No. Although the wolf survives as an endangered species in a handful of states, from 7,500 to 10,000 wolves populate Alaska — from the most remote wilderness region to the suburbs of our largest cities. Because so much of this state is undeveloped, with more than 160 million acres permanently set aside in protected status (an area larger than California), the wolf is assured of a permanent home in Alaska.

Wolves are large, predatory canids once common throughout North America, Europe, Africa and Asia, now living mostly in remote wilderness. They are the largest living members of the canid family, which also includes foxes and coyotes. Wolves are the ancestors of all domestic dogs. There are two species of wolves in North America. The smaller species is the red wolf, Canis rufus, which has shorter, redder fur than the gray wolf.

Males usually range between 29" and 34"at the shoulder with a weight range between 110 and 160 pounds. Bitches must be at least 27.5", but can reach the height of 32 inches, and have a weight range between 88 and 120 pounds.

All wolves released are fitted with radio collars. Systematic telemetry surveys are conducted daily by land or air to monitor locations and activities of released wolves. The USFWS has no plans to reintroduce either the grizzly bear or the jaguar to the Southwest.

One of the primary characteristics used for selecting Mexican wolves for reintroduction is avoidance and fear of humans. Wolves that have the potential to be released must not be socialized or habituated to humans, so they are not likely to be attracted to people or human establishments once released. Mexican wolves selected for reintroduction are managed with minimal exposure to humans in an environment that fosters and maintains natural wolf behaviors.

The latest Wolf and Moose study report can be found on the Isle Royale National park site at: www.nps.gov/isro/wolfmoos.htm. For a excellent book on the study and the researcher who has been conducting it for the last 30 years, check out "The Wolfs of Isle Royale: A Broken Balance" by Rolf Peterson. It provides great insight into the interactions on the island in an extremely fascinating way. It is available through the Isle Royale Natural History Association at www.irnha.org.

This is a bit difficult to explain, there are subtle nuances implicit in this sobriquet for Wulves supporters, which locals understand but outsiders might not. In the Black Country, the term 'Tatter' means someone who earns his/her living collecting and selling to scrap merchants bits of copper, brass, lead etc. As these items are usually acquired under somewhat dubious circumstances i.e.

This is, sadly, meaningless to anyone who's never seen Emmerdale Farm (sorry, it's just "Emmerdale" nowadays, of course). To anyone who has, it will be blindingly obvious. The Dingle family are a bunch of fat, ugly, pig-ignorant thieves and petty crooks who live in a slum and do nothing but cause trouble. Any resemblance between them and the good people of Wolverhampton is completely intentional and not our fault whatsoever, honest.

They accept us as members of their pack, but I wouldn't turn my back on them or ever fully trust them. The male (Nimkee) allows me to pet and get close but doesn't allow me to hold or hug him. One female (Wa-Wa-Watasi) lets me pet her if the male is close but will not come up on her own. Our third female (Nikomus) was a rescue and will never come closer than 20 feet or so.

Predator-prey interactions are extremely complex and generally require long-term study; however, some general statements can be made. Wolves and other predators do not cause their prey to go extinct (if they did, predators themselves would starve); but predators can limit prey populations. A major advantage of wolves and other predators to prey populations is that they can reduce nutritional stress on prey animals by keeping populations within the capacity of the habitat to support them.

To protect both the pet and wildlife, pets should always be carefully monitored by their owners in areas where they may encounter native wildlife, such as national forests or parks. Unsupervised dogs that stray into wolf territories from their owner's homes or from their handlers are at risk. Wolves may treat dogs as interlopers on their territories and can be very aggressive towards them, especially during denning season (April through May).

Guidelines for the extent and duration of supplemental feeding are provided within SOP 8.0, Supplemental Feeding . The IFT provides "carnivore logs," made for zoo carnivores, and carcasses of road-killed ungulates to wolves following initial releases or translocations. This is kept to a minimum and is generally done for one to two months following the release/translocation or until the wolves begin to find food on their own.

Although the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) suggested that deer would be the primary prey for Mexican wolves, scat analysis shows that wolves are principally killing and feeding upon elk. Since the EIS was published in 1996, elk populations within the reintroduction area have expanded, while deer populations have diminished. The first Mexican wolves were released in 1998 and successfully preyed upon elk within three weeks of release.

Wolves are carnivores (meat eaters) but they will eat other foods as well. Their diet ranges from big game, such as elk and moose, to earthworms, berries and grasshoppers.

Gray wolves once lived all over North America, Asia, and Europe. Today, about 2,500 wolves live in the wild in Minnesota, fewer than twenty-nine on Lake Superior's Isle Royale, about 120 in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, 120 in Wisconsin, and about 300 in the northern Rocky Mountains of Montana, Idaho and Wyoming. An occasional wolf is seen in Washington state, and in North or South Dakota. In Alaska, there are between 5,900 and 7,200 wolves.

Wolves primarily eat meat. Their favorite prey is large ungulates (hoofed mammals) such as deer, elk, moose, caribou and bison. Since many of these animals are larger than wolves, the only way wolves can catch them is to live and hunt in groups. Wolves will also catch and eat rabbits, mice, birds, snakes, fish and other animals. Wolves will eat non-meat items (such as vegetables), but not often. Even working together, it is hard for wolves to catch their prey.

Wolves communicate via many media. The most common are body postures, gestures, and soft sounds, such as those described earlier when a dominant wolf meets a submissive one. The meaning of these postures may vary in context - that is, their meanings change depending on which other postures, sounds or gestures are used by the wolf at the same time. For example, there is an expression called an agonistic pucker. A wolf with this expression has its lips retracted, baring its canines and incisors.

Wolves are highly photoperiodic and shedding is correlated to their endocrine system which is in turn correlated to the duration of daylight. They shed once a year, usually in late spring. It has been our experience that older wolves tend to shed later than younger wolves, and often males shed out before females.