Quiz

Test Your Wolf Knowledge


Wolves returned to the Upper Midwest (Michigan, Wisconsin, & Minnesota) by:

a) A Reintroduction Program
No! A reintroduction program involves live-trapping wild wolves from one area, state, or country and moving those wolves to another region, state or country and then releasing wolves into the wild. This was done with the Yellowstone and Idaho wolf reintroduction program.
b) Natural Recovery
Yes! Wild wolves of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan returned by a natural process with no human involvement. Because of the Endangered Species Act, passed in 1973, wolves are protected. With this protection, wolves extended their territory from northeastern Minnesota to Wisconsin and Upper Peninsula Michigan.
c) Boat
No-way! It would take a mighty big boat to bring back all the wolves we now have in Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin!

 

What is the name of the leader of a wolf pack?

a) Orion
Nope. Orion is a star constellation in the night sky. Orion is one of the most recognizable patterns in the northern sky. Orion, the hunter, stands by the river Eridanus and is accompanied by his faithful dogs, Canis Major and Canis Minor. Together they hunt various celestial animals including Lepus, the rabbit and Taurus, the bull. According to Greek Mythology, Orion was in love with Merope, one of the Seven Sisters who form the Pleiades. However, Merope would have nothing to do with him. Orion's life ended when he stepped on Scorpius, the Scorpion. The Gods felt sorry for him, so they put he and his dogs in the sky as constellations. They also put all the animals they hunted up there as well.
b) Beta
No. Beta is the wolf, male and/or female that is usually in the second rank, behind the Alpha members.
c) Alpha
Yes, you are right! Both the male and female wolves that are the leaders of the pack are called alphas. These animals are the highest-ranking individuals within the pack. These animals are the parents of the pack and usually the only pair to breed within the pack. However, that is not always the case. It has been documented in many regions (Isle Royale National Park, Yellowstone National Park, Alaska, Canada) of more than one female within a pack having pups.

 

On an average, how big are adult, wild gray wolves in the Upper Midwest?

a) 40-60 pounds
No. Generally, adult wolves are larger than 40 - 60 pounds. The coyote, a cousin to the wolf, tends to be between 40-60 pounds.
b) 50-100 pounds
Yes, Gray wolves living in the Upper Midwest tend to be between 50 - 100 pounds. Similar to humans, male wolves are generally larger than female wolves.
c) 90-150 pounds
No, generally not in the Upper Midwest. Wolves between 90-150 pounds can be found in northern Canada or Alaska. On occasion, a wolf living in the Upper Midwest may grow to be between 90 - 150 pounds. During the summer of 2000, Wisconsin biologists live-trapped their largest wolf yet: a male that weighed 108 pounds!!

 

How do wolves communicate?

a) by scent marking
Yes! Wolves will use scent marking to mark their territory and use it to define their rank within the pack.
b) by body postures
Yes! Wolves use body postures to communicate with other wolves. By the way they hold their tail, ears, head, mouth all convey a form of communication.
c) by vocalization
Yes! Wolves have a wide language of vocalizations: howling, whimpering, growling, and barking.

 

What do the wild gray wolves living in the upper Midwest eat?

a) White-tailed deer
Yes indeed! White-tailed deer, the most abundant ungulate (hoofed animal) in the Upper Midwest is what gray wolves eat the most.
b) Beaver
Yes. Wolves will eat beaver when they are found most on land. Since beaver are great swimmers, they are the hardest to catch in the water, but on land they walk clumsily and slowly--an easy target for wolves. On an average, adult beaver can weigh around 50 pounds, although beaver have been known to get as big as 80 pounds. That huge beaver could make a pretty good meal for a wolf!
c) Snowshoe Hare
Yes! Wolves are carnivores and will eat snowshoe hares and other small mammals.

 

When are wild wolf puppies born in the Upper Midwest?

a) Christmas Time
No. Even though we celebrate the birth of a baby, it is not the celebration of baby wolves!
b) April/May
Yes-ereeeee! Wolf puppies in the Upper Great Lakes region are born in the spring of the year, in late April into May. They are born in a den that is generally a deep dug out hole in the earth. Pups are born blind and deaf, their fur is dark and they weigh about 1 pound. Anywhere from 1-10 wolf pups are born per litter, although often times, only half of those pups survive the first year.
c) August
No. In August, wolf pups are about 4 months old and can weigh, on an average about 30 pounds. At this age, wolf pups stay at rendezvous sites, or a type of day-care while the adults are hunting.

 

Why do wolves howl?

a) because the moon is full
Yes and No. Wolves, like most other animals are more active during the full moon. It has to do with how bright the night is when the full moon is up. Wolves, at that time will certainly howl, but they do not need the full moon to do so.
b) to communicate to the rest of the pack
Yes, Wolves use howling and other forms of vocalizations to communicate with other members of their pack as well as wolves in other packs. There are many reasons why wolves howl to each other - one is to let other pack members know of available food. Another reason is to find out where other members of the pack are. Wolves will also howl just fun.
c) to keep strangers away
Howling is the one form of communication used by wolves that is intended for long distance. A defensive howl is used to keep the pack together and strangers away, to stand their ground and protect young pups who cannot yet travel from danger, and protect kill sites.

 

How do wolves get their food (prey)?

a) hunt as a team to kill their food
Yes. Wolves hunt as a pack for their food. The reason for this is, usually the wolf's food is large and they need other wolves to assist in bringing down and killing the food.
b) hunt as individual wolves
Yes and no. Lone wolves certainly need to figure out a way to hunt alone. In this case, lone wolves usually kill smaller prey (beaver, rabbit) and will scavenge on carcasses.

 

What sense is extremely powerful in wolves?

a) Eye Sight
Not really. A wolf's eyesight is at least as keen as a human's eyesight. Although, a wolf can see better at dusk and night, making them good nocturnal (nightime) hunters.
b) Sense of Smell
You bet! A wolf's olfactory senses or sense of smell is over 10,000 stronger than that of humans. Canines are 100-100,000 times more sensitive than humans in detecting odors. They can detect human fingerprints on glass slides for up to 6 weeks.
c) Hearing
Yes. Wolves can hear other wolves howling from 4-6 miles away. One researcher noted that wolves in the high arctic responded to other howling wolves at a distance of about 12 miles away, 8 miles of the distance was over open water and ice.