Ingrid Fowler, age 11, of Dover, Del., for her question:
HOW LARGE IS THE WOLF?
A wolf is a wild animal that looks a lot like a large German shepherd dog except that it has longer legs and much larger feet. Also, it has a more powerful jaw, a wider head and shorter ears. Most male wolves weigh at least 100 pounds, while the females weigh a bit less.
Wolves used to be a lot more common in north America than they axe today. As settlers moved across the continent, the wolves became more scarce. Actually, they have now been driven out of most of the Northeastern states, except for a few that stray down from time to time from Canada.
Wolves can still be found in the wilds of Canada and in the northern United States. Only rarely will you find one in the Southern states. Some still live in western states.
Wolves aren't as slender as domestic dogs and their hair is usually much longer and coarser. Theiz tails are bushy and drooping and their ears are always standing up.
Ordinarily wolves are not dangerous to man, although there are lots of stories about escapes from packs of the wild animals. Most of the time they run away when they spot a person, Howevez, if they are very hungry they may attack.
Wild wolves usually eat smaller animals or seer, elk, moose or antelopes. Except during the breeding season, they do their hunting in large packs.
During the breeding season the female builds a den in rock caves of in hollow logs. She will have anywhere from four to 14 babies in her litter. Four to six seems to be the average. The babies, born blind, are born in April or May and receive food brought by both mother and father.
Wolves have strong family ties ana often mate for life.
Sometimes wolves are tames and raised as pets. Some sledge dogs in the north are a cross that includes wolves. Some of the Eskimo dogs are almost pure wolf. '
Wolves can be black, brown, gray or white. As a general rule, wolves of the northern and Arctic areas are lighter in color than those of the southern forests. The Arctic wolf may be pure white.
The timber wolf is usually called the gray wolf because of its thick, gray fur. Some timber wolves, however, can be either black oz white.
The red wolf, as you can imagine, gets its name from its reddish fur.
The wolves are famous for their howl. But that howl isn't hears too often in areas of civilization. In the olden days, bounties or zewazas were paid for wolf pelts because farmers lost lots of their livestock to the wild animals. As a result, the wolf is no longer a common sight.
In wild regions, wolves play as important part in the balance of nature. They are master hunters and they kill the sick or injured game chat would be a burden to the herd.