Wolf

Description

Main features

Weight: 12-80 kg in a wild state, according to the subspecies, of the individual and the sex. Individuals exceptionally heavier were observed, and a male gray wolf of 90 kg is rather current in captivity (ex: Garou with Holy-Emilie of Energy in Quebec in 2007). The female is lighter than the male.
Size of the body: 100-150 cm, tail: 31-51 cm, height with the garrot: 60-95 cm.
Coloring: Generally a mixture of beige and anthracite, but so black, white or fawn-coloured. Hairs of the beige backs with the black point, forming a kind of light mane. One does not find hairs completely black. On the other hand, one often observes on the legs before a line definitely darker.
Chromosome S: 78, like the Dog
Teeth: 42 teeth (32 in the wolf cub, final teeth in 7 months). The canines or hooks measure 6 to 7 cm including 2 cm enchased in the gum. The hooks are used to put at dead a prey. To cut it up, the wolf uses its sharp incisors. The muscles of the jaw are powerful and allow him to crush craniums or to move a prey three times heavier than him (and even more in the case of the moose or the bison).
Distribution: the wolf is an animal of the northern hemisphere. Europe, North America, Asia, Near and the Middle East
Cry to the wolf: the howl
longevity: ten years in nature and 10 to 17 years even exceptionally 20 in captivity.

food Mode

The wolves are carnivores. In the Far North, the wolves prefer to eat small rodents, the lemmings, rather than the reindeers, however fleshier. The wolves track the rodents because they are proportionally much fattier than the reindeers. This grease stored by the organization of the wolves protects them from the cold. They eat also insects or mushrooms when they do not find anything else.

Reproduction

The wolf reaches its sexual maturity at 3 years for the male and 2 years for the female. The season of the loves takes place, according to the areas, from January to March. At the end of a gestation from 61 to 63 days, the female thus puts low between March and June.

The ranges count three to eight wolf cubs from 300 to 500 grams, that their mother nurses using her 5 pairs of udders.

Characteristics

The bite of the wolf reaches a pressure of 150 kg/cm ², that is to say the double of a large dog.

The wolf is a good swimmer and a better runner still: its top speed is from 45 to 50 km/h, and it can traverse up to 60 km in one night (a record of 190 km is attested).

Its sense of smell enables him to detect an animal to 270 m against the wind and its morphology offers an angle of vision with 250° to him (180° at the man). The night, the eyes of the wolf appear phosphorescent because they are papered of a layer of cells, the Tapetum lucidum , which enable him to be born as well as.

The hearing of the wolf enables him to hear sounds up to 40 Khz (20 Khz at the man), it perceives in particular other wolves to howl until a distance from 6,4 to 9,6 km.

The cardiac beats have a frequency of 90 pulsations per minute, up to 200 at the time of significant efforts.

The respiratory frequency is of 15-20/minute, up to 100 when the wolf halète.

A nonexhaustive examination of file in the parochial registers carried out by Jean-Marc Moriceau counts more than 1100 cases of predation of the man by the wolf, definitely distinguished from the deaths continuations to bites of mad wolves (more than 400 starting from the same sources), in France (current metropolitan territory), between the years 1580 and 1842. The victims are in very large majority of the children or isolated teenagers. This predation of the man, considered to be unusual by the contemporaries themselves, could be favoured (according to the author of the study) by the wars and disturbance political which, by strewing the campaigns with corpses without burial, would develop at a minority of wolves a taste for the human flesh. Although marginal with respect to mortality under the Old Mode, these cases had a great effect over the population and the imaginary collective, nourishing the fear and the hatred of the wolf.

However, as opposed to what wants to make it believe the popular belief, and its detractors (in particular certain stockbreeders and hunters), the only certificates of attacks of the man by wolves, in France, were listed only in death certificates (consigned in the parochial registers under the old Mode), which does not constitute an absolute proof. The only real conflicts having been noted in addition only in cases or the man would have come to attack the wolf, when it would have disturbed mothers seeking has to protect their small, or in period of prolonged famine.

Origins

Approximately 55 million years ago appeared a Mammifère with teeth partly designed to cut out the Viande, the carnivorous . During 10 million years which followed, these creatures developed in great number and in different forms. One of these species, called Miacis, resembled the dogs of today. The species Miacis belongs to the family Miacidae, from which all the current families from carnivores come: the Dog S, the Cat S, the Bear, the Weasel S, the raccoons, chive S, and Hyenas.

There are thirty to forty million years, the species Miacis gave rise to two types of mammals which one can attach, thanks to two series of fossils, with the Chien and the Ours. The ancestor of the Dog, Cynodictis, had the same number of teeth as the wolf. He was smaller than this last, but its body was long and flexible like that of a Belette; its legs were of an intermediate size. The 15 million years which followed transfers the development of the family of the raccoons which dissociated itself to continue her evolution separately.

Thereafter, there is between 15 and 30 million years, the tendency was accentuated to give the characteristics of the contemporary wolf, Cynodictis while passing by Cynodesmus and Tomarctus. The upper part of the leg lay, as well as the legs which became more compact, the interior print became more atrophied on the back and more reduced leg on the front leg; the tail is shortened, and all these proportions started to approach those of the wolves and the Renard S.

The wolf and the Renard result both from Tomarctus and started to develop separately approximately 15 million years ago. Although the size of the Renard did not evolve/move much, the wolf as for him, continued to grow. Another connected species, the wolf " noir" ( Canis dirus ) also dissociated itself. Some of them were much larger than the wolves of today, but they disappeared today. Since approximately one or two million years, the wolf practically remained the same one.

Pack: social structure of the wolf

The wolves live in packs organized according to a strict hierarchy directed by a couple of wolves (named alpha). Generally, the Meute is a family made up of the two parents and of one or more generations of wolf cubs, thus the bonds of domination and tender are established (alpha - > beta - > gamma - >…). On the occasion, one will see appearing one or more wolves omega: those are the scapegoats of the pack and it is towards them that all aggressiveness converges. Around this structure the life of the wolves is organized: thus they can drive out in group but also raise to them Progéniture. The chief has the privilege to decide hunting and to nourish itself in first on the preys, it is also him which orders the continuation of an intruder on the Territoire. Lastly, it is him only which reproduces with the she-wolf alpha at the season of the loves (although there are exceptions). When alpha is too old, it is one of its subordinates who disputes the place of leader to him and takes it if it succeeds in dominating it.

The size of the packs varies simple couple with the dozen individuals. However rare cases of Meute of more than 30 wolves were observed, thus the most pack ever observed were made up of 36 members and lived in Alaska. It also varies according to the period of the year: the independent factors are mortality and dispersions. Indeed, certain wolves decide to leave the pack (like the wolves omega) or are banished after having failed at the time of a conflict. Tensions can be born for several reasons: when food is done rare and not very available (especially at the end of the winter), to be able to couple itself (at the end of the autumn) or quite simply to dominate the other wolves. The majority of the wolves thus leave their native pack between 9 and 36 months. A new pack is formed when two dispersing wolves meet and have a suitable territory (i.e where food is accessible and sufficient) to found a new family.

For social animals like the wolves, the life in pack has several advantages:

the possibility of attacking animals larger than them, thus hunting is more effective for less efforts
the reserves are managed better (less abandoned surplus with the competitors when more mouths are to be nourished).
the protection of the wolf cubs, their education and initiation with the rudiments of hunting - the pack is a true nursery where each member takes care of the children.
the fact that only the couple alpha reproduces prevents the proliferation of wolves on a territory, moreover wolves do not reproduce each year if food is really lacking.

Communication

Between the packs

The howl is undoubtedly the most known means of communication of the wolf. The wolves howl - inter alia - to gather and maintain a cohesion in the group. These songs also inform the wolves in the neighborhoods of the presence of the pack, in order to prevent against the intrusions. Just like the moanings, the howls are composed of several harmonics what gives the impression which the pack which howls is much more numerous than it is it really. It happens sometimes that a solitary wolf howls to announce itself to a potential spouse. Each wolf has a voice frequency which is clean for him and which distinguishes it from the others.

Another direction used for the external Communication in the wolf is the Odorat. Its nose whose faculties are much more thorough than at the man makes it possible to distinguish the odor from its congeneric. It thus uses markings out of the ground such as the Urine or the Fèces (excrements). These markings are used to delimit its Territoire, but also to give information on itself such as the sexual state (hormonal) of the females for the period of reproduction.

Between the individuals within the pack

The wolves use a whole range of growls, moanings and short barkings to communicate between them within the Meute that is to express the Peur, the anxiety, the domination or the tender, the protest or to play or inform the pack of the presence of an intruder.

The wolves add to these aural signals of the visual signals, mainly by the expression of their face, their posture their movements and the position of their tail. A wolf in an aggressive state will have for example the glance fixes, the apparent chops rolled up, hooks, will be held right the hairs of the roughcast backs and the tail raised to seek to impress. Conversely, a wolf in a state of tender will be done smaller, the fleeing glance and the ears dropped, the tail between the legs. The wolf can in the event of tender passivates, to roll on the back and to expose its génito-anal area in order to show that it is dominated with the other wolf.

In addition to the markings out of the ground, the odor left by a wolf if it is rolled on snow or rubs against a tree will be like a “calling card”. The wolf secretes many odorous substances: at the base of the hairs, legs, on the level of the génito-anal area.

There remains a share of mystery in the Communication in the wolf, in particular on the exact functions of the howl although its function first is after the pleasure, the reaffirmation of the bonds which link the wolves of the clan. The tactile communication (for example: the physical contact of the Muzzle of the wolf cub on the lips of elder for régurgiter of food) and the gustatory communication also are studied still little.

Subspecies of the wolf

The wolf adapted various manners, in its large surface of distribution. Sous-espèce S were born. This subdivision is however disputed by the specialists.

In Europe, all the wolves are described like gray wolves. There exist however considerable differences: in Italy and Spain, for example, the wolves are smaller and more russet-red, and especially more apprehensive than the live animals more in north.

According to the references one finds from 15 to 40 Sous-espèce S, however the tendency today is to be reduced considerably this list of subspecies by considering that it acts in the majority of the cases of local adaptations of the species Canis lupus (in particular by the analyzes and statistics of the taxonomist Ron Nowak). One can distinguish 2 groups from subspecies: those of America and those of Europe.

Subspecies of America

Wolf of Alberta, Canis lupus occidentalis (gathers

the wolf of Colombia: Canis lupus columbianus
the wolf of the meadows: Canis lupus griseoalbum
the Wolf of Mackenzie: Canis lupus mackenzii
the wolf of Alaska: Canis lupus pambasileus
the wolf of the Tundra: Canis lupus tundrarum
the wolf of the peninsula of Kenai: Canis lupus alces (extinct))

Wolf of the Large Plains, Canis lupus nubilus (gathers

the wolf of Vancouver: Canis lupus crassodon
the wolf of the Hudson: Canis lupus hudsonicus
the wolf of the Rock septentrional: Canis lupus irremotus
the wolf of the Labrador: Canis lupus labradorius
the wolf of the archipelago Alexandre: Canis lupus ligoni
the wolf of the Baffin Island: Canis lupus manningi
the wolf of Newfoundland: Canis lupus beothucus (extinct)
the wolf of Oregon: Canis lupus fuscus (extinct)
the Mongollon wolf: Canis lupus mongollonensis (extinct)
the wolf of the Texas: Canis lupus monstrabilis (extinct)
the wolf of the bisons: Canis lupus nubilus (extinct)
the wolf of the Rock southernmost: Canis lupus youngi (extinct)).

Wolf of the Canada, Canis lupus lycaon

Arctic Wolf, Canis lupus arctos (gathers

the wolf of the Greenland: Canis lupus orion
the wolf of Ground Victoria: Canis lupus bernardi (extinct)).

Wolf of the Mexico, Canis lupus baileyi

Subspecies of Europe

common gray Wolf, Canis lupus lupus (gathers

the wolf of the steppes: Canis lupus campestris
the wolf of Mongolia: Canis lupus chanco / Canis lupus laniger
the wolf of the Deserted of Asia: Canis lupus desertorum )

Wolf of Siberia, Canis lupus albus
Wolf of the the Indies, Canis lupus pallipes
Wolf of Arabia, Canis lupus arabs (attached sometimes to another subspecies)
Wolf of the the Caucasus, Canis lupus cubanensis *
Wolf of Italy, Canis lupus italicus *
Wolf of Russia, Canis lupus communis *
Wolf of Yugoslavia, Canis lupus kurjak *
Wolf of Spain, Canis lupus signatus *
Wolf of Honshū, Canis lupus hodophilax (extinct)
Wolf of Hokkaido, Canis lupus hattai (ex Canis lupus rex ) (extinct)
Wolf of Murcie, Canis lupus deitanus * (extinct)
Austro-Hungarian Wolf, Canis lupus minor (extinct)

(note: Certain species (*) are not recognized by all the taxonomists)

Subspecies of the red wolf (Canis rufus)

Currently, its existence even made debate to know if it should be classified like distinct species “red Wolf” (Canis rufus), subspecies of the gray wolf (Canis lupus rufus), or hybrid between wolf and coyote (thus not attached to a species).

The taxonomists recognizing the existence of the red wolf classify it in 3 subspecies:

Canis rufus rufus , (almost extinct, present in captivity or reintroduced)
Canis rufus gregoryi , (extinct, probably present in the captive or reintroduced populations)
Canis rufus floridanus (extinct)

Other subspecies

Chien domesticates Canis lupus familiaris
Dingo (Australia) Canis lupus nutcase

This classification of the dog and the nutcase tends to currently be essential, in competition with old the denomination which were respectively Canis familiaris and Canis familiaris nutcase or Canis nutcase. That in fact of the subspecies of the wolf.

Statute of protection

Convention of Bern of September 19th, 1979:

Appendix 2: Are in particular prohibited: a) any form of intentional capture, detention and setting with intentional death; b) the intentional deterioration or destruction of the sites of reproduction or the rest areas; c) the intentional disturbance of the wildlife, in particular during the period of reproduction, dependence and hibernation, in so far as the disturbance has a significant effect have regard to the objectives of this Convention; d) intentional destruction or the collecting of eggs in nature or their detention, even vacuums; E) the detention and internal trade of these animals, alive or died, including animals naturalized, and of very part or very produced, easily identifiable, obtained starting from the animal, when this measurement contributes to the effectiveness of the provisions of this article.

European directives of May 21st, 1992 and of October 27th, 1997 concerning the conservation of the natural habitats as well as fauna and flora savages:

CE/92/43 - Appendix 2: Directive Fauna-Flora-Habitat, appendix 2: animal species and vegetable of Community interest whose conservation requires the designation of special zones of conservation modified by the Directive 97/62/CE: priority.

CE/92/43 - Appendix 4: Directive Fauna-Flora-Habitat, appendix 4: strictly protected species, the capture and the setting with intentional death is prohibited just like the disturbance of the critical phases of the vital cycle and the destruction of their rest and their site areas of reproduction.

CE/92/43 - Appendix 5: Directive Fauna-Flora-Habitat, appendix 5: Community species of interest whose taking away in nature and the exploitation are likely to be the measurement object of management.

Convention of Bonn:

No regulation

The wolf in the culture

Evolution of mentalities

Hostile

the Fountain: “There are nothing good in this animal, but its skin” in the fable the Wolf and the dog .
Buffon : “Unpleasant in all, the low mine, the wild aspect, the alarming voice, the unbearable odor, the perverse naturalness, wild manners, it is odious, harmful of alive, useless sound after its death”.

Favorable

Alfred de Vigny: “Ah! I included/understood you well, wild traveller,/And your last glance suited me to the heart! ” ( the Death of the wolf ) (Vigny speaks about wolf cervier, which is an old name of the lynx, but which indicates an enough vigorous wolf here to attack the stags. The explanation appears in the " Lagarde and Michard" from the XIX century.)
Paul-Emile Victor: “We did not have for them any hatred. They made trade of wolves as we made trade of men. They were creatures of God. Like us. They had been born predatory. Like the man. But they had remained predatory, whereas the man had become destroying. ”

This difference in opinions follows the chronological evolution of mentalities. The Middle Ages and until worms XIXe, the wolf had a representation, if it hostile, is not at least mitigated. Typically, it was represented like an animal pleutre and imbecile.

It is only as from the moment when one started to realize of his strong decimation (from XIXe) that the image of the wolf suddenly improved.

It remains in the imaginary collective this double representation.

Wolves in the Folklore and the Mythology

The relations between the wolves and the men are always surging - as one can note it each time an organization of protection of nature tries to prevent their proliferation, or to reintroduce some in their alleged habitat of origin. The situation is the same one for the countries where the wolf returns “naturally”, as in France. The folklore always shows the wolf like a sanguinary predator, except in some exceptions as for examples at the Esquimaux and the Amerindian . Here some folk topics about the wolf:

the Little Red Riding Hood and Tom Thumb, drawn from the Tales of my mother Oye (1697) of Charles Perrault
the legend of Romulus and Remus (foundation of Rome)
stories of wild children raised by wolves
the wolves-garous
Legend Inuit

With the limit of the history and folklore:

the Stupid of Gévaudan

In the “Golden Legend”

the wolf of Gubbio persuaded by Saint François

The wolf in the psychoanalysis

Sigmund Freud associated, in the unconscious one, the wolf with the desire, the primal impulses, particularly sexual.

The wolf in cultural works

Below cultural works whose wolf is a principal or secondary element important.

The wolf in the literature

Fables

Jean of the Fountain, fables:
'' the Wolf and the lamb '' | '' The Wolf and the dog '' | '' The Wolf pleading against the fox in front of the monkey '' | '' The Wolf become shepherd '' | '' The Wolf and the stork '' | '' The Wolf and the ewes '' | '' The Wolf and the thin dog ''

Poetry

Alfred de Vigny, '' the death of the wolf '' (poetry)

Novels

Alexandre Dumas, '' the leader of wolves '', 1857
George Sand, rustic Legends , 1858
Erckmann-Chatrian, Hugues-the-Wolf , 1859
the Book of the jungle , Rudyard Kipling, 1894. History of a child, Moogli, collected and raised by wolves;
White Hook , Jack London, 1903
Boris Vian, the Werewolf ,
Marie the she-wolf , Claude Seignolle, 1947 - Gâlou, 1960
Michel Battles, the Christmas tree , Pocket 1986
Fred Vargas, the man with back , Magnard, 2003. Thriller whose action is in the Mercantour (the Alps of the South)
Henri Lœvenbruck, Moired It , I have Lu (collection Fantasy), 2003
Robin Hobb, the royal Assassin , I have Lu (collection fantasy), 2005
David Eddings, the Great War of gods , 1982. The main character rather often transforms himself into wolf.
Helene Grimaud, wild Variations , Pocket, 2004. Traditional pianist of international repute, personality of exception, French origin which lives with and for the wolves. The book is rich in documentation and stories of wolf.
Michel Folco, a wolf is a wolf , 1995
Béatrice Bollet, the song of the Wolves , 2006
PENNAC Daniel, the eye of the wolf , ED. Nathan, Paris 1992, coll Arc out of Pocket

Cartoon

With the wolf! , album of F' murr
coiled , two volumes available in integral, album of Jean-Claude Servais
legend , of Swolf
Rogon the leu , of Alexis Chabert (the draftsman) and of Convard (the scenario writer)
the alarm clock of the god dog , manga of Masaya HOKAZONO

The wolf with the cinema

Films

Wolf , of Mike Nichols, with Jack Nicholson and Michelle Pfeiffer, 1994
the Wolf of Malveneur , film of Guillaume Radot, 1942
the Miracle of the wolves , film of Andre Hunebelle, 1961
'' the Christmas tree '', film of Terence Young (according to Michel Battles), 1969
the wild Child , of François Truffaut, 1970
Tile with the wolves , telefilm of Jacques Ertaud, 1972. In a small village of Lozere, in the years 1980, there exists on the roof of the church a tile which with the characteristic to whistle when a wolf approaches the village. But except some old, nobody for a long time intended this tile to whistle, when one day of winter, the forgotten whistle occurs…
Hook-White (according to Jack London), film of Lucio Fulci, 1974
Wolfen , of Michael Wadleigh, 1981
a man among the wolves , film of Carroll Ballard, 1983
Danse with the wolves , of Kevin Costner, 1990
Hook-White , of Randal Kleiser, according to the novel of Jack London, 1991
'' the Animal of Gévaudan '', telefilm of Patrick Volson, 2001
the Pact of the wolves is a French action film carried out in 2001 by Christophe Gans, one revisits topic of the Bête of Gévaudan - which was not a giant wolf.

Documentary

Lobo Walt Disney, realized in the Years 1960.
the revenge of the wolves , realized for National Geographic.
the epopee of the wolves of Yellowstone , realized for National Geographic.
Imax: Wolves (1999), documentary Canadian carried out by David Douglas (lasted: 40 min).
It speaks with the wolves (2001), documentary Canadian carried out by Carlos Ferrand (lasted: 52 min).

Cartoons

the Three small pigs , adaptation of the folk tale in cartoon of Walt Disney, 1933
the Book of the Jungle , cartoon of Walt Disney;
the Little Red Riding Hood , cartoon of Walt Disney
In the work of Tex Avery, the wolf society man is omnipresent.
Pierre and the wolf , French cartoon carried out in 1995 by Michel Jaffrenou (lasted 26 min).
the Eye of the wolf , French cartoon carried out in 1997 by Hoël Caouissin (lasted 26 min).
Spitz and other wolves , five cartoon films carried out in 2003 on the same topic, the wolf ( Spitz , Marie K and the wolf , Micro wolf , be to You where grandmamma? and to make the portrait of a wolf ).
Wolf' S Rain (ウルフズ・レイン), is a Anime Japanese in 26 episodes and 4 OAV, diffused for the first time at the Japan on January 26th, 2003.

The wolf in painting and sculpture

the Wolf of Agubbio paints in 1877 by Luc-Olivier Merson, exposed to the Palais of the Art schools of Lille
the Roman she-wolf nursing Rémus and Romulus , sculpture ancient

The wolf in musical works

Pierre and the Wolf , musical tale of Serge Prokofiev.
the wolves entered Paris , song of Serge Reggiani > text.
the wolf, the hind and the knight , song of Henri Salvador, words of Maurice Pon, music of Henri Salvador > text.
the she-wolf , song (1974) of Michele Torr, words and music of J.Albertini, S.Garcia, O.Toussaint > text.
Heart of wolf , song (1989) of Philippe Lafontaine, words of Philippe Lafontaine and D' Oultremont, music of Philippe Lafontaine > text.
Wolf of ground , song of Jacques Yvart, words of Boris Bergman > text.

² Ulver Norwegian group.

See too

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