They are fed meat provided by pack members after that age.ĭuring the 20th to 77th day, the pups leave the den for the first time and learn to play fight. Until they are 45 days old the pups are fed regurgitated food by all pack members. Pups are cared for by all members of the pack. Five to ten days later, the young are able to stand, walk, and vocalize. At ten to fifteen days of age, the pups' blue eyes open, but they only have control over their front legs, thus crawling is their only mode of mobility.
They weigh approximately 0.5 kg and depend on the mother for warmth. Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male) 2.0 to 3.0 years.Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female) 2.0 to 3.0 years.Range gestation period 63.0 (high) days.Breeding season Gray wolves breed between January and March, depending on where they are living.How often does reproduction occur? Gray wolves breed once each year.gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate).
GRAY FUR ANIMAL AGE FULL
The gestation period lasts between 60 and 63 days, litter size ranges from five to fourteen, with the average size being seven pups.įemale pups reach maturity at two years of age, while males will not reach full maturity until three years of age. Other dens are under cliffs, under fallen trees, and in caves.
Pups are born in the den and will remain there for several weeks after birth. The den is often dug with an entrance that slopes down and then up again to a higher area to avoid flooding. After mating occurs, the female digs a den in which to raise her young. Gray wolf pairs spend a great deal of time together. Female gray wolves choose their mates and often form a life-long pair bond. This pair is monogamous although, with the death of an alpha individual, a new alpha male or female will emerge and take over as the mate.īreeding occurs between the months of January and April, with northern populations breeding later in the season than southern populations. The dominant pair in a grey wolf pack are the only members that breed.
Gray wolves are one of the most wide ranging land animals. However, due to habitat destruction, environmental change, persecution by humans, and other barriers to population growth, gray wolf populations are now found only in a few areas of the contiguous United States, Alaska, Canada, Mexico (a small population), and Eurasia. Gray wolves once ranged throughout the Northern hemisphere, from the Arctic south to southern Mexico, northern Africa, and southern Asia. Gray wolves have a dense underfur layer, providing them with excellent insulation against cold conditions. Their upperparts are generally darker and they have lighter fur on their undersides, the tail is tipped with black. Their color ranges from pure white in Arctic populations, to mixtures of white with gray, brown, cinammon, and black to nearly uniform black in some color phases. Males are, on average, larger than females.įur color of gray wolves also varies depending on where they are living. Height (measured from base of paws to shoulder) generally ranges from 60 to 90 cm. Total body length, from tip of the nose to tip of the tail, is from 870 to 1,300 mm. They vary in size depending on where they are found, with southern populations being generally smaller than northern populations. Gray wolves are the largest wild dog species in the world.