More Wolf Facts

Wolves, in the past, have been typically regarded as villainous creatures, depicted as the “bad guys” in countless fairy tales and stories.

From the big bad wolf in Little Red Riding Hood to the huffing and puffing wolf in The Three Little Pigs, the status of the wolf as a bad guy has changed over the years, with movies like Balto: Wolf Quest, released in 2002, making wolves as the good guys this time around.

As members of the animal kingdom, wolves are known to have their own share of distinct and unique personalities, and given their genetic ties with the domestic dog, these wolf characteristics are typically banded with their homestead-based cousins.

However, though the two species do share similarities, they are actually quite different from each other.

For one, wolves are instinctively tuned for wide spaces, which means that keeping them as pets is not as feasible as one would imagine, particularly in a urban closed-quartered habitat. Cases of wolves being raised as domestic pets are known to exist, but such successful cases are known to take place in farm or open-space habitats, ones which allow wolves to roam free without any of the risks of vehicle traffic or wolves encountering people from time to time when they are prowling about.

Another wolf trait would be in their natural inclinations to form packs or groups, with packs typically populated by six to ten wolf members. Typically, a wolf pack could cover spaces as large as 20 kilometers or 12 miles per day, a trait that falls in line with the wolf’s need for wide spaces.

Wolves are also known to have only one mate for life, and in such situations, a wolf pack leader, a male, and his mate are the only members of the pack who are actually “allowed” to mate. The wolf cubs born in packs are typically taken care of by every individual member, as and new members of the group are born, they eventually break out from packs to form their own as they grow older.

Incredibly intelligent and highly organized, wolves are loyal to their packs, committed in doing what they can in cooperatively surviving the harsh realities imposed on them by their habitats.

Far from being nature’s natural villains, the wolf’s standing as a bad guy has changed over the years, shedding some light on the truth of just how amazing and wonderful they are as creatures.

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The Grey Wolf

The grey wolf, though far from being animals symbolizing Christmas, plays different roles in Christmas-themed stories and movies, typically depicted as villains of different plots and sub-plots.

The direct-to-video feature, Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas, released in 1997, featured grey wolves as pivotal character-plot elements, with the movie revisiting a short time which took place within the original Beauty and the Beast story, in between the time the beast had saved Belle from a grey wolf attack.

Though grey wolves are far from being naturally villainous as Christmas movies and stories would depict them, their notoriety for being pack hunters have made them “convenient” in successfully establishing a certain mood or feel.

Known for their efficient and effective hunting tactics, grey wolves are known for being the biggest of the wolf species, bearing similar physical characteristics of sled dogs and German Shepherds.

With physiques built to withstand the cold winds of winter, the coats of grey wolves are predominantly grey hued, though variations of deeper shades of grey are known to come up once in a while.

As a species, they are the most well documented and most well researched of wolf types, wit countless stories and myths revolving around them. Considered to be the ancestors of the domestic dog, research would prove that they were first domesticated in the Middle East, with grey wolves known to be found in different parts of North America, Eurasia and in the northern areas of Africa.

Cunning, their characteristics have made them perfect as “villainous” animals, but their status as villains is actually no different than other predatory mammals, only that their pack hunting tendencies make them truly dark creatures who implement strategies in catching their prey.

 Grey Wolf Video

 

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