Little known facts about wolves

Wolves are a symbol of beauty and strength, they represent both good and bad. Also in Northern Europe, wolves are a god who raised the Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome. Wolf is also the first animal to be domesticated by humans. However, wolves also contain many interesting things that people still do not know.

1. Black wolf

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The common color of wolves is white and gray, but some of them have very special black fur. The truth is that this is not their natural color. A 2008 study by Stanford University showed that a special set of genes regulating black hair color only appears in dogs, so black wolves seem to be the result of breeding. The gene that regulates the black color of this coat is the dominant gene , so it is inherited mostly for generations. Although the black wolf does not appear to be an excellent hunter, they have a better immune system. Black wolves appear almost exclusively in the cold regions of North America.

2. Proportion of hybrid wolves

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The current purebred wolf seems to be quite rare, in which the proportion of hybrid wolves thrives due to habitat conditions. Over the years, a population has moved east, narrowing the natural habitat of wolves, thereby creating many hybrid wolves and accounting for a large proportion. Hybrid wolves are usually smaller than purebred wolves , and extremely clever, they can adapt to urban or residential areas. Partly because hunting in natural habitats diminishes a significant number of purebred wolves.

3. Cannibalism

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Cannibalism is quite common in the world of wolves. Due to living in an extremely harsh environment, often cold areas with scarce food sources, more competition must be with many other carnivores, so they are forced to eat wounded wolves or be sick in a flock. When two wolves fight over the territory, there will often be a fierce encounter and the loser will be the prey for the victors. There is a fact that sometimes they are forced to eat their own offspring.

4. Weight

We often see images of wolves with fairly fast and flexible appearance, but there are also wolves that weigh up to nearly 100kg. The wolves of the tropics often have small bodies comparable to those of medium-sized dogs. But the more north (Alaska, Canada and Russia) their size increases. The largest wolf ever killed in North America (Alaska) in 1939 weighed nearly 90kg. Usually they are the first wolf, because they are always provided with enough food by other children.

5. Rabies and madness

Different from many other animals when rabies infection is often indifferent, disoriented, or lying in place before getting sick. When wolves are infected with extremely dangerous rabies, they seem to immediately get mad and can attack any animal around them, including larger animals than themselves. The wolves attack people most because they have rabies, although this situation has now decreased. Although there are drugs to treat cases of rabid bites, for wolves they tend to attack and bite the victim's neck and head, so most cases are very dangerous. . Under normal circumstances, wolves tend to stay away from other larger animals than themselves.

6. American wolves are quite gentle

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In fact, wolves in the Americas are more gentle and less likely to attack humans than elsewhere, with very few records of wolves attacking people in the US and Canada while Europe and Asia are the opposite. According to the document, more than 3,000 people were killed by wolves attacking in France in the years 1600 - 1800. The wolf species in India and Russia are most famous for cruelty and ferocity. In World War I, Allied forces had to struggle to counter the attacks of hungry wolves attracted by the smell of blood.

7. The wolf's territory is large or small depending on the number of prey that are more or less

Their territory may range from just twenty to hundreds of square miles, depending on the number of prey there. The howl of the wolf pack is a warning to other wolves to stay away from that area.

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8. People used to be the main dish on the menu

In the Middle Ages, in Europe a plague outbreak caused thousands of deaths. They often stacked up corpses to prepare for burial or incineration, and naturally the wolves were attracted. During that time, the main food of wolves was the pandemic corpses. Gradually, they became accustomed to new flavors and humans became the main dish in the wolf's menu. The wolves that attacked people grew at a dizzying pace, and from here the stories of werewolves were scattered among those who believed and became increasingly popular.

9. Smallpox

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Just like in Europe, smallpox in the United States accidentally causes wolves to become scary enemies of humans. During this period, wolves frequently attacked living areas of humans, especially where tribes lived. The impotent people become prey to wolves, recognizing the easy source of food, the more ferocious wolves attack the neighborhoods and become human obsession during that period. While common wolves often hide in separate areas, forests are far away from where people live.

10. Picky eating

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Wolves can eat anything to live, even animals that have died for a long time. However, in good living conditions, food-rich seasons, wolves are quite picky. They usually prefer large ungulates like deer and deer, and they only eat when they are still alive. If they do not finish the amount of food they earn, they will leave without storing it in reserve.

11. Dogs are the favorite prey of wolves

A surprising fact is that these two species are actually of the same origin, moreover they are ready to mate with each other, however there are wolf species that consider dogs to be the preferred prey. Even for large dogs, once strayed into the area of ​​wolves, they become their prey. A small-sized wolf easily defeated a large dog with sharp teeth and deadly bites into the neck area. In Russia, during the period after the collapse of the Soviet Union, they discovered that many of the bad dogs' bodies had to be prey to wolves.

12. Split

When the young wolf breaks the flock, it often goes to a new place far away from over 1,000km of flying bird paths

Some interesting information about wolves:

  1. In Europe there are about 12,000 children.
  2. In Central Europe, a pack of wolves often controls the territory up to 200 square kilometers.In Northern Europe, this area is up to 1,000 square kilometers.
  3. When the young wolf breaks the flock, it often goes to a new place far away from over 1,000km of flying bird paths.