9 Animals Similar to Wolves
Wolves are large, carnivorous mammals that are native to North America, Asia, and Europe. They can grow to be up to three feet tall at the shoulder and weigh up to 180 pounds. In the wild, wolves usually live about eight to 13 years.
There are four main wolf species and about 40 subspecies. The most common species (and the only one indigenous to North America) is the gray wolf. The other three are the maned wolf, the Ethiopian wolf, and the red wolf.
A fifth species, the Falkland Islands wolf, has been extinct since at least 1880 because of its unusually friendly and trusting nature. This nature, unfortunately, made them easy for humans to lure and kill.
Wolves are natural-born predators; they travel and hunt in packs of anywhere from two to 30 members, but the average size of a pack is between four and nine wolves.
Wolves can run at an astonishing 37 miles per hour and cover a lot of ground. Because of this, wolf pack territories can be anywhere from 50 to 1,000 square miles. The size of a pack’s territory generally depends on the area’s availability of prey.
A wolf’s bite is extremely powerful. On average, a wolf can bite with 1,500 pounds per square inch of pressure, which is about seven times more powerful than the average German shepherd’s 238-pound bite. When hunting, wolves prefer large prey like deer, elk, moose, and buffalo, but they are also known to eat smaller prey like rodents, beavers, and rabbits as well.
Here’s a look at the animals that most closely resemble wolves.
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Domestic dogs
Obviously, domestic dogs are closely related to wolves. Currently, the American Kennel Club (AKC) recognizes 167 different breeds of dogs. Although domestic dogs vary wildly in size and appearance, they are actually all the same species, able to procreate with any other breed and produce viable offspring.
African wild dogs
African wild dogs are an endangered species of mammal found mostly in the forests, deserts, … Read the rest of the story.
