|Endangered Species: Grey Wolf
A Report Researched by Valley Institute Elementary School
Bristol, Virginia U.S.A.
Second Grade, Michelle Childress - Teacher
Why Study This Topic?
Wolves are often found in children's stories for young
readers. The fact is that many young children know little about real wolves
due to the fact that they are no longer found in the wild with any frequency
in the lower 48 states in America with the exception of Minnesota. In conducting
an informal survey of students to establish their knowledge of wolves,
it was discovered that few had ever seen a wolf. Talking about wolves in
our fairy tales and stories prompted the children to be more curious about
why we no longer see these large predators in our rural community of Southwest
Virginia. Many of our students are aware that we DO have packs of wild
dogs and some coyotes that roam our farmland. They often take advantage
of newborn calves and lambs as prey. But none had ever heard of wolves
being seen in this same community. This prompted our class to discover
why we no longer have wolves in our area, yet have other large wolf-like
What Was Already Known
The main thing that most students think they know
about wolves are that they are not seen in our area. They know what they
dog-like features and should be feared for their strengths as a predator.
Luckily we have a nature center, Bays Mountain Park, nearby that has established
a small pack of socialized wolves for public viewing and education. A socialized
pack simply means that wolves were hand- reared by humans as pups rather
than remaining with their wolf mothers in a den. These socialized wolves
are easier to handle for medical treatment and are more suited to public
exposure than the typical wolf found in the wild. Each Spring, our Second
Grade classes take a field trip to this nature center and prepare themselves
for the experience by studying wolves prior to their trip. During this
study we dispel myths about the wolf that have continued through history
and explore the pack behavior that gives the wolf the power to be a successful
Search for Information
During our search for information, we utilized encyclopedias,
U.S. Fish and Wildlife information, current magazines, library books, and
Internet resources found through searches on the World Wide Web. There
are few problems encountered in finding information about the wolf. There
have been many recent examples of reintroduction of wolves into the wild
in several states that have prompted much to be written about their history
and their problems as an endangered animal.
Description of Plant or Animal
There are two types of wolves in the United States,
the grey wolf and the red wolf. The grey wolf is also called the timber
wolf and is the largest of the 41 species of the dog family, Canidae. The
size of wolves vary with their location. Adults may grow to a length of
164 cm (6.5 ft.) from nose to tip of tail and be about 90 cm (36 in.) high
at the shoulders. They may weigh as much as 80 kg (175 lbs.) in weight.
The larger sizes are commonly seen in the male wolves.
The wolf is a powerful, muscularly built animal
with a thick bushy tail. The color of wolves vary from pure white, the
most common color in the far north of North America, through mottled gray
to brown or black. Grizzled gray is the most common color.
The major prey of wolves are large hoofed mammals,
such as deer, moose, elk, caribou, bison, musk-oxen, and mountain sheep.
If these larger animals are not available, wolves will also eat smaller
mammals such as beaver, rabbits, and small rodents. In summer, berries
may also be added to their diet.
As with any mammal, fresh water is a necessary
addition to their diet.
Wolves require no shelter, although females will
dig dens or use existing caves in which to have their pups.
The wolf prefers to live in open woodlands, tundra,
or forests. Wolves live in social groups called packs. Pack size averages
from 2 to 8 individuals; but, have numbered as many as 36. Each pack ranges
over its own area of land, or territory - which may vary from 50 to 5,000
miles. (130 to 13,000 km) The pack will defend as much of this territory
from intruders as possible and use the area as a hunting ground to provide
food for the group. The pack stays more in one area during the spring and
summer while caring for pups of the alpha female. In autumn and during
the winter, they begin to travel again as soon as the pups are old enough
to accompany the adults.
The wolf is a predator that prefers large hoofed animals
as prey, but will hunt and eat any mammal or bird that it can catch. The
only natural enemy of the wolf is another large mammal - the bear. While
the bear does not seek out the wolf as prey, they will fight over killed
animals that one or the other may have. As a result, the wolf is usually
the loser of either the food or its life.
The greatest strength of the wolf is the strong
social order that is established within each pack. This social order enables
the pack members to hunt together, cooperating to run down prey. Order
is established by establishing dominance by a male and a female (also called
an alpha male and alpha female). It is generally only this mated pair that
have pups. The wolves show dominance or submission to one another through
facial expression and posture when they meet. Other wolf communication
is achieved through scent marking of territory and howling to assemble
the pack or to establish the other's positions.
Reasons for Endangerment
Since the wolf has few natural enemies, the reason
for its endangerment status is due to human related problems. Man has encroached
upon its territory until the wolf has retreated to only the most wild areas
on our continent. The loss of habitat has directly affected the numbers
of wolves seen in the lower 48 states of America. The wolf is the only
animal that has ever been hunted year-round in every national park in the
The wolf has been hunted to near extinction by
ranchers and land owners. This fear is sometimes due to myths about the
nature of the wolf to attack man. Due to the wolf's competition with hunters
for wild game animals, they have been known to kill farm stock when no
other alternatives were available for food sources. Wolves will usually
take the old and injured animals from a herd and thus improve the overall
health of those animals that are left. Healthy wolves in the wild are shy
creatures that avoid areas that man inhabits.
The wolf has been listed as an endangered animal which
protected this species from hunting. There are some breeding programs and
reintroduction practices in place in Minnesota, Alaska, and other areas
of the lower 48 states. Previous animal management programs designed to
increase numbers of large game animals by removing wolves have not proven
to be effective. Now in some national parks, the wolf is being reintroduced
to do what it does best, balance animal populations naturally.
Even though the wolf is being reintroduced in some
areas of wilderness, the problem of limited habitat still remains. There
is no known way to reestablish the vast amount of land that has been lost
through the destruction of this animal's habitat. The large tracts of land
needed by wolves is only available in a few places and continued development
threatens these areas.
What Was Learned
The research and discussion that took place during
this study to find the answers to the questions we had about the wolf made
our class aware of just how much impact man has had in the life of the
animals in our world. While the wolf is not as close to extinction as it
once was, the problem of loss of habitat is a difficult one to overcome.
We are glad to know that some breeding programs will increase the numbers
of the wolf and that many groups are involved in the education of the general
public. Man continues to be the worst enemy of many of our earth's animals
and the wolf is no exception.
Conclusions From Research
The students learned a great deal about group research.
We checked out a variety of resources, from a variety of people and places.
We then pooled our information in a group report. The children gained valuable
experience in the process of locating and organizing information. The most
difficult aspect of this process was the acknowledgement of how difficult
humans have made the existence of one of the most popular animals in children's
literature - the wolf.
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© copyright 1997
Last updated on March 7, 1998