Arctic wolf

Canis lupus was present throughout almost all lands of the northern hemisphere from the Arctic in the north to central Mexico in America, reaching northern Africa and southern Asia. Having colonized many very different environments, it had to adapt to the living conditions encountered. As a result, 38 subspecies of wolves are recognized by the scientific community. They vary morphologically and genetically from one another.

The arctic wolf, Canis lupus arctos, is only found in the northern regions of North America, in Alaska, Canada, and Greenland. Unlike other wolf subspecies, it lives in one of the most hostile environments on our planet; it must be able to withstand temperatures that can reach -50°C.

The wolf is a social animal that lives in a pack with a strict hierarchy. At the top of the hierarchy is a dominant pair that is the only one allowed to reproduce. The other members of the pack are the young of the pair from different generations. The rank in the hierarchy is determined by character and age. The place each individual occupies determines, for example, the order of access to food. Many behaviors, postures, and facial expressions allow wolves to show dominance or, on the contrary, submission. The dominant holds its tail upright and eats first, while a submissive individual tucks its tail between its legs and eats last. The number of individuals in a pack varies depending on the territory size and prey abundance.

Arctic wolves hunt large prey such as musk oxen that can weigh up to 400 kg, allowing a large number of individuals to feed. That is why it is not uncommon to see packs made up of 15 individuals.

When the dominant male and/or female are unable to keep their place in the hierarchy, the other individuals seize the opportunity and the pack breaks up. This leads to some individuals leaving and a change in the hierarchy with new dominants.

Wolves usually move at night at a pace of 8 km/h, with speed peaks of 55 to 70 km/h. Therefore, wolves can travel up to 200 km in a single day. It is a good swimmer and can leap distances of up to 7 meters.
Howling allows members of a pack to communicate with each other, to gather for hunting, or to strengthen social bonds, for example. But this is also done to signal to another pack that the territory is already occupied. The dominant individuals mark the territory olfactorily using feces.
The position of their eyes allows them to see at 250° versus only 180° for humans. The wolf has excellent hearing; its ears, capable of moving independently, can pick up sounds up to 40 kHz, compared to only 20 kHz in humans.
The wolf has a tissue in the retina called the tapetum lucidum. This structure increases the light received by the retina, allowing the wolf to see in very low light conditions.

The breeding season begins as early as January for southern populations, while those in the north reproduce later, around April. The females come into heat only once a year for 5 to 14 days. After mating, a den is dug to allow the young to be raised safely. The den has a sloping entrance followed by an ascent to prevent flooding. After 2 months of gestation, the female gives birth to 6-7 pups who stay in the den for about 10 weeks. All members of the pack take care of the pups, allowing older pack members to learn how to raise young. The pups are fed by regurgitation for almost 2 months before being able to eat meat on their own. At birth, wolf pups weigh 500 grams and are blind and deaf. Around 10 or 15 days, their eyes begin to open, and around 25 or 30 days, the young are able to walk and vocalize. By the end of summer, the pups leave the den and go to different rendezvous sites, where the pack can be found. After 10 months, they start to take part in hunts. During the first year, the pups have a darker coat than the adults. Then, by the age of 2-3 years, the young can leave on their own or be driven out by their parents if the pack becomes too large. During their first year of life, many pups succumb to injuries caused by large prey during hunts, hunger, and diseases. In the wild, wolves rarely live longer than 10 years.

The wolf is a carnivore and can hunt alone or in a pack. It can also steal prey from other predators or feed on carrion. In Canada, the arctic wolf hunts large prey such as musk oxen, which can weigh up to 400 kg. A wolf can ingest up to 9 kg of meat in one meal, allowing it to survive for days after if a hunt is unsuccessful.

The arctic wolf is an opportunist; it hunts musk oxen but also reindeer or caribou, but when these large prey are scarcer, it may turn to small mammals such as hares or birds. However, the success rate of hunts remains very low.

They eat on average 2 to 5 kilograms per day, but on some days they can eat up to 8! In fact, they maximize their intake as long as there is enough in order to cope with days when the hunt is not successful.

Arctic wolves have no natural predators; only a few conflicts can occur between different wolf packs or if a pack encounters a lone individual.

As apex predators, they are indicators of a healthy natural environment. When they hunt, they prefer sick or injured individuals, which helps limit the spread of certain diseases but also regulate herbivore populations. Too many prey animals would prevent proper forest regeneration.

Wolves have a very developed sense of smell and eyesight, which allows them to hunt both by day and night. As such, wolves mainly hunt at dusk. Their sense of smell is highly developed and can detect prey at 270 meters against the wind thanks to a nose that is 100 to 10,000 times more sensitive than ours.

Note that the wolf, like all predators for that matter, can in no way cause the disappearance of their prey. In fact, a balance is established between prey and predator populations. If there are many prey, the number of predators increases and vice versa, if the number of prey decreases then the number of predators also decreases.

Local populations refer to the arctic wolf by several names: “amarok” in Inuit, “amagok” in Inuvialuit, “amaguk” in Inupiat.

Historically in France, the European wolf was present throughout the entire country. At the end of the 18th century, there were between 10,000 and 20,000 wolves left in our territory. However, after numerous hunts, it was in 1882 that a law was finally adopted with the goal of exterminating the wolf. More than 6,000 wolves were thus killed in the span of 7 years. In our territory, the species officially went extinct in 1930.
Fortunately, individuals have naturally returned from Italy since then. Evidence of the presence of wolves in France was already visible in the 1980s, but it was in 1992 that the wolf officially made its return to our regions and more specifically in the Mercantour National Park. From there, it colonized vacant territories, mostly in mountainous areas.
Nowadays, it is the Italian subspecies, Canis lupus italicus, that is found in the Alps, the Vosges, the Jura, the Massif Central, and the Pyrenees. This colonization was made possible thanks to protection, the return of prey, as well as the reforestation of the environment.

This wolf is characterized by a tawny gray colored coat with an average weight of 35 kg.
It hunts medium-sized prey such as roe deer and wild boar, so the carcass can only feed a few wolves. That is why packs are on average made up of 5 individuals and at most 8 to 10 individuals.
In the year 2021, censuses estimated the number of individuals in our country to be 921. The latest census in 2023 indicated 906 individuals.

However, conflicts between people and wolves are still numerous due to attacks on livestock. Moreover, the wolf practices surplus killing, which means it kills more livestock than it will eat. In 2022, according to the DREAL, there were more than 4,000 wolf attacks in France for more than 12,000 animals killed. The French herd is estimated at over 7 million heads…
Fortunately, solutions exist, such as night guarding or herd dogs. Indeed, it is important to find solutions to coexist with this predator, which is useful for the health of the environment.

Due to human persecution and habitat destruction, populations of wolves, Canis lupus, have significantly decreased around the world. Only a few regions in the world — in Canada, the USA, Mexico, and Eurasia — still support populations. Persistent beliefs about the wolf as a man-eater and threat to livestock have nearly led to its eradication.
The Arctic wolf, which lives in isolated northern areas, is mainly threatened by the destruction and fragmentation of its habitat. Its food resources have already been reduced due to global warming, and the construction of mines, roads, and pipelines further diminishes the prey it depends on.

Discover other animal species from America: Brazilian tapir, emperor tamarin, cotton-top tamarin, Patagonian sea lion, California sea lion, maned wolf, giant anteater, golden eagle, hyacinth macaw, raccoon, South American coati, puma, wolverine, jaguar, snowy owl, squirrel monkey.