The grey wolf (Canis lupus), often known simply as the wolf, is the largest wild member of the Canidae family. Though once abundant over much of Eurasia and North America, the grey wolf inhabits a reduced portion of its former range due to widespread destruction of its territory, human encroachment, and the resulting human-wolf encounters that sparked broad extirpation. Even so, the grey wolf is regarded as being of least concern for extinction by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, when the entire grey wolf population is considered as a whole. Today, wolves are protected in some areas, hunted for sport in others, or may be subject to extermination as perceived threats to livestock and pets.

Grey wolves are social predators that live in nuclear families consisting of a mated pair which monopolises food and breeding rights, followed by their biological offspring and, occasionally, adopted subordinates. They primarily feed on ungulates, which they hunt by wearing them down in short chases. Grey wolves are typically apex predators throughout their range, with only humans and tigers posing significant threats to them.

DNA sequencing and genetic drift studies reaffirm that the grey wolf shares a common ancestry with the domestic dog. A number of other grey wolf subspecies have been identified, though the actual number of subspecies is still open to discussion.

In areas where human cultures and wolves are sympatric, wolves frequently feature in the folklore and mythology of those cultures, both positively and negatively.

Wolves (Canis lupus) are quadrupedal carnivorous mammals. Wolves feature in folklore and mythology of cultures ancient to modern across the northern hemisphere; from the Norse legend of the giant Fenrir to more sympathetic depictions in Central Asia and the suckling of Romulus and Remus in the foundation of Rome. More familiar still are the fairy tales where the wolf appears as a villain such as Little Red Riding Hood and the Three Little Pigs. Wolf legends have also given rise to the popular horror figure of the werewolf.

Sourced

• There are, of course, several things in Ontario that are more dangerous than wolves. For instance, the step-ladder.
  • J.W. Curran, The Canadian Wildlife Almanac, 1981

• It is popularly believed that there is no written record of a healthy wolf ever having killed a person in North America. Those making the claim ignore Eskimoes and Indians who have been killed and are careful to rule out rabid wolves.... Ernest Thompson Seton believed that wolves attacked and killed people before the coming of guns and poisons, especially during the Winter months when food was scarce, and Native American oral history supports this.
  • Excerpt from Of Wolves and Men (1978) by Barry Lopez.

• Historically wolves were severely and effectively prosecuted in North America by a well-armed population, which kept wolves rare and shy. Add the urban population's estrangement from nature, the rise of environmentalism (with a rosy vision of wilderness and a "let it be" philosophy), and a distorted vision of predation is the logical outcome... ...none of the above apply to Russia. Peasants were systematically disarmed to keep them from rebelling effectively against their masters.
  • Excerpt from Valerius Geist's introduction to Wolves in Russia (2007) by Will Graves.

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Wed Feb 10 21:38:01 2010