Interesting facts about wolfs
In the last several weeks number of interesting posts related to the wolf appeared on our website. Here are some additional interesting facts find on net… Do you agree on that??? Let us know…!
Fact: Black wolves don’t occur naturally.
A 2008 study at Stanford University found that the mutation responsible for black fur occurs only in dogs, so black wolves are the result of gray wolves breeding back with domestic canines. The mutation is a dominant trait, like dark hair in humans, and is passed down to the majority of offspring. It is not entirely clear what benefit black fur has for the animals; they do not seem to be more successful hunters, but do show a marked improvement in immunity to certain infections. Black wolves are far more common in North America than they are in the rest of the world. top-10-little-known-facts-about-wolves/
Fact: Cannibalism is common amongst wolves.
Wolves are extremely opportunistic carnivores, and they will not miss a chance at a meal. Living in some of the most unforgiving terrain on the planet, they are sometimes forced to eat sick or injured members of the pack, and any wolf that has died is generally fair game. Wolves caught in snare traps must be very quickly attended to by hunters or they will be torn apart by other wolves. When two packs come into contact, very often they will engage in a fatal battle, with the alpha males most often being killed. Sometimes they are even eaten by their own offspring. http://listverse.com/2012/04/14/top-10-little-known-facts-about-wolves/
yes, I was also amazed to read that Black wolves don’t occur naturally…! I would be very keen to learn outcomes of your research!!!
Thank you for these interesting facts on one of the most amazing animals around!
One note on the color of wolves. Here in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains (a portion of the Southern Rocky Mountains) in southern Colorado and New Mexico we had naturally occuring black wolves as I understand. These were wolves that probably never had the opportunity to breed with domesticated dogs. It may have been a subspecies.
Regardless, they were sadly all killed off my humans by 1930.
Now my curiosity is sparked and I will do some more research on this interesting fact.