Grey Wolf Documentary
Welcome to today’s episode of Adventures in Animalia.
They live all over the world. They can be found in the forested lands, in the sweltering desert, in the frigid arctic tundra. In many, they inspire ice-cold fear—in others, a deep sense of wonder and beauty.
[Image source: http://animals.timduru.org]
They are wolves.
The arctic wolf, the timber wolf, the Mexican wolf, the plains wolf, the tundra wolf—these are all names for the species called Canis lupus, most commonly referred to in English as the grey wolf.
The grey wolf belongs to the kingdom Animalia and the domain Eukarya. They also belong to the phylum Chordata, or vertebrates. Like horses, mice, camels and humans, wolves are mammals.
Wolves can be found in over 70 countries around the world, in an incredible variety of terrestrial habitats. They have been found in both very hot and very cold climates, in forests, grasslands, shrublands, the tundra, the desert and wetlands. However, humans have encroached significantly on their habitat.
For food, wolves prefer large hoofed animals such as caribou, moose or elk. They also enjoy the occasional wild boar. They have been known to scavenge garbage or carrion, and farmers have longed feared them due to their occasional taste for livestock. Unlike many stories might claim, though, they do not eat humans—in fact, they are more likely to run away from people than to attack.
Grey wolves have some characteristics of potential interest to bioprospectors. Like other canines, wolves have chemicals in their saliva that kill germs. In fact, their mouths are cleaner than ours. Perhaps someday scientists will find a way to use information from this amazing characteristic to help protect us from dangerous germs.
In the United States, grey wolves are listed as either endangered or threatened, depending on the place. Some of this is due to their undeserved reputation. Throughout history, they have often been hunted by people who mistakenly believe that they are man-eaters, as well as farmers scared for their livestock. But one of the biggest threats to wolves is the loss of their habitat. Although this has most often been done directly by the hands of humans, a new killer is looming on the horizon. Because of changes in climate due to global warming, wolves face perhaps an even greater depletion of their habitats. Who knows where they will be a hundred years from now? Perhaps, if we work together, we can find a way to help save these majestic creatures from destruction.
[Image source: http://www.tenan.vuurwerk.nl]
Mech, L.D. & Boitani, L. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2006. Canis lupus. http://www.iucnredlist.org/search/details.php/3746/summ. Downloaded on February 25, 2007.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Environmental Conservation Online System. 2007. Species Profile: Gray wolf (Canis lupus). http://ecos.fws.gov/speciesProfile/SpeciesReport.do?spcode=A00D. Downloaded on February 25, 2007.
Wikipedia. 2007. Gray Wolf. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolf. Downloaded on February 25, 2007
They live all over the world. They can be found in the forested lands, in the sweltering desert, in the frigid arctic tundra. In many, they inspire ice-cold fear—in others, a deep sense of wonder and beauty.
[Image source: http://animals.timduru.org]
They are wolves.
The arctic wolf, the timber wolf, the Mexican wolf, the plains wolf, the tundra wolf—these are all names for the species called Canis lupus, most commonly referred to in English as the grey wolf.
The grey wolf belongs to the kingdom Animalia and the domain Eukarya. They also belong to the phylum Chordata, or vertebrates. Like horses, mice, camels and humans, wolves are mammals.
Wolves can be found in over 70 countries around the world, in an incredible variety of terrestrial habitats. They have been found in both very hot and very cold climates, in forests, grasslands, shrublands, the tundra, the desert and wetlands. However, humans have encroached significantly on their habitat.
For food, wolves prefer large hoofed animals such as caribou, moose or elk. They also enjoy the occasional wild boar. They have been known to scavenge garbage or carrion, and farmers have longed feared them due to their occasional taste for livestock. Unlike many stories might claim, though, they do not eat humans—in fact, they are more likely to run away from people than to attack.
Grey wolves have some characteristics of potential interest to bioprospectors. Like other canines, wolves have chemicals in their saliva that kill germs. In fact, their mouths are cleaner than ours. Perhaps someday scientists will find a way to use information from this amazing characteristic to help protect us from dangerous germs.
In the United States, grey wolves are listed as either endangered or threatened, depending on the place. Some of this is due to their undeserved reputation. Throughout history, they have often been hunted by people who mistakenly believe that they are man-eaters, as well as farmers scared for their livestock. But one of the biggest threats to wolves is the loss of their habitat. Although this has most often been done directly by the hands of humans, a new killer is looming on the horizon. Because of changes in climate due to global warming, wolves face perhaps an even greater depletion of their habitats. Who knows where they will be a hundred years from now? Perhaps, if we work together, we can find a way to help save these majestic creatures from destruction.
[Image source: http://www.tenan.vuurwerk.nl]
Mech, L.D. & Boitani, L. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2006. Canis lupus. http://www.iucnredlist.org/search/details.php/3746/summ. Downloaded on February 25, 2007.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Environmental Conservation Online System. 2007. Species Profile: Gray wolf (Canis lupus). http://ecos.fws.gov/speciesProfile/SpeciesReport.do?spcode=A00D. Downloaded on February 25, 2007.
Wikipedia. 2007. Gray Wolf. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolf. Downloaded on February 25, 2007
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