Relatives of wolves Coyote: Coyotes are smaller then wolves, though of the same general build and conformation. They are similar in color to the eastern timber wolves, thought usually with more red on their faces, hips, and shoulders. Coyotes prey primarily on rabbits because of their smaller size. Coyotes inhabit the wild areas of New Jersey, California, Texas, and most of the other western states. Dingo: Dingos are slightly smaller then wolves. More dog-like, they have brown eyes, short tan fur that is sometimes marked with white on the paws, faces, and tail-tips. They have a general german shepherd-like build. Dingos also prey primarily on rabbits, though lizards also form a part of their diet. Dingos are native to Australia, and are found nowhere else. Cape Hunting Dog: Cape hunting dogs, also known as African wild dogs, are about the same size as Dingos, but taller and rangier. Their ears are large and rounded, their short fur is patched with black, yellow, white, and brown. Hunting Dogs prey mostly on Zebra, the calves of Wildebeest, and Water Buffalo. Various species of antelope also are a food source. Hunting dogs are native to Africa, and are found nowhere else. Jackal: There are several kinds of these small wild canids, commonest being black-backed jackals, and golden jackals. Both types are light reddish buff, but the silver-backed has a wide mane of mixed black and white hairs over its shoulders, back and rump. Jackals are rather fox-like, but with longer legs, muzzles and bodies. Larger ears, and less bushy tails are also characteristic. Jackals are mainly scavengers, but will hunt gazelle, rabbits and anything else small enough for them to prey upon. Insects also make up a part of their diet. Jackals are native to Africa, and are found no where else. Dhole: Dhole are similar to Dingos in that they are more dog-like then wolf-like. They are smaller then wolves, and have furry reddish pelts. They are native to India. Types of wolves Eastern Timber Wolf: The eastern timber wolf is a large wolf, with a thick pelt usually in shades of cream, fawn, gray, red, or black. White wolves are occasionally seen. They're main prey sources are deer and moose, but often catch rabbits, mice, and birds. Timber wolves, like all wolves, are pack animals. Their packs can consist of up to 20 wolves, though six or seven is more common. Pack structure consists of the leader (Alpha male), his mate, the alpha female, a beta pair, several adults descended from the alpha male, and various pups. Timber wolves have a large territory, and can cover many miles in search of prey. They also make excursions to mark the boundrys of their territory. Timber wolves are most common in Canada. Red Wolf: The red wolf is a southern wolf found in Louisiana, and other southern states. It is smaller then the timber wolf, with a shorter coat that is commonly red. Red wolves too are pack animals, though their packs consists of fewer numbers then those of timber wolves. Red wolves prey on deer, birds, and mice. Grey Wolf: Gray wolves are one of the two species of wolf native to Alaska. They are approximately the size of a timber wolf, and contrary to their name, many of them are not gray. Gray wolf coat colors are fawn, black, buff, white, cream, red, and brown too. Their fur is thick and shaggy, meant to withstand the arctic chill. Their ears are smaller then those of timber wolves to reduce heat loss. They subsist on moose, caribou, hare, ptarmigan, and lemmings. Arctic Wolf: The other Alaskan wolf, arctic wolves are tundra wolves. Their long shaggy coats are pure white, the ears small and lined thickly with fur. They live in small packs, returning to the same den each year, where they give birth and raise their pups. Preying mainly on musk oxen, arctic hair, and caribou, they roam vast areas of the tundra. Other wolves: These are the common wolves. Many countries, such as Mongolia have their own species of wolf, similar to timber wolves in size and color. It would take too long to catalog each type, but if you really want to know every type of wolf on earth, go to the library. They will almost certainly have extensive information on various wolf species. Wolf relationships with the pack Wolves are probably the most social of the animals, and have the most complex relationships in their packs of any other creature. In the pack order the leader is submissive to no other wolf, and his mate only to him. Next in the hierarchy is the Beta couple. They are submissive only to the Alpha pair. This continues on to the lowest member of the pack, submissive to all, dominant over none. As long as no wolf challenges those who are over him or her, all goes smoothly. However, a wolf that wants to rise in the pack will have to test another who who is dominant. The challenge and test is extremely ritualized. First, the dominant wolf stares into the challenger's eyes, a low growl also accompanies this display. If the challenging wolf returns the stare, the dominant wolf will show his teeth and snarl. If this too is echoed, the dominant wolf will bump the challenger with his shoulder, or place his paws on the challenger's back. The other wolf's reaction will decide whether the challenge is in earnest. If so, the challenger will knock the other wolf back, or sidestep so he drops back to the ground. The staring and teeth-baring begin again. Now the challenging wolf bumps,or puts his paws on the the dominant wolf's back. If the dominant wolf bumps or sidesteps him, he will raise tail and hackels. If this display is reciprocated, they will fight. They usually will not cause serious injury, and almost never death. The winner is decided when one of the wolves gets in a position where it could do serious harm to the other. The loser yelps and falls to his back, displaying his vulnerable underside, and tucking in his tail. The winner then stands tall, growling, then steps back and allows the loser to rise testing him with eye contact and bared teeth. When the loser falls down again, or turns away, the victor allows him to stand. After the battle the pack functions smoothly again, no grudges are held. Many relatives of the wolf, such as the Dingo or Cape Hunting Dog use this system in a similar, but lesser way. Wolf relationships with their mates Wolves are extremly devoted to their mates. All wolves, and many of their relatives mate for life, breeding and raising pups approximately every two years when not in capitivity. During the average twelve year life span, a pair of wolves will stay together entirely, leaving their mate only when separation is forced. A possible example of this is if, say, one of the pair has been fatally wounded. In the case of a mate dying, the surviving member of the pair will either remain without a mate for the rest of its life, or eventually take another wolf as its mate. A wolf cannot mate until it is two years of age, but they do form in-pack friendships. Since only the leader of the pack can take a mate, packs usually consist of the mated pair, and then a second pair of mates (The Beta pair) that are not often allowed to breed. Other wolves too old or young to mate are also accepted in the pack. Often the Beta pair are not mated, and can even be of the same sex. If the leader loses a challenge, and is displaced from his dominant position, his mate will not accept the new leader as her mate, and will remain bonded to the original leader. In this, wolves are closer to humans then most animals. So, wolves are, in fact, the most devoted of mates. Wolf relationships with their pups Wolves are devoted parents. Both the father and mother care for, raise, and feed the puppies. The entire pack teaches and plays with the young. The gestation period of a wolf is sixty two days an average, and the pups eyes open at around two weeks. It is now that they emerge from the den, father and pack will meet them for the first time. At eight weeks old they begin eating meat, and at six months they have begun to hunt with the pack. All during this time the adult wolves have been caring for the puppies, grooming them, feeding them, playing with them, and teaching them. Pups rarely leave their birth-pack. When they do, it is either because they are ready to take a mate from another pack, or because they are too dominant to remain in the lower order of the group. Fatality rate amoung young wolves is high, many do not reach the age of one year. Those that do are the strongest, healthiest pups, the best assets to the pack. Wolves feel great loss at the death of a pup, and make a good attempt to teach them the dangers they will face. Wolf relationships with humans Wild wolves have always seen people as an enemy, a creature to be feared. Only recently have people taken an interest in their preservation, and seen them a beautiful wild predator, and animal to be protected, instead of a vermin or a source of fur and money. Many of us still feel that the wolf is different from us in that it does not think, or feel, and therefore, it is not immoral to kill them in various ways of torture. Others do not care as long as the slaughter of these lovely creatures is still worth money. Wolves have not formed a decided relationship with humans, as it is the relationship that exists between wolves and humans is a tenuous one. Easily broken, yet hard to mend once its delicate strand has snapped. Wolves in the wild In the wild, wolves of all kinds roam large areas of natural wilderness, controlling herds of deer and other herbivores that would otherwise overrun the land, browsing it down to bare dirt, and breeding until they starve themselves with overpopulation. In natural circumstances, wolf packs keep this from happening, preying on the very old, the very young, or the very sick. With the onslaught of man, wolves are pushed further and further from their own lands, and forced to survive in smaller and smaller scraps of the wild. By regulating their own breeding, wolves cut out the possibility of overpopulation amoung themselves, but now underpopulation begins as their food source diminishes. By not starving themselves by growing in numbers, they disappear as the packs dwindle to keep up with the vanishing land and prey. Soon there will be no such thing as wolves in the wild.