A pack of wild wolves

At around 10 months of age, the newly arrived wolves (by this time having doubled their weight, reaching around 30 kg) begin to participate in hunts alongside the adults. Although wolves carefully care for their offspring, up to 60-80% of puppies die within the first year of life.

Gray wolves reach sexual maturity at 2-3 years of age and depend on the subspecies and habitat.

Wolves can live up to 13-15 years in the wild, but often die at an earlier age due to starvation, disease, hunting injuries, or wounds from fights with other wolves. The average lifespan of wolves in the wild is six years. Their lifespan in captivity is up to 15-16 years.

Starting at 20 days (the third week) of age, the cubs begin to leave the den, learning to run, howl, and fight with each other. Around the 77th day, they finally leave the den. During this time, interactions with other wolves in the pack, as well as the mother's dominance, determine their position in the pack hierarchy. The cubs develop quickly, as they must be large and strong enough by winter to survive. In the first four months, they gain 30 times their normal weight, reaching 14-15 kg.

After a gestation period of 62-75 days (from late December to early February in the southern regions of the range, and February-March in the northern and central regions), the female retreats to a den and gives birth to 3 to 13 (average 6-7) blind wolf cubs, weighing approximately 0.5 kg and with their ears closed. They remain in the den for the first few weeks of life, and their eyes open at 10-15 days. All members of the pack participate in caring for the offspring. At first, the mother wolf remains with the cubs constantly, and the father of the litter brings her food. Later, the mother also goes hunting, in which case a pair of young males may remain with the cubs while the mother is away. The cubs feed on their mother's milk and regurgitated food for an average of 4-6 weeks, and later they eat meat obtained by all members of the pack.

A pack can consist of 10-15 wolves, sometimes up to 20, but most often 3-8. In winter, a pack doesn't exceed 12 individuals and averages 6-9, with the largest packs consisting of a core pair, up to 4-5 yearlings, and 5-6 new arrivals.

Wolves are monogamous, meaning there is one female per male, but there are exceptions where there are two females or two males. Wolves also typically lead a familial lifestyle: in the wild, they live in packs of 3 to 40 individuals—family groups consisting of a pair of parents and their offspring, as well as the occasional lone wolf. Pairs form for an indefinite period—until one partner dies. It was previously believed that there was a hierarchy within the pack, with the dominant pair at the top, followed by adult family members, lone wolves, and finally the pups from the latest litter. Recent research suggests that this is only true for wolves living in captivity. Typically, predatory instincts drive wolves to seek out mates and breeding territories outside their pack. The dispersal of sexually mature animals occurs year-round, and pups from the same litter usually do not mate together. The subspecies' hierarchical structure, like that of many pack animals, is determined by a clear structure, behavioral order within the pack, and the dominance of the alpha male. The competition for mate selection and mating rights is accompanied by fierce confrontation and the complete dominance of the strongest male over potential rivals. This behavior is also characteristic of other members of this species upon reaching sexual maturity. Sexual maturity occurs in the third or fourth year of life, and the rutting season, depending on the location, occurs in winter or early spring.

Wolves possess a high level of intelligence, which is expressed, in particular, in their ability to remain alert and avoid danger, as well as in their hunting techniques. They have a highly developed art of using pack cooperative behavior. There are known cases of a wolf pack splitting, with one part remaining in ambush while the other pursued the prey. In a pack pursuing elk or deer, some wolves often run at the prey's heels, while others intercept or trot slowly and, after resting, relieve the vanguard until they exhaust the prey. Wolves' high intelligence is also demonstrated by their ability to avoid human-set traps. They are also a cautious animal.

When attacking a herd, wolves often kill several animals. They kill their prey by grabbing it by the throat or ripping open its belly after immobilizing it. The uneaten meat is saved for later use (which has led to an exaggerated notion of wolves' supposedly extreme voracity). Wolves can consume up to 3 kg of meat at a time, but typically consume 1.5-2 kg. When attacking domestic animals, they kill more than they can eat.

Wolves have a highly developed sense of smell. They can detect prey from up to 3 kilometers away. A wolf's nose is 14 times larger than a human's, and their sense of smell is 100 times better than humans' [source not specified for 875 days]. Wolves can distinguish approximately 200 million odors, while humans can distinguish only 5 million. Wolves receive the majority of their information through scent. The process of receiving and transmitting this information, as well as the corresponding behaviors associated with scent-searching mates and leaving scent marks, play a vital role in the animal's life. Sources of scent signals can include urine, feces, and even saliva. Feces can carry information not only about the species but also likely about the sex of the animal. A significant increase in scent marking is observed in wolves during the mating season and when new pairs form. A characteristic feature in these cases is double marking, when the male urinates over the female's urine mark. In this case, scent marking can help synchronize sexual activity and strengthen pair bonding.

The wolf's attack signal is a battle cry given by the pack leader. This sound resembles the growl of an enraged dog lunging at a person.

Wolves bark much less frequently than domestic dogs. While dogs' barks are long, rhythmic, and used more frequently and in a wide variety of situations, wolves' barks are shorter.

Wolves howl at dawn or dusk, but not every day. The howl begins with a solo howl from the leader, which is significantly different from the howls of the other pack members. They join in a little later. The choral howl usually ends with a shrill, yapping bark.

Wolves react consciously to these sounds. Wolves can use their voices to convey very complex messages—about the presence of a specific animal in a specific location. For example, researcher Farley Mowat observed wolves in the Canadian tundra transmitting information over long distances along a chain, stating that the reindeer they were expecting had moved south and were located there. A wolf first listens to the information coming from another wolf, which could be eight kilometers away. Then the transmitter throws its head back and howls with a vibrating howl: initially low, but culminating in the highest note still audible to human hearing. Testing of a wolf's message about the presence of reindeer confirmed this. Wolves can even communicate with each other about the presence of people.

The diversity and range of wolves' vocal frequencies significantly exceeds those of the vast majority of animals (except humans and bats). Wolves produce sounds such as howls, whines, whines, grunts, growls, yelps, squeals, and barks. Each sound has a huge number of variations.

Wolf tracks can be distinguished from dog tracks by several features: the side fingers (index and little fingers) are set further back than the middle fingers (middle and ring fingers). If you draw a straight line from the tip of the little finger to the tip of the index finger, the bases of the middle fingers will extend only slightly beyond this line, whereas in a dog, about a third of the length of the pads of the middle fingers will be beyond the line. Also, a wolf holds its paw "in a ball," so the print is more prominent, and therefore a wolf track is somewhat smaller than a dog track of the same size. Furthermore, a wolf track is much straighter than a dog track, which serves as a reliable "identification mark." The track of a mature wolf is 9.5-10.5 cm long and 6-7 cm wide, while a she-wolf's is 8.5-9.5 cm and 5-6 cm wide. A pack of wolves moves in single file, track in track, except when turning (in which case it is possible to determine the number of individuals).

Wolves' coats vary depending on climate conditions. In the southern and central regions of their range, it is coarse, while in the northern regions, it is quite fluffy and soft. Their fur is thick, fairly long, and consists of two layers, which sometimes makes the animal appear larger than it actually is. The first layer of fur consists of coarse guard hairs that repel water and dirt. The second layer, called the undercoat, contains waterproof down, which provides warmth. Wolves shed twice a year: in late spring or early summer (from late April to June in the northern part of their range), the down flakes off the body in clumps, with the animals rubbing against rocks or tree branches to facilitate this process. Winter fur falls first from the scruff and sides, gradually moving to the back and hindquarters. In the fall (from late August to late October, sometimes until mid-November in the northern part of their range), the winter fur grows back.

The tail is quite long (35-50 cm), reaching to the hock, thick, and, unlike a dog's, always carried low; hunters call it a "log." The tail is the wolf's expressive "tongue." Its position and movement can indicate the wolf's mood—whether it is calm or fearful—and its position in the pack.

The wolf's dental structure is an important characteristic that determines this predator's lifestyle. The upper jaw contains six incisors, two canines, eight premolars, and four molars. The lower jaw contains two more molars. The fourth upper premolars and the first lower molars form the carnassial teeth, which play a key role in cutting up game. The canines, which the predator uses to hold and drag prey, also play a vital role. They, along with the carnassial teeth, are larger than those of other canids. A wolf's teeth can withstand a force of over 10 megapascals and serve as both its primary weapon and means of defense. Their loss is devastating for the wolf, leading to starvation and incapacitation.

The stomach capacity of an adult wolf is 7-8 liters.

The skull is large, massive and high. The nasal opening is wide, especially noticeably widening downwards. The nasal section is, in principle, comparatively elevated. The length of the braincase is approximately a quarter shorter than the facial length of the skull. The greatest length of the skull of males is 268-285, females 251-268, the condylobasal length of the skull of males is 250-262, females 230-247, the zygomatic width of males is 147-160, females 136-159, the interorbital width of males is 84-90, females 78-85, the length of the upper row of teeth of males is 108-116, females 100-112 mm. The skulls of wolf cubs with milk teeth differ from the skulls of adult individuals in a number of features. In particular, the nasal section is significantly shorter, and the braincase is relatively wide and large.

The wolf's build is quite typical of canids. In general appearance, the wolf resembles a large, pointed-eared dog. Its legs are tall and strong; the paw is larger and more elongated than a dog's, the track is approximately 9-12 cm long and 7 cm wide. The middle two toes are positioned further forward, the toes are not splayed, and the print is more prominent than a dog's. The wolf's trackway is smoother, forming an almost even line, while that of a dog is a sinuous one. The head is broad-browed, the muzzle is relatively wide, strongly elongated, and framed by sideburns on the sides. The wolf's massive muzzle clearly distinguishes it from the jackal and coyote, whose muzzle is narrower and more pointed. Moreover, it is very expressive: scientists distinguish more than 10 facial expressions: anger, malice, submission, affection, joy, wariness, threat, calm, and fear. Young wolf cubs have heads and paws that are disproportionately large relative to their body size.