members of their populations because they are easiest to capture.
Most pursuits of prey range in length from 110 yds to 3.1 miles. Healthy wolves
rarely, if ever, attack humans. Their range once covered most of North America.
However, today only a few upper states and Canada have a wolf population large
enough to maintain itself.
The gray wolf mates for life and lives in packs which can vary in
size from 2 to over 15, but are usually from 4 to 7 wolves. The leader of the
pack is normally the strongest male, who often determines when and where the
pack will hunt, as well as other activities of the pack.
Wolf
packs are formed primarily of family members and relatives. They may travel more
often, and greater distances than any other terrestrial animal. Their
territories may cover from 100 to 260 sq. mi, depending on the abundance of food
and water. Territories may also overlap, although wolf packs very seldom
confront one another. Some wolves leave their packs to become lone wolves.
Loners may start their own packs if a mate and a vacant area can be found.
Breeding season can vary from January in low latitudes to
April in high latitudes. A wolf pack will alternate between a stationary phase
from spring through summer and a nomadic phase in autumn and winter. The
stationary phase involves caring for pups at a den or home site.
During summer, most movements are toward or away from the pups,
and adults often travel and hunt alone. By autumn, pups are capable of traveling
extensively with the adults, so until the next whelping season the pack usually
roams as a unit throughout its territory in search of prey. Though often only
the highest ranking male and female in a pack will breed, all members of the
pack are involved in raising the young. Mortality factors affecting wolves
include persecution by humans, killing by other wolves, diseases, parasites,
starvation, and injuries by prey. Most wolves probably live less than 10 years
in the wild.
