The Artic Wolves - See Them At The Toronto Zoo, Toronto Ontario
Arctic Wolves have white fur year-round which allows them to blend into their snowy surroundings. Their coat is long and silky with soft, thick under fur. This is shed in the spring and the coat becomes shorter and less dense. The forefeet have five toes and the hind feet have four. The Artic Wolf is a subspecies of the gray wolf. Male Arctic wolves generally weigh between 34 - 46 kg, and females between 36 - 38 kg.
The Artic Wolves lives primarily in the Arctic, the region located above 67 degrees north latitude. This is the area along the northern edge of the North American continent and northward to the North Pole, as well as along the eastern and northern shores of Greenland. The land in the Arctic is covered with snow and ice for most of the year except for brief periods during the summer months. Due to scarcity of grazing plants and resulting low density of prey species, wolves roam over large areas hunting for food.
The Artic Wolves are predatory carnivores. They hunt in packs for caribou and musk-oxen. They also consume Arctic hares, ptarmigan, lemmings, and other small animals including nesting birds.
The Artic Wolves live in groups of seven to ten individuals. There is a highly complex social order within wolf packs and each pack has a dominant male and female, who bond for life. Mating between the pair takes place during the breeding season of January through to March.
Wolves communicate with each other in a variety of ways. Clear communication is a key element to the success of a cooperative pack. Body language in tail and ear positions, of body and head angle, making and breaking eye contact, and facial expressions are just a few. Wolves howl for many reasons, to assemble the pack before and after hunts, to locate members of the pack over distances, to warn neighboring packs of their presence, and apparently just for the fun of it. They often howl at a rendezvous site. The wolf's howl can be heard up to 5 km away. They use scent marking to communicate their presence and territory boundaries to other wolves. This can be either urine or feces left on rocks and snow banks along their hunting trails. Wolves have a very good sense of smell. They can detect prey 1.6 km away and can sense an animal three days after it has gone.
* Information provided by The Toronto Zoo, Toronto, Ontario Canada. The Zoo has over 5,000 animals representing over 500 species. With 287 hectares (710 acres) The Toronto Zoo is one of the largest zoos in the world.
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Very beautiful looking animal and an interesting post!
VB ;o)
Al and Peggy - The Metro Zoo is a great place to take your children or grandchildren to visit and see animals from around the world. Our daughters worked at the zoo while in college and still go back at least once or twice a year with our grandchildren.
Al and Peggy - Were you at the zoo recently? The Arctic wolves and polar bears haven't had a very cold winter and haven't had a lot of snow this year.
Al and Peggy, thanks for sharing your photos. The Artic wolf is a beautiful creature. We have a sanctuary for wolves near Grants Pass, but we certainly don't have any Artic wolves.
What fabulous animals! I really love the second photo - nicely captured! Thanks for sharing the information about them.
Debi
Al & Peg, they are an interesting creature as all wolves are. They look like such friendly dogs until they bare those fangs, then they are so deadly. Should be an interesting exhibit especially if they are shown at feeding time.
Hello Al & Peggy,
I just love wolves! The Artic Wolf is gorgeous with their all white fur. What beautiful creatures they are! Thank you for sharing your awesome photos & information on them. I really enjoyed your post!
Rita
Al & Peggy, I loved the pictures and reading about Wolves. Laura loves them and actually has been collecting them since she was small. She's really going to enjoy this!
The Arctic wolves are gorgeous and make you want to just hug them and pet them. Thank you for the history regarding them Al & Peggy
The Toronto Zoo is amazing. One of the first to offer this sort of environment and terrain for these types of animals. Great post.
What a beautiful animal. And I'm with Wanda, you just want to hug them. Thanks for sharing.
Absolutely regal looking animal! Love the white coat! Wouldn't you just love to have one of them sleeping beside you to keep you warm during this freezing winter?! Well, maybe not!! LOL
Al and Peggy that is a big puppy :)
I don't think that I had ever seen a picture of an Artic Wolfe before.
Thanks Vegas Bob! Not a Tiger like in the Bellagio, but they are very beautiful animals.
Kathy we had not been to the zoo in Toronto in years, so thought we'd go take a peek. Kids will enjoy it for sure, once the temps warm up a bit.
Yes Marc, just last weekend, we roamed around a tiny bit, just around these beautiful wolves who were romping a playing and then the polar bears, who were just lazing around....
Gary these white wolves were just so majestic looking, there were about 10 of them staying close in their 'pack'
Thank you, thank you Debi! You are never sure what you have until you get back home and scan through the shots
They do look like just cuddly dogs don't they Ed. For some strange reason they gathered in a pack and started howling, it was very interesting to see that....the zoo handler was walking near by, they may have been calling for their dinner.
You are so welcome Rita, glad you liked them. We were amazed at how white they were.
Wouldn't you just love to take one home with you Debra?
Carole these are beautiful creatures. If you like reading about them you should try and find the book "The Loop". It parellels a human family and wolf family. Fantastic book.
They are too beautiful not to share Wanda, it was a bit cold out there, but glad we went and caught these guys.
It is a great place Marcia, we can't wait for the Spring/Summer venue there.
The way they played with each other was so interesting to watch, you wonder how they stay so white Michael!
We agree with you Debe, but ah, nah, think we will take a pass!
Yes George LOL they are big puppies!! Aren't they beautiful? The way they strutted around, we think they knew it!
Beautiful! As friendly and huggable as it looks, I bet a pack of them would be a scary sight to see. Thanks for the pictures.
Yes I would, I think they are just gorgeous and I bet they would make amazing pets.
Ya probably wouldn't want to see them ungated and walking toward you at dinner time Irene!
Not sure about pets Debra but they certainly were amazing to see and listen to, they were just howling at one point.
We always learn something new everyday on Active Rain...thanks for sharing!