Hobbies And Interests
Behavior In The Wild
Wolves live in pack that can have between two and 12 members, including an alpha male and female. Other members of the pack include their offspring and unrelated wolves. However, it's believed that pack size can vary depending on the availability for food and pup mortality. Unlike other animals, a pack won't breed if there isn't enough food so they don't stretch their resources. There is still a mystery about who leads the grey wolf pack. Although the male wolf is thought to be the leader, an alpha female dictates a lot of the behavior. She decides where the wolves' den is and where they hunt. Also, she can outlive several alpha males and is believed to be a better hunter.
Wolves in Captivity
A misconception is that a grey wolf behaves the same in captivity as it would in the wild. In fact, a wolf's behavior in captivity is much more aggressive. A captive wolf is a paranoid eater and will act aggressively towards other wolves around food. The social structure exhibited in wild wolves is not the same in captivity. A lack of hunting for food, little exercise and the interaction with humans means the wolf doesn't create a bond with other wolves. That may be a reason why it will kill its own kind in captivity.
Communication
A grey wolf is believed to be able to communicate in three ways: howling, scent markings and subtle body signals. How and what is communicated is still a mystery. However, there are some theories to the different use of communication. Howling is believed to be used to locate members of a pack and for communicating long distances. Scent markings are usually used by animals to mark their territory. However, wolves have been seen scenting poisoned bait, which could mean they're warning others of danger. Wolves can also communicate with subtle movements: quick eye contact, twitching ears and a slight lip movement. These signals are easy for humans to miss and it's not clear what exactly is being communicated.
Eating Habits
Wolves exhibit strange eating behavior that is still a mystery to humans. Wolves are opportunist hunters; they hunt for easy targets, not just old or sick animals. However, there are times when a pack will let an easy target go. Naturist author Barry Lopez writes, "Wolves and moose, for example, may stare intently at each other and then the moose may simply walk off. During a chase a moose may be surrounded, seemingly doomed, when suddenly one wolf will break the chase in mid-stride and snap at the other wolves to drive off -- as though they had selected the wrong moose." Humans still don't understand why grey wolves would let a perfectly easy target go.