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→Etymology
{{Taxonomy
{{Taxonomy
|name=Wolf
|name=Wolf
|image=480px-Canis lupus laying.jpg
|image=EurasianGray wolf.jpg
|caption=
|caption=
|domain=Eukaryota
|domain=Eukaryota
==Etymology==
==Etymology==
The word "wolf" has its origins with the Old English word ''wulf''; which apparently came from Old High German<ref>https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wolf</ref>. The words "rapacious", "ravenous", and "voracious" were associated with this animal since at least the 12th century if not earlier, and often used to described the lustful desires of both men and women<ref>http://www.etymonline.com/?term=wolf</ref>.
The word "wolf" has its origins with the Old English word ''wulf''; which apparently came from Old High German<ref>https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wolf</ref>. The words "rapacious", "ravenous", and "voracious" were associated with this animal since at least the 12th century if not earlier, and often used to describe the lustful desires of both men and women<ref>http://www.etymonline.com/?term=wolf</ref>.
Several other canids are also known by the name "wolf". The Mexican wolf (''Canis lupus baileyi'') is considered by authorities to be a subspecies of the gray wolf; the [[red wolf]] (''Canis rufus'') of the southeastern [[United States]] continues to have some debate on whether it is a subspecies of the gray wolf or a distinct species in its own right. The [[coyote]] or prairie wolf (''Canis latrans'') of North America and the South American [[maned wolf]] (''Chrysocyon brachyurus'') bear the name as well but are not considered true wolves. Additionally, an extinct Australian marsupial, the [[thylacine]] (''Thylacinus cynocephalus'') has also been called the Tasmanian wolf due to its appearance.
Several other canids are also known by the name "wolf". The [[red wolf]] (''Canis rufus'') of the southeastern [[United States]] continues to have some debate on whether or not it is a subspecies of the gray wolf or a distinct species in its own right. The [[coyote]] or prairie wolf (''Canis latrans'') of North America and the South American [[maned wolf]] (''Chrysocyon brachyurus'') bear the name as well but are not considered true wolves. Additionally, an extinct Australian marsupial, the [[thylacine]] (''Thylacinus cynocephalus'') has also been called the Tasmanian wolf due to its appearance.
==Description==
==Description==
===Subspecies===
===Subspecies===
There have been as many as 37 declared subspecies of the gray wolf since Linnaeus published his classification system in 1758; they are still recognized as valid by many authorities<ref>http://www.departments.bucknell.edu/biology/resources/msw3/browse.asp?id=14000738</ref>. Mammalogists Ronald M. Nowak and Nick E. Federoff challenged this assertion and reduced the number considerably, basing their analysis on detailed skull comparisons<ref>Nowak, et al. pp. 187-203</ref>.
There have been as many as 37 declared subspecies of the gray wolf since Linnaeus published his classification system in 1758; they are still recognized as valid by many authorities<ref>http://www.departments.bucknell.edu/biology/resources/msw3/browse.asp?id=14000738</ref>. Mammalogists Ronald M. Nowak and Nick E. Federoff challenged this assertion and reduced the number considerably, basing their analysis on detailed skull comparisons<ref>Nowak, et al. pp. 187-203</ref>.
====North America====
*''Canis lupus arctos'', arctic wolf
*''Canis lupus arctos'', arctic wolf
*''Canis lupus baileyi'', Mexican wolf
*''Canis lupus baileyi'', Mexican wolf
A paper published in 2000 suggested that the eastern timber wolf should be considered a distinct species (''Canis lycaon'')<ref>https://redwolves.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/26-Wilson-et-al.-2000.pdf</ref>; others consider it to be, along with the red wolf, a hybrid involving the coyote<ref>http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-wolf-species-20160727-snap-story-20160727-snap-story.html</ref><ref>https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/28/science/red-eastern-gray-wolves.html?_r=0</ref>. A 2011 assessment by the US Fish and Wildlife service proposed only three North American wolf species: the gray wolf (''C. lupus'') the eastern wolf (''C. lycaon''), and the red wolf (''C. rufus'')<ref>https://www.fws.gov/midwest/wolf/archives/2011FinalDelisting/pdf/WolfTaxonomyByChambersEtAlSubmittedMS.pdf</ref>.
A paper published in 2000 suggested that the eastern timber wolf should be considered a distinct species (''Canis lycaon'')<ref>https://redwolves.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/26-Wilson-et-al.-2000.pdf</ref>; others consider it to be, along with the red wolf, a hybrid involving the coyote<ref>http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-wolf-species-20160727-snap-story-20160727-snap-story.html</ref><ref>https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/28/science/red-eastern-gray-wolves.html?_r=0</ref>. A 2011 assessment by the US Fish and Wildlife service proposed only three North American wolf species: the gray wolf (''C. lupus'') the eastern wolf (''C. lycaon''), and the red wolf (''C. rufus'')<ref>https://www.fws.gov/midwest/wolf/archives/2011FinalDelisting/pdf/WolfTaxonomyByChambersEtAlSubmittedMS.pdf</ref>.
'''Eurasia'''
====Eurasia====
*''Canis lupus albus'', Tundra wolf
*''Canis lupus arabs'', Arabian wolf
*''Canis lupus arabs'', Arabian wolf
*''Canis lupus campestris'', Steppe wolf
*''Canis lupus campestris'', Steppe wolf
*''Canis lupus chanco'', Tibetan woolly wolf
*''Canis lupus chanco'', Tibetan woolly, or Mongolian wolf
*''Canis lupus hattai'', Hokkaidō wolf (extinct)
*''Canis lupus hattai'', Hokkaidō wolf (extinct)
*''Canis lupus hodophilax'', Japanese wolf (extinct)
*''Canis lupus hodophilax'', Japanese wolf (extinct)
*''Canis lupus pallipes'', Indian wolf
*''Canis lupus pallipes'', Indian wolf
*''Canis lupus signatus'', Iberian wolf
*''Canis lupus signatus'', Iberian wolf
====Domestic dog====
*''Canis lupus dingo'', Australian dingo
*''Canis lupus familiaris'', Domestic dog
Both of these subspecies were at one time considered full species in their own right. The dingo may have been brought by Sulawesi hunter/gathers to Australia some 4,000 years ago<ref>http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/04/how-did-dingo-get-australia</ref><ref>http://www.livescience.com/26246-dingoes-indian-migrants-australia.html</ref> and have since gone feral, while the domestic dog is believed to have been bred from wolves in Europe<ref>http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/38279/title/Origin-of-Domestic-Dogs/</ref><ref>https://www.sciencenews.org/article/ancient-dna-tells-two-origins-dogs</ref>.
==Habitat==
==Habitat==
Wolves live in a wide range of habitats, from arctic tundra to forest to prairie to desert. Historically, the wolf ranged over much of the northern hemisphere, from central Mexico to the high arctic in North America, much of Europe, and much of Asia north of the Himalayas - one of the most widely ranged land mammals on earth.
Wolves live in a wide range of habitats, from arctic tundra to forest to prairie; they are absent from high mountain ranges above the tree line and deserts. Historically, the wolf ranged over much of the northern hemisphere, from central Mexico to the high arctic in North America, much of Europe, and much of Asia north of the Himalayas - one of the most widely ranged land mammals on earth. Human persecution has reduced this range considerably, but greater understanding of the wolf and the role it plays in the ecosystem led to protections in many countries, and hence an increase in wolf numbers.
==Habits==
==Habits==
The pack is the basic social unit for wolves, and it is the pack which takes up much of their lives. The pack consists of some eight to ten animals - sometimes as low as two, or as high as thirty-six - and at one time they were thought of as having a dominance hierarchy led by a pair of "alphas": the alpha male and alpha female. This belief stemmed from a paper<ref>http://www.davemech.org/schenkel/index.html</ref> published in 1947 by animal behaviorist Rudolph Schenkel; his studies during the 1930s-1940s at the Zoo Basel in Switzerland established the belief that wolves must fight for dominance within the pack, the winners crowned the "alphas".
Although Schenkel's observations marked the first serious attempt to study the wolf, the flaw was the fact his studies were conducted on captive wolves; none were studied in the wild. This notion of an "alpha"-dominance leadership was reinforced in a 1970 book ''The Wolf: The Ecology and Behavior of an Endangered Species''<ref>https://www.amazon.com/Wolf-Ecology-Behavior-Endangered-Species/dp/0816610266?tag=gizmodoamzn-20&ascsubtag=80e2844fc3fcdfb37981a9efa0faa69eb74ea3d2&rawdata=%5Br%7Chttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F%5Bks%7Cgoogle%5Bt%7Clink%5Bp%7C502754629%5Ba%7C0816610266%5Bau%7C5723194297324746767%5Bb%7Cgizmodo</ref> by L. David Mech; his further studies proved that the wolf pack is a family-unit, with the role of the alphas taken by the parents of the group<ref>http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download;jsessionid=76E3BC2982F0501E4E50F58E38065161?doi=10.1.1.547.9825&rep=rep1&type=pdf</ref>. Assumptions previously made about fighting for dominance were replaced by adult wolves forcing their grown cubs out of the pack, where they form their own packs with other disassociated wolves<ref>https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/70037810</ref>.
Wolves use a great deal of recognizable body language, scent, and sounds to communicate with each other. The position of tails relative to their bodies, lowering and exposure of their necks, the bearing of teeth can indicate submission or dominance to one another. Territories are marked by urine or feces, and packs will defend them from others. Howling is done communally, as a means to assemble, communicate with others, or as a hunting call at dusk.
Wolves use a great deal of recognizable body language, scent, and sounds to communicate with each other. The position of tails relative to their bodies, lowering and exposure of their necks, the bearing of teeth can indicate submission or dominance to one another. Territories are marked by urine or feces, and packs will defend them from others. Howling is done communally, as a means to assemble, communicate with others, or as a hunting call at dusk.
==Reproduction==
==Reproduction==
Wolves are monogamous, and mate for life <ref>[http://www.wolftrust.org.uk/a-reproduction.html Wolf Trust; United Kingdom]</ref> <ref>[http://www.wonderquest.com/animal-mate-for-life.htm Wonderquest; Animals that mate for life]</ref> <ref>[http://www.thewildones.org/Animals/grayWolf.html The Wild Ones; Gray Wolf]</ref>. The alpha wolves in the pack do the actual breeding, which occurs in the spring; the pups are born two months later. The average litter size is six, but sometimes more are born. The pups open their eyes after nine days, with a gradual weaning to regurgitated meat within a month. The pups stay within the den for their first six weeks, gradually coming out to explore and play at the end of that period; by their third month they learn to hunt, and are fully adult in eighteen months.
Wolves are monogamous, and mate for life <ref>[http://www.wolftrust.org.uk/a-reproduction.html Wolf Trust; United Kingdom]</ref> <ref>[http://www.wonderquest.com/animal-mate-for-life.htm Wonderquest; Animals that mate for life]</ref> <ref>[http://www.thewildones.org/Animals/grayWolf.html The Wild Ones; Gray Wolf]</ref>. The parent wolves in the pack do the actual breeding, which occurs in the spring; the pups are born two months later. The average litter size is six, but sometimes more are born. The pups open their eyes after nine days, with a gradual weaning to regurgitated meat within a month. The pups stay within the den for their first six weeks, gradually coming out to explore and play at the end of that period; by their third month they learn to hunt, and are fully adult in eighteen months.
==Wolves and people==
==Wolves and people==