Tasha and the Grey Wolf

Wolves typically commence feeding by consuming the larger internal organs of their prey, such as the heart , liver, lungs and stomach lining. The kidneys and spleen are eaten once they are exposed, followed by the muscles. The gray wolf's expressive behaviour is more complex than that of the coyote and golden jackal, as necessitated by its group living and hunting habits. While less gregarious canids generally possess simple repertoires of visual signals, wolves have more varied signals which subtly inter grade in intensity.

When neutral, the legs are not stiffened, the tail hangs down loosely, the face is smooth, the lips untensed, and the ears point in no particular direction. Postural communication in wolves consists of a variety of facial expressions, tail positions and piloerection. Aggressive, or self-assertive wolves are characterized by their slow and deliberate movements, high body posture and raised hackles, while submissive ones carry their bodies low, sleeken their fur and lower their ears and tail.

When a breeding male encounters a subordinate family member, it may stare at it, standing erect and still with the tails horizontal to its spine. Two forms of submissive behaviour are recognized: Passive submission usually occurs as a reaction to the approach of a dominant animal, and consists of the submissive wolf lying partly on its back and allowing the dominant wolf to sniff its anogenital area.

Active submission occurs often as a form of greeting, and involves the submissive wolf approaching another in a low posture, and licking the other wolf's face. When wolves are together, they commonly indulge in behaviors such as nose pushing, jaw wrestling, cheek rubbing and facial licking. The mouthing of each other's muzzles is a friendly gesture, while clamping on the muzzle with bared teeth is a dominance display. Wolves howl to assemble the pack usually before and after hunts , to pass on an alarm particularly at a den site , to locate each other during a storm or unfamiliar territory and to communicate across great distances.

Wolf howls are generally indistinguishable from those of large dogs. Male wolves give voice through an octave, passing to a deep bass with a stress on " O ", while females produce a modulated nasal baritone with stress on " U ". Pups almost never howl, while yearling wolves produce howls ending in a series of dog-like yelps. The pitch usually remains constant or varies smoothly, and may change direction as many as four or five times. Howls used for calling pack mates to a kill are long, smooth sounds similar to the beginning of the cry of a horned owl.

When pursuing prey, they emit a higher pitched howl, vibrating on two notes. When closing in on their prey, they emit a combination of a short bark and a howl. When howling together, wolves harmonize rather than chorus on the same note, thus creating the illusion of there being more wolves than there actually are.

Lone wolves typically avoid howling in areas where other packs are present. Wolves do not respond to howls in rainy weather and when satiated. Wolves from different geographic locations may howl in different fashions: The two are however mutually intelligible, as North American wolves have been recorded to respond to European-style howls made by biologists. Other vocalisations of wolves are usually divided into three categories: Wolves do not bark as loudly or continuously as dogs do, but bark a few times and retreat from perceived danger.

Pups commonly growl when playing. One variation of the howl is accompanied by a high pitched whine, which precedes a lunging attack. Whining is associated with situations of anxiety, curiosity, inquiry and intimacy such as greeting, feeding pups and playing. Olfaction is probably the wolf's most acute sense, and plays a fundamental role in communication. The wolf has a large number of apocrine sweat glands on the face, lips, back, and between the toes.

The odour produced by these glands varies according to the individual wolf's microflora and diet, giving each a distinct "odour fingerprint". A combination of apocrine and eccrine sweat glands on the feet allows the wolf to deposit its scent whilst scratching the ground, which usually occurs after urine marking and defecation during the breeding season.

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The follicles present on the guard hairs from the wolf's back have clusters of apocrine and sebaceous glands at their bases. As the skin on the back is usually folded, this provides a microclimate for bacterial propagation around the glands. During piloerection, the guard hairs on the back are raised and the skin folds spread, thus releasing scent.

The pre-caudal scent glands may play a role in expressing aggression, as combative wolves raise the base of their tails whilst drooping the tip, thus positioning the scent glands at the highest point. The wolf possesses a pair of anal sacs beneath the rectum, which contain both apocrine and sebaceous glands.

The components of anal sac secretions vary according to season and gender, thus indicating that the secretions provide information related to gender and reproductive state. The secretions of the preputial glands may advertise hormonal condition or social position, as dominant wolves have been observed to stand over subordinates, apparently presenting the genital area for investigation. During the breeding season, female wolves secrete substances from the vagina which communicate the females' reproductive state, and can be detected by males from long distances. Urine marking is the best-studied means of olfactory communication in wolves.

Its exact function is debated, though most researchers agree that its primary purpose is to establish boundaries. Wolves urine mark more frequently and vigorously in unfamiliar areas, or areas of intrusion, where the scent of other wolves or canids is present. So-called raised leg urination RLU is more common in male wolves than in females, and may serve the purpose of maximizing the possibility of detection by conspecifics, as well as reflect the height of the marking wolf. Only dominant wolves typically use RLU, with subordinate males continuing to use the juvenile standing posture throughout adulthood.

The gray wolf generally specializes in vulnerable individuals of large prey. In Eurasia, many wolf populations are forced to subsist largely on livestock and garbage in areas with dense human activity, though wild ungulates such as moose, red deer , roe deer and wild boar are still the most important food sources in Russia and the more mountainous regions of Eastern Europe. Other prey species include reindeer, argali, mouflon, wisent, saiga, ibex, chamois, wild goats, fallow deer and musk deer.

The prey animals of North American wolves have largely continued to occupy suitable habitats with low human density, and cases of wolves subsisting largely on garbage or livestock are exceptional. Animals preferred as prey by North American wolves include moose, white-tailed deer, elk, mule deer, bighorn sheep, Dall's sheep, American bison, muskox and caribou. Although wolves primarily feed on medium to large sized ungulates, they are not fussy eaters. Smaller sized animals that may supplement the diet of wolves include marmots, hares, badgers, foxes , weasels , ground squirrels, mice , hamsters , voles and other rodents, as well as insectivores.

They frequently eat waterfowl and their eggs. When such foods are insufficient, they prey on lizards , snakes, frogs , rarely toads and large insects as available. In times of scarcity, wolves readily eat carrion, visiting cattle burial grounds and slaughter houses. Cannibalism is not uncommon in wolves: Wolf packs in Astrakhan hunt Caspian seals on the Caspian Sea coastline and some wolf packs in Alaska and Western Canada have been observed to feed on salmon.

Humans are rarely, but occasionally preyed upon. Wolves supplement their diet with fruit and vegetable matter: Other fruits include nightshade, apples and pears. They readily visit melon fields during the summer months. Wolves can survive without food for long periods: A well-fed wolf stores fat under the skin, around the heart, intestines, kidneys, and bone marrow, particularly during the autumn and winter.

Digestion only takes a few hours, thus wolves can feed several times in one day, making quick use of large quantities of meat. Wolves typically dominate other canid species in areas where they both occur. In North America, incidents of wolves killing coyotes are common, particularly in winter, when coyotes feed on wolf kills. Wolves may attack coyote den sites, digging out and killing their pups, though rarely eating them. There are no records of coyotes killing wolves, though coyotes may chase wolves if they outnumber them. Near identical interactions have been observed in Eurasia and Africa between wolves and golden jackals, with the latter's numbers being comparatively small in areas with high wolf densities.

Wolves are the most important predator of raccoon dogs, killing large numbers of them in the spring and summer periods. Wolves also kill red, arctic and corsac foxes, usually in disputes over carcasses, sometimes eating them. In Asia, they may compete with dholes. Wolves encounter brown bears in both Eurasia and North America. Brown bears typically dominate wolf packs in disputes over carcasses, while wolf packs mostly prevail against bears when defending their den sites.

Both species kill each other's young. Wolves eat the brown bears they kill, while brown bears seem to only eat young wolves. American black bears occur solely in the Americas. Wolf interactions with black bears are much rarer than with brown bears, due to differences in habitat preferences.

The majority of black bear encounters with wolves occur in the species' northern range, with no interactions being recorded in Mexico. Wolves have been recorded on numerous occasions to actively seek out black bears in their dens and kill them without eating them. Unlike brown bears, black bears frequently lose against wolves in disputes over kills. While encounters with brown and black bears appear to be common, polar bears are rarely encountered by wolves, though there are two records of wolf packs killing polar bear cubs.

Wolves also kill the cubs of Asian black bears. Wolves may encounter striped hyenas in Israel and Central Asia, usually in disputes over carcasses. Striped hyenas feed extensively on wolf-killed carcasses in areas where the two species interact. One-to-one, hyenas dominate wolves, but wolf packs can drive off single hyenas.

Large wolf populations limit the numbers of small to medium sized felines. Wolves encounter cougars along portions of the Rocky Mountains and adjacent mountain ranges. Wolves and cougars typically avoid encountering each other by hunting on different elevations. In winter however, when snow accumulation forces their prey into valleys, interactions between the two species become more likely. Although they rarely interact, wolves and cougars kill each other, with wolf packs sometimes usurping cougars' kills.

They hunt steppe cats, and may pose a threat to snow leopards. Wolves may also reduce Eurasian lynx populations. Other than humans, tigers appear to be the only serious predators of wolves. In areas where wolves and tigers share ranges, such as the Russian Far East, the two species typically display a great deal of dietary overlap, resulting in intense competition. Wolf and tiger interactions are well documented in Sikhote-Alin which, until the beginning of the 20th century, held very few wolves. Wolf numbers increased in the region only after tigers were largely eliminated during the Russian colonization in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

This is corroborated by native inhabitants of the region claiming that they had no memory of wolves inhabiting Sikohte-Alin until the s, when tiger numbers decreased. Tigers depress wolf numbers, either to the point of localized extinction or to such low numbers as to make them a functionally insignificant component of the ecosystem.

Wolves appear capable of escaping competitive exclusion from tigers only when human persecution decreases tiger numbers. Today, wolves are considered scarce in tiger inhabited areas, being found in scattered pockets, and usually seen traveling as loners or in small groups. First hand accounts on interactions between the two species indicate that tigers occasionally chase wolves from their kills, while wolves scavenge from tiger kills. Proven cases of tigers killing wolves are rare and attacks appear to be competitive rather than predatory in nature, with at least four proven records of tigers killing wolves without consuming them.

This competitive exclusion of wolves by tigers has been used by Russian conservationists to convince hunters in the Far East to tolerate tigers, as they limit ungulate populations less than wolves, and are effective in controlling wolf numbers. Deliberate human persecution has reduced the species' range to about one third, due to livestock predation and fear over attacks on humans.

Wolf population declines have been arrested since the s, and have fostered recolonization and reintroduction in parts of its former range, due to legal protection, changes in land-use and rural human population shifts to cities. Competition with humans for livestock and game species, concerns over the danger posed by wolves to people, and habitat fragmentation pose a continued threat to the species.

Despite these threats, the gray wolf's relatively widespread range and stable population means that the species is not threatened at a global level, and is therefore classified by the IUCN as Least Concern.

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The extermination of Northern Europe's wolves first became an organized effort during the Middle Ages , and continued until the late s. In England , wolf persecution was enforced by legislation, and the last wolf was killed in the early sixteenth century during the reign of Henry VII. Wolves lasted longer in Scotland , where they sheltered in vast tracts of forest, which were subsequently burned down.

Wolves managed to survive in the forests of Braemar and Sutherland until The extinction of wolves in Ireland followed a similar course, with the last wolf there being killed in The first wolf bounty was introduced in Sweden in , after the extermination of moose and reindeer forced wolves to feed on livestock. The Sami extirpated wolves in northern Sweden in organized drives. By , few wolves remained in Sweden, due to the use of snowmobiles in hunting them, with the last specimen being killed in Norway 's last wolf was killed in The species was decimated in 20th century Finland , despite regular dispersals from Russia.

The gray wolf was only present in the eastern and northern parts of Finland by , though its numbers increased after World War II.



In Central Europe , wolves were dramatically reduced in number during the early nineteenth century, due to organized hunts and reductions in ungulate populations. The gray wolf was exterminated in Denmark in , and largely disappeared in Switzerland before the end of the nineteenth century. In Bavaria, the last wolf was killed in , and had disappeared from the Rhine regions by In , Nazi Germany became the first state in modern history to place the wolf under protection, though the species was already extinct in Germany at this point.

Wolf hunting in France was first institutionalized by Charlemagne between —, when he established the louveterie , a special corps of wolf hunters. The louveterie was abolished after the French Revolution in , but was re-established in In , up to 1, wolves were killed, with many more by poison. In Eastern Europe , wolves were never fully exterminated, due to the area's contiguity with Asia and its large forested areas. However, Eastern European wolf populations were reduced to very low numbers by the late nineteenth century. Wolves went extinct in Slovakia during the first decade of the twentieth century and, by the mid-twentieth century, could only be found in a few forested areas in eastern Poland.

Wolves in the eastern Balkans benefitted from the region's contiguity with the former Soviet Union and large areas of plains, mountains and farmlands. Wolves in Hungary occurred in only half the country around the start of the 20th century, and were largely restricted to the Carpathian Basin. Wolf populations in Romania remained largely substantial, with an average of 2, wolves being killed annually out of a population of 4, from — An all time low was reached in , when the population was reduced to 1, animals.

The extermination of wolves in Bulgaria was relatively recent, as a previous population of about 1, animals in was reduced to about — in In Greece , the species disappeared from the southern Peloponnese in Despite periods of intense hunting during the eighteenth century, wolves never disappeared in the western Balkans, from Albania to the former Yugoslavia. In Southern Europe , wolf extermination was not as complete as in Northern Europe, due to greater cultural tolerance of the species. Wolf populations only began declining in the Iberian Peninsula until the early s, and was reduced by a half of its original size by Wolf bounties were regularly paid in Italy as late as The recovery of European wolf populations began after the s, when traditional pastoral and rural economies declined and thus removed the need to heavily persecute wolves.

By the s, small and isolated wolf populations expanded in the wake of decreased human density in rural areas and the recovery of wild prey populations. Italian wolves entered France 's Mercantour National Park in , and at least fifty wolves were discovered in the western alps in There are approximately wolves inhabiting the Iberian Peninsula, of which reside in northeastern Portugal.

In Spain , the species occurs in Galicia, Leon, and Asturia. Although hundreds of Iberian wolves are illegally killed annually, the population has expanded south across the river Duero and east to the Asturias and Pyrenees Mountains. In , wolves began recolonising central Sweden after a twelve-year absence, and have since expanded into southern Norway. As of , the total number of Swedish and Norwegian wolves is estimated to be at least one hundred, including eleven breeding pairs. The gray wolf is fully protected in Sweden and partially controlled in Norway.

The Scandinavian wolf populations owe their continued existence to neighbouring Finland 's contiguity with the Republic of Karelia, which houses a large population of wolves. Furthermore, the decline in the moose populations has reduced the wolf's food supply. Wolf populations in Poland have increased to about — individuals since being classified as a game species in Poland plays a fundamental role in providing routes of expansion into neighbouring Central European countries.

In the north, its range overlaps with populations in Lithuania , Belorussia , Ukraine , and Slovakia. A relatively recent population in western Poland has expanded into eastern Germany and a pack with cubs has been sighted within 15 miles of Berlin. The gray wolf is protected in Slovakia, though an exception is made for wolves killing livestock. A few Slovakian wolves disperse into the Czech Republic , where they are afforded full protection. Wolves in Slovakia, Ukraine and Croatia may disperse into Hungary , where the lack of cover hinders the buildup of an autonomous population.

Although wolves have special status in Hungary, they may be hunted with a year-round permit if they cause problems. Romania has a large population of wolves, numbering animals. The wolf has been a protected animal in Romania since , although the law is not enforced. The number of wolves in Albania and Macedonia is largely unknown, despite the importance the two countries have in linking wolf populations from Greece to those of Bosnia and Croatia.

Although protected, many wolves are illegally killed in Greece annually, and their future is uncertain. Wolf numbers have declined in Bosnia since , while the species is fully protected in neighbouring Croatia and Slovenia. Since , Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark have also reported wolf sightings presumably by natural migration from adjacent countries.

During the 19th century, wolves were widespread in many parts of the Holy Land east and west of the Jordan River. However, they decreased considerably in number between and , largely due to persecution by farmers. The species was not considered common in northern and central Saudi Arabia during the 19th century, with most early publications involving animals either from southwestern Asir, northern rocky areas bordering Jodan, or areas surrounding Riyadh.

Following the two world wars, Soviet wolf populations peaked twice. Soviet wolf populations reached a low around , disappearing over much of European Russia. The population increased again by to about 75,, with 32, being killed in Wolf populations in northern inner Mongolia declined during the s, primarily due to poaching of gazelles, the wolf's main prey. In British-ruled India, wolves were heavily persecuted due to their attacks on sheep, goats and children.

By the s, wolf extermination remained a priority in the NWP and Awadh. Overall, over , wolves were killed for bounties in British India between and The wolf was deemed a threat to ranching which the Meiji government promoted at the time, and targeted via a bounty system and a direct chemical extermination campaign inspired by the similar contemporary American campaign.

The last Japanese wolf was a male killed on the 23 January near Washikaguchi now called Higashi Yoshiro. There is little reliable data on the status of wolves in the Middle East , save for those in Israel and Saudi Arabia , though their numbers appear to be stable, and are likely to remain so. Israel's conservation policies and effective law enforcement maintain a moderately sized wolf population, which radiates into neighbouring countries, while Saudi Arabia has vast tracts of desert, where about — wolves live undisturbed.

The wolf survives throughout most of its historical range in Saudi Arabia, probably due to a lack of pastoralism and abundant human waste. Turkey may play an important role in maintaining wolves in the region, due to its contiguity with Central Asia. The mountains of Turkey have served as a refuge for the few wolves remaining in Syria. A small wolf population occurs in the Golan Heights, and is well protected by the military activities there.

Wolves living in the southern Negev desert are contiguous with populations living in the Egyptian Sinai and Jordan. Throughout the Middle East, the species is only protected in Israel. Elsewhere, it can be hunted year-round by Bedouins. Little is known of current wolf populations in Iran , which once occurred throughout the country in low densities during the mids. The northern regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan are important strongholds for the wolf. Overall, India supports about , wolves, scattered among several remnant populations.

Although protected since , Indian wolves are classed as Endangered, with many populations lingering in low numbers or living in areas increasingly used by humans. Although present in Nepal and Bhutan , there is no information of wolves occurring there. Wolf populations throughout Northern and Central Asia are largely unknown, but are estimated in the hundreds of thousands based on annual harvests.

Since the fall of the Soviet Union, continent-wide extermination of wolves has ceased, and wolf populations have increased to about 25,—30, animals throughout the former Soviet Union. In China and Mongolia , wolves are only protected in reserves. Mongolian populations have been estimated at 10,—30,, while the status of wolves in China is more fragmentary. The north has a declining population of an estimated wolves, while Xinjiang and Tibet hold about 10, and 2, respectively.

It occurred all over the mainland, save for the southeastern USA , California west of the Sierra Nevada, and the tropical and subtropical areas of Mexico. Large continental islands occupied by wolves included Newfoundland, Vancouver Island, southeastern Alaskan islands, and throughout the Arctic Archipelago and Greenland. The decline of North American wolf populations coincided with increasing human populations and the expansion of agriculture. By the start of the 20th century, the species had almost disappeared from the eastern USA, excepting some areas of the Appalachians and the northwestern Great Lakes Region.

In Canada , the gray wolf was extirpated in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia between and , and in Newfoundland around It vanished from the southern regions of Quebec and Ontario between and The gray wolf's decline in the prairies began with the extermination of the American bison and other ungulates in the s—70s. From —, the gray wolf was virtually eliminated from the western USA and adjoining parts of Canada, due to intensive predator control programs aimed at eradicating the species. The gray wolf was exterminated by federal and state governments from all of the USA by , except in Alaska and northern Minnesota.

The decline in North American wolf populations was reversed from the s to the early s, particularly in southwestern Canada, due to expanding ungulate populations resulting from improved regulation of big game hunting. This increase triggered a resumption of wolf control in western and northern Canada. Thousands of wolves were killed from the early s to the early s, mostly due to poisoning.

This campaign was halted and wolf populations increased again by the mids. The species' modern range in North America is mostly confined to Alaska and Canada, with populations also occurring in northern Minnesota, northern Wisconsin and Michigan's Upper Peninsula, and portions of Washington, Idaho, and Montana. Another reintroduction took place in Arizona and New Mexico in Canada is home to about 52,—60, wolves, whose legal status varies according to province and territory. While Natives can hunt wolves without restriction, other residents require licenses.

In Alaska, the gray wolf population is estimated at 6,—7,, and can be legally harvested during hunting and trapping seasons, with bag limits and other restrictions. As of , there are wolves in 28 packs in Yellowstone, and wolves in 25 packs in Idaho. Reintroduced Mexican wolves in Arizona and New Mexico are protected under the ESA and, as of late , number 28 individuals in eight packs. Up until , it was debated whether or not the gray wolf occurred in Africa. Aristotle wrote of wolves living in Egypt , mentioning that they were smaller than the Greek kind. Georg Ebers wrote of the wolf being among the sacred animals of Egypt, describing it as a "smaller variety" of wolf to those of Europe, and noting how the name Lykopolis, the Ancient Egyptian city dedicated to Anubis, means "city of the wolf".

Zoologist Ernst Schwarz classified North Africa's wolf-like canid as a subspecies of golden jackal, and was subsequently criticised for having overlooked its morphological affinity to the gray wolf. In December , a canid was sighted in Eritrea 's Danakil Desert, whose appearance didn't correspond to that of the golden jackal or the six other recognised species of the area, but strongly resembled that of the gray wolf.

That the canid was a gray wolf was proven in , when the base pairs of the mtDNA of samples taken from the Ethiopian Highlands were analyzed and compared with those of other wolves and wolf-like canids. A further study confirmed the presence of wolves in Algeria , Mali and Senegal. Because wolves travel great distances, they may play an important role in spreading and maintaining diseases in certain areas, some of which can be potentially fatal to humans. However, most gray wolf populations are remarkably resilient against outbreaks, for there are no records of wolves being decimated by disease.

Usually, a wolf displaying the first symptoms of disease leaves its pack, thus preventing the sickness from spreading to its pack mates. Viral diseases carried by wolves include rabies , canine distemper, canine parvovirus, infectious canine hepatitis, papillomatosis, and canine coronavirus. Infected wolves do not show any fear of humans, with most documented wolf attacks on people being attributed to rabid animals.

Although canine distemper is lethal in dogs, it has not been recorded to kill wolves, except in Canada and Alaska. The canine parvovirus, which causes death by dehydration, electrolyte imbalance, and endotoxic shock or sepsis, is largely surviveable in wolves, but can be lethal to pups. Wolves may catch infectious canine hepatitis from dogs, though there are no records of wolves dying from it. Papillomatosis has been recorded only once in wolves, and likely doesn't cause serious illness or death, though it may alter feeding behaviors.

The canine coronavirus has been recorded in Alaskan wolves, with infections being most prevalent in winter months. Bacterial diseases carried by wolves include brucellosis, lyme disease , leptospirosis, tularemia, bovine tuberculosis, listeriosis, anthrax and foot and mouth disease. Wolves can catch Brucella suis from wild and domestic reindeer. While adult wolves tend not to show any clinical signs, it can severely weaken the pups of infected females. Although lyme disease can debilitate individual wolves, it does not appear to have any significant effect on wolf populations.

Leptospirosis can be contracted through contact with infected prey or urine, and can cause fever , anorexia, vomiting, anaemia , hematuria, icterus, and death. Wolves living near farms are more vulnerable to the disease than those living in the wilderness, probably due to prolonged contact with infected domestic animal waste. Wolves may catch tularemia from lagomorph prey, though its effect on wolves is unknown. Although bovine tuberculosis is not considered a major threat to wolves, it has been recorded to have once killed two wolf pups in Canada.

Wolves carry ectoparasites and endoparasites, with wolves in the former Soviet Union having been recorded to carry at least 50 species. Most of these parasites infect wolves without adverse effects, though the effects may become more serious in sick or malnourished specimens. Parasitic infection in wolves is of particular concern to people, as wolves can spread them to dogs, which in turn can carry the parasites to humans.

In areas where wolves inhabit pastoral areas, the parasites can be spread to livestock. Wolves are often infested with a variety of arthropod exoparasites, including fleas, ticks, lice, and mites. The most harmful to wolves, particularly pups, is Sarcoptes scabiei or mange mite , though they rarely develop full blown mange, unlike foxes.

Lice, such as Trichodectes canis , may cause sickness in wolves, but rarely death. Ticks of the genus Ixodes can infect wolves with Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever. The tick Dermacentor pictus also infests wolves. Other ectoparasites include biting lice, sucking lice and the fleas Pulex irritans and Ctenocephalides canis. Endoparasites known to infect wolves include protozoans and helminths flukes, tapeworms, roundworms and thorny-headed worms.

Of 30, protozoan species, only a few have been recorded to infect wolves: Isospora , Toxoplasma , Sarcocystis , Babesia , and Giardia. Wolves may carry Neospora caninum , which is of particular concern to farmers, as the disease can be spread to livestock, with infected animals being 3—13 times more likely to miscarry than those not infected. Among flukes, the most common in North American wolves is Alaria , which infects small rodents and amphibians, which are eaten by wolves. Upon reaching maturity, Alaria migrates to the wolf's intestine, but harms it little.

Metorchis conjunctus , which enters wolves through eating fish, infects the wolf's liver or gall bladder, causing liver disease, inflammation of the pancreas, and emaciation. Most other fluke species reside in the wolf's intestine, though Paragonimus westermani lives in the lungs. Tapeworms are commonly found in wolves, as their primary hosts are ungulates, small mammals, and fish, which wolves feed upon.

Tapeworms generally cause little harm in wolves, though this depends on the number and size of the parasites, and the sensitivity of the host. Symptoms often include constipation, toxic and allergic reactions , irritation of the intestinal mucosa, and malnutrition. Infections by the tapeworm Echinococcus granulosus in ungulate populations tend to increase in areas with high wolf densities, as wolves can shed Echinoccocus eggs in their feces onto grazing areas. Wolves can carry over 30 roundworm species, though most roundworm infections appear benign, depending on the number of worms and the age of the host.

Ancylostoma caninum attaches itself on the intestinal wall to feed on the host's blood, and can cause hyperchromic anaemia, emaciation, diarrhea , and possibly death. Toxocara canis , a hookworm known to infect wolf pups in utero, can cause intestinal irritation, bloating, vomiting, and diarrhea. Wolves can tolerate low levels of Dirofilaria immitis for many years without showing any ill effects, though high levels can kill wolves through cardiac enlargement and congestive hepatopathy. Wolves probably become infected with Trichinella spiralis by eating infected ungulates.

Thorny-headed worms rarely infect wolves, though three species have been identified in Russian wolves: Onicola skrjabini , Macrocantorhynchus catulinus , and Moniliformis moniliformis. In Norse and Japanese mythology, wolves were portrayed as near deities: Other cultures portrayed wolves as part of their foundation myths: Wolves were linked to the sun in some Eurasian cultures: According to the Pawnee creation myth, the wolf was the first animal to experience death. Wolves were sometimes associated with witchcraft in both northern European and some Native American cultures: Similarly, the Tsilhqot'in believed that contact with wolves could cause mental illness and death.

In the Babylonian epic Gilgamesh , one of the oldest texts in the world, the titular character rejects the sexual advances of the goddess Ishtar, reminding her that she had transformed a previous lover, a shepherd, into a wolf, thus turning him into the very animal that his flocks must be protected against. According to the Avesta, the sacred text of the Zoroastrians, wolves are a creation of the evil spirit Ahriman, and are ranked among the most cruel of animals. Aesop featured wolves in several of his fables, playing on the concerns of Ancient Greece 's settled, sheep-herding world.

His most famous is the fable of The Boy Who Cried Wolf, which is directed at those who knowingly raise false alarms, and from which the idiomatic phrase " to cry wolf" is derived. Some of his other fables concentrate on maintaining the trust between shepherds and guard dogs in their vigilance against wolves, as well as anxieties over the close relationship between wolves and dogs. Although Aesop used wolves to warn, criticize and moralize about human behaviour, his portrayals added to the wolf's image as a deceitful and dangerous animal.

This is mirrored in the Bible , where wolves are referenced thirteen times as symbols of greed and destructiveness. Much of the symbolism Jesus used in the New Testament revolved around the pastoral culture of Israel, and explained his relationship with his followers as analogous to that of a good shepherd protecting his flock from wolves. An innovation in the popular image of wolves started by Jesus includes the concept of the wolf in sheep's clothing, which warns people against false prophets.

Several authors have proposed that Jesus's portrayal of wolves, comparing them to dangerous and treacherous people, was an important development in perceptions on the species, which legitimized centuries of subsequent wolf persecution in the western world. Subsequent medieval Christian literature followed and expanded upon Biblical teachings on the wolf. It appeared in the seventh century edition of the Physiologus , which infused pagan tales with the spirit of Christian moral and mystical teaching.

The Physiologus portrays wolves as being able to strike men dumb on sight, and of having only one cervical vertebra. Dante included a she-wolf, representing greed and fraud, in the first canto of the Inferno. The Malleus Maleficarum , first published in , states that wolves are either agents of God sent to punish the wicked, or agents of Satan, sent with God's blessing to test the faith of believers. Isengrim the wolf, a character first appearing in the 12th century Latin poem Ysengrimus , is a major character in the Reynard Cycle, where he stands for the low nobility, whilst his adversary, Reynard the fox, represents the peasant hero.

Although portrayed as loyal, honest and moral, Isengrim is forever the victim of Reynard's wit and cruelty, often dying at the end of each story. The tale of Little Red Riding Hood, first written in by Charles Perrault, is largely considered to have had more influence than any other source of literature in forging the wolf's negative reputation in the western world. The wolf in this story is portrayed as a potential rapist, capable of imitating human speech. The hunting of wolves, and their attacks on humans and livestock feature prominently in Russian literature, and are included in the works of Tolstoy , Chekhov, Nekrasov, Bunin, Sabaneyev, and others.

Tolstoy's War and Peace and Chekhov's Peasants both feature scenes in which wolves are hunted with hounds and borzois.

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Farley Mowat's largely fictional memoir Never Cry Wolf was the first positive portrayal of wolves in popular literature, and is largely considered to be the most popular book on wolves, having been adapted into a Hollywood film and taught in several schools decades after its publication. Although credited with having changed popular perceptions on wolves by portraying them as loving, cooperative and noble, it has been criticized for its idealization of wolves and its factual inaccuracies. The book was later used by the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in its campaign to suppress information about wolf attacks on humans.

Similar criticisms to those directed against Mowat were leveled at Misha Defonseca's Misha: Jean Craighead George's novel Julie of the Wolves , the first part in a trilogy, focuses on the relationship between a girl and a wolf pack. The last entry of the series is written from the wolves' point of view and, although anthropomorphized, the animals are crafted from a close reading of wolf biology and ethology.

Several writers of modern children's literature have refashioned the image of wolves in classical fairy tales in order to portray them in a more positive light. The wolf is a frequent charge in English armory. It is illustrated as a supporter on the shields of Lord Welby, Rendel, and Viscount Wolseley, and can be found on the coat of arms of Lovett and the vast majority of the Wilsons and Lows. The demi-wolf is a common crest, appearing in the arms and crests of members of many families, including that of the Wolfes, whose crest depicts a demi-wolf holding a crown in its paws, in reference to the assistance the family gave to Charles II during the battle of Worcester.

Wolf heads are common in Scottish heraldry, particularly in the coats of Clan Robertson and Skene. The wolf is the most common animal in Spanish heraldry, and is often depicted as carrying a lamb in its mouth, or across its back. In modern times, the wolf is widely used as an emblem for military and paramilitary groups. It is the unofficial symbol of the spetnaz, and serves as the logo of the Turkish Grey Wolves. Livestock depredation has been one of the primary reasons for hunting wolves, and can pose a severe problem for wolf conservation: Some nations help offset economic losses to wolves through compensation programmes or state insurance.

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Domesticated animals are easy prey for wolves, as they have evolved under constant human protection, and are thus unable to defend themselves very well. Wolves typically resort to attacking livestock when wild prey is depleted: The majority of losses occur during the summer grazing period, with untended livestock in remote pastures being the most vulnerable to wolf predation. The most frequently targeted livestock species are sheep Europe , domestic reindeer northern Scandinavia , goats India , horses Mongolia , cattle and turkeys North America.

Other prey species include reindeer , argali , mouflon , wisent , saiga , ibex , chamois , wild goats , fallow deer and musk deer. In describing North American wolves, John Richardson used European wolves as a basis for comparison, summarising the differences between the two forms as so:. The European wolf's head is narrower, and tapers gradually to form the nose, which is produced on the same plane with the forehead. Its ears are higher and somewhat nearer to each other; their length exceeds the distance between the auditory opening and the eye.

Its loins are more slender, its legs longer, feet narrower, and its tail is more thinly clothed with fur. The shorter ears, broader forehead, and thicker muzzle of the American Wolf, with the bushiness of the hair behind the cheek, give it a physiognomy more like the social visage of an Esquimaux dog than the sneaking aspect of a European Wolf.

The size of Eurasian wolves is subject to geographic variation, with animals in Russia and Scandinavia being larger and bulkier than those residing in Western Europe, [13] having been compared by Theodore Roosevelt to the large wolves of north-western Montana and Washington. The extermination of Northern Europe 's wolves first became an organized effort during the Middle Ages [ citation needed ] , and continued until the late s. In England, wolf persecution was enforced by legislation , and the last wolf was killed in the early sixteenth century during the reign of Henry VII.

Wolves survived longer in Scotland, where they sheltered in vast tracts of forest, which were subsequently burned down. Wolves managed to survive in the forests of Braemar and Sutherland until The extirpation of wolves in Ireland followed a similar course, with the last wolf believed to have been killed in The Sami extirpated wolves in northern Sweden in organized drives. By , few wolves remained in Sweden, due to the use of snowmobiles in hunting them, with the last specimen being killed in The grey wolf was exterminated in Denmark in and Norway's last wolf was killed in The species was almost wiped out in 20th century Finland, despite regular dispersals from Russia.

The grey wolf was present only in the eastern and northern parts of Finland by , though its numbers increased after World War II. This was despite government measures to keep breeding numbers viable. At the beginning of the wolf population was approximately - individuals. In Central Europe , wolves were dramatically reduced in number during the early nineteenth century, due to organized hunts and reductions in ungulate populations. In Bavaria , the last wolf was killed in , and had disappeared from the Rhine regions by [20] and largely disappeared in Switzerland before the end of the nineteenth century.

In , Nazi Germany introduced the first legislation regulating the protection of wolves. Today, wolves have returned to the area. Wolf hunting in France was first institutionalized by Charlemagne between —, when he established the louveterie , a special corps of wolf hunters.

Eurasian wolf

The louveterie was abolished after the French Revolution in , but was re-established in In , up to 1, wolves were killed, with many more by poison. In Eastern Europe , wolves were never fully exterminated, due to the area's contiguity with Asia and its large forested areas. However, Eastern European wolf populations were reduced to very low numbers by the late nineteenth century. Wolves were extirpated in Upper Hungary during the first decade of the twentieth century and, by the mid-twentieth century, could be found only in a few forested areas in eastern Poland.

Wolves in the eastern Balkans benefitted from the region's contiguity with the former Soviet Union and large areas of plains, mountains and farmlands. Wolves in Hungary occurred in only half the country around the start of the 20th century, and were largely restricted to the Carpathian Basin. Wolf populations in Romania remained largely substantial, with an average of 2, wolves being killed annually out of a population of 4, from — An all-time low was reached in , when the population was reduced to 1, animals. The extermination of wolves in Bulgaria was relatively recent, as a previous population of about 1, animals in was reduced to about — in In Greece, the species disappeared from the southern Peloponnese in Despite periods of intense hunting during the eighteenth century, wolves never disappeared in the western Balkans, from Albania to the former Yugoslavia.

Organized persecution of wolves began in Yugoslavia in , with the setting up of the Wolf Extermination Committee in Kocevje , Slovenia. The committee was successful in reducing wolf numbers in the Dinaric Alps. Soviet wolf populations reached a low around , disappearing over much of European Russia. The recovery of European wolf populations began after the s, when traditional pastoral and rural economies declined and thus removed the need to heavily persecute wolves.

By the s, small and isolated wolf populations expanded in the wake of decreased human density in rural areas and the recovery of wild prey populations. In , wolves began recolonising central Sweden after a twelve-year absence, and have since expanded into southern Norway. As of , the total number of Swedish and Norwegian wolves was estimated to be at least one hundred, including eleven breeding pairs. The grey wolf is fully protected in Sweden and partially controlled in Norway. The Scandinavian wolf populations owe their continued existence to neighbouring Finland's contiguity with the Republic of Karelia , which houses a large population of wolves.

Wolves in Finland are protected throughout the country, and can be hunted only with specific permission. Nonetheless, they are still considered to be extinct in these regions. Wolf populations in Poland have increased to about — individuals since being classified as a game species in Poland plays a fundamental role in providing routes of expansion into neighbouring Central European countries.

In the east, its range overlaps with populations in Lithuania, Belarus , Ukraine , and Slovakia. A population in western Poland expanded into eastern Germany and in the first pups were born on German territory. A few Slovakian wolves disperse into the Czech Republic, where they are afforded full protection. Wolves in Slovakia, Ukraine and Croatia may disperse into Hungary , where the lack of cover hinders the buildup of an autonomous population.

Although wolves have special status in Hungary, they may be hunted with a year-round permit if they cause problems. Romania has a large population of wolves, numbering animals. The wolf has been a protected animal in Romania since , although the law is not enforced. The number of wolves in Albania and Macedonia is largely unknown, despite the importance the two countries have in linking wolf populations from Greece to those of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia.