Realistic Wolves

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Hunting                                     


It is during a hunt where cooperation between wolves within a pack is most apparent. A wolf pack may trail a herd of elk, caribou, or other large prey for days before making its move. During this time, they are already hunting; they're assessing the herd, looking for an animal that displays any sign of weakness. This is just the beginning. Wolves must also factor in other conditions that will affect the hunt; weather and terrain can tip the scales in favor of predator or prey. (For example, a wide-open plain favors the ungulates, who, if full-grown and healthy, can outrun the fastest wolf. On the other hand, crusty snow or ice favors the wolves whose wide round paws have evolved to perform like snowshoes and carry them effortlessly over the surface. An experienced wolf is well aware that hoofed animals break through the crust and can become bogged down in deep snow.)


A wolf pack, therefore, weighs many different factors when selecting its target and, as circumstances change during the hunt, the target may change as well. (Initially they may be pursuing a calf, but if a big healthy bull stumbles unexpectedly, they all know to go after the bigger meal.) Conversely, if too many factors seem to favor the prey, they may choose to wait. Sometimes it is better to stay a bit hungry until the odds improve rather than expend precious energy on a fruitless chase.



Often fewer than half of wolves on a hunt are actually involved with physically bringing down the prey. The youngest wolves frequently do nothing more than observe and learn from the sidelines. Each of the other pack members contributes according to its particular experience and ability. Speedy, lightly built females often take on herding roles, darting back and forth in front of prey, causing confusion and preventing escape. Slower but more powerful males are able to take down a large animal more aggressively and quickly.


Wolves are not equipped to dispatch their victims quickly; prey usually dies of shock, muscle damage, or blood loss. If they can, one of the stronger wolves will seize the prey by the nose and hold on tight, helping to bring about a more expeditious end, but the animal can still take many minutes before it succumbs.



It is not rare for a wolf to be seriously injured by flailing hooves and slashing antlers. (Death could later take place if so.) A well-placed kick could break a wolf’s jaw, rendering it unable to feed itself. It is much safer to harass the prey and let it tire out before moving in close.


Although the alpha is usually in the thick of the hunt, it would be an exaggeration to say that they are leading it. The alpha may select the animal to be pursued, or they may choose to break off the hunt if it is going poorly. But they are not barking out orders to their subordinates like a general on the battlefield. The wolves just seem to know what to do, and they do it as one.

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Mating/Pups                       



Wolves are ready to breed at about two years (24 moons) of age. However, that doesn’t mean they are going to. It can be up one year (12 moons) later that they are actually able to do so. When wolves pick a mate they stick together until one dies of them dies—it's rare for a wolf couple to not mate for life.


When it comes to the actual mating, only the lead male and female usually do so. While a pack may have up to twenty members in it, normally only two of them are actually taking part in the mating process. Sometimes other members of large packs mate as well. It could be allowed when there is enough food and the pack is thriving. The alpha pair allows others to mate or not.



When there isn’t enough food or roaming area for a wolf pack no wolves mate at all. This is to ensure that those in their pack don’t have even more to care for or more to share food with.


The time of year when breeding occurs depends on the region where wolves live. It can be anytime from January through March. The females will carry the pups for about two moons before giving birth. Generally she will have from four to six pups per litter. Outside this generalization—less than four pups is more common whereas more than six is less common. Some wolves have been noted to have up to fourteen pups at a time. (Though the larger the litter the larger the death rate of the newborns.)



A mother will usually give birth to the pups alone in her den. They are very small and vulnerable at birth. She will feed them milk from her body for the first moon of life. It will be after the first moon when they emerge from the den with her. (In this RP they'd then be moved to the Pup Den.)


It is the responsibility of all the wolves in the pack to help to raise the offspring. They will take turns caring for them while other members go out to hunt. Making sure the young get plenty to eat is important if they are going to be able to thrive. Even with the entire pack caring for them, less than half of all pups survive the first year (12 moons). If the mother had poor nutrition during the pregnancy they can be very small at birth. A lack of food for the entire pack to survive on can mean not enough is available for the pups.



The pups in a wolf pack have a great deal of freedom and privileges. In fact, they are often able to do more and to benefit more than some of the adults within the pack that are very low rank.

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Wolves & Other Predators


Grizzly Bears                                     


Wolves and bears can coexist peacefully and often avoid each other. However, wolf-bear interactions can be quite violent. Grizzly bears will sometimes dig up, kill, and eat wolf pups. As a result, wolf packs will attempt to drive away grizzly bears that get close to the dens where wolf pups are living. Wolves may even attack, and have been known to kill, a grizzly bear that gets too close to the den. Bears will scavenge off of kills made by wolves, and they may drive wolves off from a kill.



Black Bears                                       


Like grizzly bears, wolves can coexist peacefully with black bears as well. Black bears are more peaceful towards wolves than grizzlies. Sometimes, though, wolves can be quite aggressive towards black bears. There are records of wolves preying on black bears, and wolves have been known to kill and eat hibernating bears. Wolves will also attack black bear cubs when the mother bear cannot get to them and hurry them up a tree fast enough. Black bears will also occasionally kill wolf cubs.



Coyotes                                               


Wolves will often chase away (and possibly kill and eat) coyotes that venture onto their territory. Coyotes often avoid wolves and choose home ranges that lie between the ranges of wolf packs. However, some coyotes will scavenge off of wolf kills and some will even follow a wolf pack from a distance so they can scavenge off of the wolf kills when the wolves are some distance from it. The two species can interbreed, though they rarely do.



Cougars                                             
(<cougar cubs)

Wolves will sometimes drive a cougar away from a kill it has made so they can eat it themselves. A solitary cougar is often at a disadvantage when it is involved in a fight with a wolf pack, but a cougar may injure and/or kill wolves that try to take over a kill it has made if there are only a few wolves present. It is rare for a wolf to kill a mature cougar, but it has happened and wolves occasionally kill cougar cubs. Though uncommon, cougars have also killed wolves, more so lone ones. Overall, wolf-cougar interactions are rarely observed because of the rarity of the two species, but the two generally share an animosity towards each other, since they both prey on large game.



Foxes                                                 


Foxes, like coyotes, weasels, and bears, will scavenge off of wolf kills. Many other species also rely somewhat on food gained from wolf kills. Wolves will sometimes raid food caches that a fox has prepared, and wolves will also take over old fox dens. Wolves often ignore foxes, since foxes do not compete with wolves for food as foxes hunt much smaller animals than wolves do. However, wolves will chase away, and possibly catch, injure and kill, a fox that was caught feeding on its kill. Most foxes are fast and alert enough to get away from the wolves first, unlike coyotes.



Ravens                                               

Ravens are often seen flying around the territory of a wolf. Wolves do not try to eat ravens (too feathery), but sometimes a wolf will stop and play with one. Ravens also sometimes feed on the dead prey that was hunted by a wolf. But in some ways, it seems that the raven and the wolf help each other out. The raven will circle around dead prey, and this tells the wolves that there is food nearby, and the ravens feed off kills that are left behind by wolves.

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Looks


Fur Color                                           


Gray wolves can have coat color combinations ranging from black, gray, white, brown, blond, 'silver', and reddish/orange.


The Gray wolf has a lot of subspecies, and each subspecies has its own variation in color. Some can come in all colors named above, whereas other Gray wolf subspecies, for example, only come in white.



Red wolves have a combination of the colors orange/reddish, brown, and gray, with black markings and white markings.



Eye Color                            


Wolves can have gray, green, brown, yellow, or orange eyes—all these colors can vary in the tone of lightness/darkness, though the green is a palish light green.


Unlike in several dog breeds like Huskies, heterochromia (different colored eyes) is not a natural wolf trait. It is only possible due to genetic defects. The same goes for blue eyes. Wolves can only have eyes that appear blue, otherwise, blue eyes would come from a mutation or a genetic defect (such as cataracts, which is really rare).



Cubs are born with blue eyes, but that changes at about 6 weeks/half a moon of age. Mature wolves do not retain blue as an eye color. Sometimes green or gray eyes can appear blue from certain angles or in certain lights.

More on pup eyes:
When wolf pups are about ten days of age, their eyes first open. Their eyes are a deep murky blue, but by about three weeks of age, the pups eyes have turned a bright blue. Around six to eight weeks of age (1.5 moons) the pups eyes will turn green and then will finally reach their adult color which can be anything from pale yellow, to amber or even orange or brown. Adult wolves do not have blue eyes like can be seen in some dogs such as Siberian huskies.

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