Canis lupus lycaon
Subspecies of the gray wolf, which is the largest member of the canine family and ancestor of the dog. Color ranges: grizzled gray, black, all-white.
Size
Height: 26 to 32 inches at the shoulder. Weight: 55 to 115 pounds. Females are usually slightly smaller.
Original Range
The eastern timber wolf once ranged from New England Range to the Great Lakes and through southeastern Canada to the Hudson Bay.
Habitat
Forests, tundra, plains and mountains.
Food
Large, hoofed mammals such as deer and elk and occasionally smaller animals (beavers or rabbits). Wolves generally kill animals that are the easiest to capture — young, old or diseased ones.
Pack Behavior
Wolves live in packs, which are complex social structures that include the breeding adult pair (the alpha male and female) and their offspring. Size of the pack varies with the size of available prey. A hierarchy of dominant and subordinate animals within the pack help it to function as a unit. Wolves communicate by scent marking, vocalizations (including howling), facial expressions and body postures.
Offspring
Wolves mate in January or February. Females give birth two months later to a litter of pups. An average litter is four to seven pups.