Hobbies And Interests
Territory and Migration
Biologists track wolves through radio telemetry and have learned that, in the course of a year, they may travel up to almost 600 miles. The International Wolf Center allows students to track wolves that have been tagged on an interactive map. In this project, you can choose specific wolves and track their locations at specific times. You can see how they migrate during the year, how far they roam, and whether they have specific locations they like to be at during particular seasons of the year.
Physical Characteristics
Although the colors of wolves vary from white to very dark shades of brown and gray, some even looking black, the similarity of their physical characteristics make them a distinct branch of the canine family. All wolves are similar in size, ranging from 70 to 115 lbs. Some have such long legs that, at first sight, they are mistaken for a small deer rather than a dog. A survey of how wolves both resemble domesticated dogs and how they can be recognized as distinctly wolves can be a productive and doable project for even elementary school students.
Wolf Behavior
Though many wolves look much like domesticated dogs, many of their behaviors are quite different. Wolves travel in packs of about five to nine animals. Their hunting skills are coordinated through the pack. Although domesticated dogs travel in a meandering pattern, usually with their tails curled, wolves travel in straight lines with their tails always flat or pointed straight down. An examination of these characteristics, contrasted with dog behavior, makes for a good project. For a more advanced project, make an assessment on how much of the behavior is because of the wild character of most wolves and how much is innate. You can get some help with this by checking with the Wolf Science Center, which raises and studies wolves from birth.
Mating Habits
There is an old wives tale that wolves mate for life. Although not entirely true, wolves do tend to maintain a monogamous relationship with the same mate for long periods of time, often life. This is quite a contrast to the normal mating patterns of domesticated dogs. In the pack, only the alpha male and alpha female mate while the rest of the pack supports the mother wolf. Over the course of years some of the wolves in the pack leave to start their own pack as alphas. A study of the mating habits and hierarchy of the pack social structure makes for a project that young students can tackle, while leaving room for more advanced students to examine how much of the behavior is determined by being wild versus being domesticated.