack to another.