Timber Wolf

About
What do the following stories have in common? All of them involve a wolf. Despite all the huffing and puffing you read about in stories, wolves are actually an interesting and important part of our world.
 * The Three Little Pigs
 * Little Red Riding Hood
 * The Boy Who Cried Wolf

One type of wolf is called the timber wolf, which is also known as the gray wolf. Although many timber wolves are gray, they can also have coats that are brown, all white, or all black. Timber wolves are between 4 and 5 1/2 feet long and can weigh anywhere from 40 to over 100 pounds. Timber wolves live on the continents of North America, Asia, Europe, and the northern part of Africa. They live in the wilderness, usually far away from people; however, as more land is cleared to build homes near forests, timber wolves often end up being closer to humans than they would like.

Maybe this is why the Big Bad Wolf wanted to blow the pigs' houses down...they were on his land!

Timber Wolf Behavior
How big is your family? A timber wolf's family is somewhat large. Called a pack, the timber wolf's family is usually made up of:
 * 1 male wolf
 * 1 female wolf
 * wolf pups (babies)
 * younger wolves (sometimes)
 * Unrelated members (very rare)

(NOTE: Wolf ranks do not exist in wild wolves) These packs usually have around 10 wolves, but packs as large as 30 have been known to exist. The leader of the pack is called an alpha male. He protects the pack from danger. All the wolves in the pack must obey his decisions or they have to leave the pack.

Pack members will communicate with each other by howling. The wolves can recognize their pack members' howls and what they mean. Additionally, wolves use urine and droppings to mark their territory and communicate. While you could try howling to communicate with your friends, it's probably not a good idea to try the other way wolves communicate - gross!

Timber Wolf Diet
Do you ever wish you could stay up all night? Well, that's exactly what timber wolves do. Timber wolves are nocturnal, which means they hunt for food at night and sleep during the day. I guess the Big Bad Wolf never had a bed time...how lucky!

Timber wolves hunt other animals including:
 * beaver
 * rabbit
 * moose
 * goat
 * deer
 * elk