Wolves - Information and a story for kids
Wolves are the 'ancestors' of all dogs. In other words all dogs comes from wolves. Wolves are wild dogs that hunt in packs and the dingo and the coyote comes from the same group.
They can reach speeds of 65 km/h (40 mph) when chasing prey and include a number of species such as the gray wolf (also known as the grey wolf or timber wolf), red wolf, arctic wolf, mexican wolf and white wolf.
- Find some pictures on different types of wolves.
Wolves are very good at hunting and they live in most places on earth, more than any other animal, except humans.
A wolf can grow quite big and will usually weigh about 40 kg. Their feet also grow big. A paw print can be about 13 cm long and 10 cm in width.
Wolves are social animals and they very seldom live alone. They live in packs and can be anywhere from 2 up to 20 wolves in a pack. It all depends on the habitat they live in and how much food is available. If it is a big pack of wolves, the will have a pair that leads the pack that is called the 'alpha pair'.
The little wolf babies are born blind and deaf and they only weigh about 0.5 kg. It takes them about 8 months before they are big and strong enough to join a hunt with the other adult wolves.
The wolves in the Arctic must be able to survive without eating for a few days, since they will travel very far to find food. They have more difficulty finding food than wolves living in the forest.
If a wolf hunts alone, it will hunt small animals which is easier for him to catch by himself, but if they hunt in a pack, they will hunt much larger animals, which the whole pack will attack and also that it will give enough meat for everyone.
The alpha pair will always eat first and they can eat up to a fifth of their body weight, especially if they have not eaten in a few days or during winter time when the prey are scares.
A wolf can run at a speed of 65 kilometers per hour during a chase. Wolves have long legs and spend most of their time trotting at a speed of 12-16 kilometers per hour. They can keep up a reasonable pace for hours and have been known to cover distances of 90 kilometers in one night.
There are many children stories with wolves in them, where the wolf usually are the 'bad one'. This actually gives an idea that wolves are very aggressive and sly, which is not always the case.
- Watch the story and re-tell it in the correct order.
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