- Although most wolves have basically grey coats, hence the common
name, the coats usually have a lot of base yellow interspersed between
the salt-and-pepper fey and black hair
- In the wild wolves can live up to 13 years or more, in a protected
wolf park or a controlled area of land, a wolf can live to be up to
16 years old.
- But most wolves usually live to be to around 8 years of age.
- The record wolf life span is about 20 years of age
- Wolves anywhere can have coats that grade from almost pure white to
jet black, although all of the arctic wolves are usually all white
- Wolves are very intelligent creatures whose upright ears, sharp, pointed
muzzles, inquiring eyes, and other facial features instantly convey
this quality.
- Their heads closely resemble that of a german shepherd dog, although
the skull is broader and more massive.
- Wolves also have ruffs of long hair framing the sides of their faces
like sideburns
- Males are usually larger than females by as much as twenty-five percent.
- There are authenticated records of male wolves weighing as much as
175 pounds (79 kilograms).
- As large as wolves are, they usually appear to much larger because
of their long hair.
- In the winter coat, the hair on their back and sides averages 2 to
2.5 inches (5 to 6.3 centimeters) in length
- Wolves walk, trot, lope, or gallop.
- Their legs are long, and they walk at about 4 miles (6.4 kilometers)
per hour, but can reach speeds of 35 mph during a chase.
- Their usual mode of travel is to trot, which they do at various speeds,
generally between 8 to 10 miles (12.8 to 16 kilometers) per hour.
- Wolves do not run at full speed until they get close to their prey
as possible. At that point, they make a high-speed chase to test the
animal.
- Wolves can keep up this pace for hours on end and have been known
to cover 60 miles (96 kilometers) in a single night.
- They have been clocked at speeds of over 40 miles (64 kilometers)
per hour for a distance of several miles
- The wolf has very strong jaws
- The wolf is very comfortable in the water, and does not hesitate
to wade through icy streams or swim across short stretches of lake.
- In summer, wolves often bathe in streams to keep cool, and they will
readily follow prey into water.
- Scent plays a very important role in the life of the wolf, by smell
alone wolves can locate prey, other pack members or enemies. It can
tell them if other wolves were in the territory, if they were male or
female, and how recently they visited.
- Wolves can hear as far as six miles away in the forest and ten miles
in the open. Wolves can hear well up to a frequency of 25 khz
- The wolf has several specialized glands, one around the anus and
another on its back about 3 inches (7.6 centimetres) in the front of
the base of its tail.
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