The Life of the Gray Wolf

The gray wolf Canis lupus is the largest wild canid in existence in North America. Its size is 5-6 feet long from nose to tail, and an adult wolf can weigh from 60-175 pounds. Despite its common name ‘gray wolf’, the animal may be tan, brown, black, white or gray-silver in color. Their eye color can be yellow, green or brownish.

Wolves live, travel and hunt in packs of four to seven animals consisting of an alpha or dominant pair, their pups and other young animals. The alpha male and female are the pack leaders, tracking and hunting prey, choosing den sites, and establishing the pack’s territory.

The alpha pair mate in January or February and the female gives birth in spring after a gestation period of 65 days.

The alpha female usually remains at the den site with the pups, while the alpha male and other pack members bring food back to the den. When pups are two months old they move to a new site and by October they are usually traveling and hunting with the rest of the pack. Litters can contain one to nine pups.

A wolf pack can travel over a hundred miles in a day although it usually travels ten to twenty miles per day.