Introducing The Predator
Canis Lupus, commonly knowns as the Gray Wolf, is a profound animal within the animal kingdom that has been around for millions of years. The gray wolf has a range of sizes that vary due to food source and the sex of the wolf. They can range from 80-100 pounds when fully grown and anywhere from 60 inches to 78 inches long. This long, muscular animal is a predator, but not one who runs alone usually, but with others of its kind in a pack, and is one who is known for being a very territorial animal, with little fear of anyone or anything. This information can acquired by reading, “Mammalian Species, Canis Lupus” by David L Mech.
The North American Wolf Reintroduction
After reading the article “Yellows Stone After Wolves”, we can see that within Yellowstone National Park, wolves, specifically gray wolves, are being reintroduced after nearly being hunted to extinction during the 19th and 20th centuries. Many people are not in favor of this due to fear of losing livestock, threats to humans, and even the destabilization of ecosystems due to wolves being major predators. Another park that wolves were reintroduced into was Isle Royale National Park, in which the wolves thrive, there are no reports of
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Wolves, no matter the time of year, are always on the move and hunting, especially during the winter time when food sources are scarcer, but the amount of food that the wolves are able to kill effect not only them, but have a direct correlation between them and the survival and reproduction for many scavenger species that are within that ecosystem. Many of these scavengers depend on the wolves’ ruminants as food source, so without wolves in certain environments, these scavenger species