Last night Saylix and Lichen began to howl. As we listened more closely, we realized that wolf were howling off in the distance. Perhaps they had brought down a moose and were calling the rest of the pack to join in the feast. Luckily the howling was short-lived, and soon enough we were are all fast asleep.

A few thousand years ago, people took wolf and tamed them or domesticated them. These domesticated wolf are now what we call dogs. While Saylix and Lichen look very similar to wolf in many ways, they are no more closely related to a wolf than a golden retriever or a poodle.

 

Wolves look like large dogs and weigh between 60-130 pounds. The males are larger than females. Wolves range in color from white to black but are most commonly gray with a black-tipped tail.

Click on photo to enlarge

At one time wolf were found throughout most of the US:
wherever there was an adequate food supply. Up until recently, they were killed off almost to the point of extinction. The government paid hunters to kill wolf, because they feared that wolf would try to take livestock. Today wolf are found in Alaska, Canada, and the northern parts of Minnesota, Idaho, Washington, Montana, and Wisconsin. Since wolf populations are so small, they are listed as endangered in most states. The wolf in Minnesota are only threatened, meaning they are not in immediate danger of becoming extinct.

The Wilderness Classroom Organization 4605 Grand Ave. Western Springs, IL 60558 (630) 204-0420 info@wildernessclassroom.com All content copyright (c) The Wilderness Classroom, 2002. All rights reserved. | Home |Contact Us | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use |