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The wolf (Canis lupus) -

The wolf is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America, but inhabits vast areas of the Northern Hemisphere. It is the largest nondomestic member of the dog family (Canidae).

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Wolf pack -

Wolves live in packs. Most packs have four to nine members, but the size can range from as few as two wolves to as many as 15. The alpha female and male are the only ones that breed, and they mate for life.

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Pampered pups -

When pups are old enough to leave the den, they become the responsibility of the entire pack. The youngsters are shown lots of affection and are trained daily by parents and guardians alike. When the young adults reach the age of three, they can either join the pack or leave to find their own territory.

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Perfect predator -

Wolves have long legs, large feet, and a deep but narrow chest—ideal physical characteristics for a life on the move. Formidable canine teeth, powerful jaws, great vision, and a superior sense of smell make wolves impressive predators.

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On the hunt -

The wolf is specialized for cooperative hunting, and runs swiftly on its toes making it easier to stop and turn quickly. Elk and moose are favorite prey, though bison usually stand their ground against a pack of wolves.

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Why does a wolf howl? -

Wolves howl to assemble the pack usually before and after hunts, to pass on an alarm particularly at a den site, to locate each other during inclement weather, while crossing unfamiliar territory, and to communicate across great distances. And despite popular belief, wolves do not howl at the moon.

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Wolf species -

More than 30 subspecies of Canis lupus have been recognized. The gray wolf is distinguished by its long bushy tail that's often black-tipped. Coat color is typically a mix of gray and brown while underparts and legs are usually yellow-white.

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Eastern timber wolf -

The gray wolf is also known as the timber wolf. But, confusingly, there are several subspecies of the gray wolf. For example, the eastern timber wolf is either a unique subspecies of gray wolf or a separate species from the gray wolf, depending on which scientific journal you read. The eastern timber wolf is native to the Great Lakes region and southeastern Canada.

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Arctic wolf -

Another wolf debated by some as a species distinct from the gray wolf is the Arctic wolf. It's native to Canada's Queen Elizabeth Islands, from Melville Island to Ellesmere Island.

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Northwestern wolf -

Regarded as a subspecies of gray wolf, the northwestern wolf is found in western North America.

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Red wolf -

Native to the southeastern United States, the red wolf is named for the reddish-tawny color to its fur. Rare and illusive, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has listed the red wolf as a critically endangered species.

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Eurasian wolf -

Also known as the common wolf, this subspecies is native to Europe and parts of Russia. Once widespread, Eurasian wolf numbers declined rapidly in the 19th century due to overhunting.

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Indian wolf -

The Indian wolf ranges from Southwest Asia to the Indian Subcontinent. This subspecies travels in smaller packs and has a reputation for being especially cunning in its hunting technique.

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Ethiopian wolf -

Until recently, the Ethiopian wolf was considered a jackal. Similar in size to a coyote, this is one of the world's rarest canids, and Africa's most endangered carnivore.

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Mexican wolf -

Once native to southeastern Arizona, southern New Mexico, western Texas, and northern Mexico, there are now just a little over 143 Mexican wolves living wild in small pockets of territory.

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The wolf in folklore, religion, and mythology -

Pervasive in mythology, folklore, and religion, the much-maligned wolf has had an impact on the human imagination and has been the victim of misunderstanding that few animals have shared.

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Romulus and Remus -

In Roman mythology, Romulus and Remus are twin brothers whose story tells the events that led to the founding of the city of Rome and the Roman Kingdom. Abandoned as babies and left to die on a river bank, the twins survive in part by being suckled by a she-wolf. This bronze sculpture depicting the legend is exhibited in Rome's Capitoline Museums facility.

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Legend of Lycaon -

According to Greek mythology, Lycaon, the son of Pelasgus, angered the god Zeus when he served him a supper made from the remains of a sacrificed boy. As punishment, the enraged Zeus turned Lycaon and his sons into wolves.

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Xolotl and the Mexican wolf -

Xolotl, the Aztec god of fire and lightening, depicted here in the 15th century Codex Fejérváry-Mayer manuscript, is probably based on the Mexican wolf rather than a dog as once believed.

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The Tlingit -

This helmet representing a wolf, and displayed in Madrid's Museum of the Americas in Spain, was crafted by the Tlingit indigenous peoples from the Pacific Northwest Coast. Tlingit society is divided into two distinct kinships termed Raven and Eagle/Wolf.

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Fearsome Fenrir -

Fenrir is a monstrous wolf in Norse mythology, and the most infamous. The son of the god Loki and the giantess Angrboda, Fenrir is also the brother of the serpent Jormungand and the underworld goddess Hel. So, a pretty fearsome lineage by all accounts.

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The wolf as symbolism -

The Pawnee, indigenous peoples of the Great Plains and Canadian Prairies, revere the wolf. In the Pawnee creation myth, the wolf was the first animal brought to Earth. When humans killed it, they were punished with death, destruction, and the loss of immortality. The wolf features on the Central Plains Nation of Oklahoma tribal flag.

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'Little Red Riding Hood' -

This European fairy tale has its origins in the 10th century and revolves around a girl called Little Red Riding Hood and her unfortunate meeting with a ravening wolf. In fact, the fictional Big Bad Wolf appears in a number of cautionary tales where the animal is depicted as a menacing predatory antagonist—the generic archetype that eventually found a role in Hollywood.

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'The Three Little Pigs' -

Walt Disney's 1933 animated short film is based on the fable of the same name where three pigs build three houses of different materials. A Big Bad Wolf blows down the first two pigs' houses, made of straw and sticks respectively, but is unable to destroy the third pig's house, made of bricks. The movie went on to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film.

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Raised by wolves -

In Rudyard Kipling's 'The Jungle Book,' published in 1894, a young boy, Mowgli, is raised in the jungle by wolves, with a little help from Baloo the bear and Bagheera the black panther. 'The Jungle Book' has remained popular, partly through its many adaptations for film and other media, notably the 1967 Disney animated production and 2016's live-action/CGI reboot.

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The werewolf hits screens -

The werewolf has featured in countless movies and television productions. The silent short film 'The Werewolf' (1913) is considered the first werewolf film. The late Oliver Reed made his screen debut in 1961's 'The Curse of the Werewolf' (pictured).

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'An American Werewolf in London' (1981) -

Written and directed by John Landis, 'An American Werewolf in London' is celebrated for a truly disturbing human-werewolf transformation scene. Unsurprisingly, perhaps, the movie won the first ever Academy Award for Best Makeup.

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'Wolf' (1994 film) -

Will Randall (Jack Nicholson) is bitten by a black wolf while driving home and in time starts taking on the characteristics of a wolf, becoming more aggressive as he slowly turns into a murderous beast.

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'Dances with Wolves' (1990) -

In this 1990 western epic, Dances with Wolves is Costner's character's Indian name. They call him this after seeing him interact playfully with the wolf that he has partially tamed. As pack animals, wolves hone social and cognitive skills during play, and the film went a certain way to redeem the animal as nonthreatening to humans.

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Wolf's Lair -

Adolf Hitler's Eastern Front military headquarters hidden away in woods near Rastenburg in present-day Poland was known as the Wolf's Lair. It was here on July 20, 1944 that an unsuccessful assassination attempt against the Nazi leader took place.

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A wolf for kids -

In 1936, Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev (1891–1953) was commissioned by the Moscow Children’s Theatre to compose a piece for children’s theater. Thus was created 'Peter and the Wolf,' a charming story of a boy and his animal friends capturing a wolf, a narrative effectively illustrated by music.

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The wolf in literature -

Late Canadian writer and environmentalist Farley Mowat's largely fictional 1963 memoir 'Never Cry Wolf' is widely considered to be the most popular book on wolves. Chinese writer Jian Rong is most famous for his best-selling 2004 novel 'Wolf Totem,' seen here holding the French translation.

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Wolf and fashion -

Besides being a common motif in the foundational mythologies and cosmologies of peoples throughout Eurasia and North America, the wolf has long been a favorite with fashion designers. Here, a model walks the runway at the Wolftotem show during Milan Men's Fashion Week in 2018.

See also: Wild dogs and other curious canines

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