Wolf Facts
The wolf is the largest member of the canine family. Grey wolves range in color from grizzled grey or black to all-white. As the ancestors (or cousins) of the domestic dog, the grey wolf resembles German Shepherds or Malamutes.
Wolves are making a comeback in the Great Lakes, northern Rockies and Southwestern United States.

Fast Facts
Height: 26-32 inches (7-8m) at the shoulder
Length: 4.5-6.5 feet (1.4-2m) from nose tip to tip of tail
Weight: 55-130 Ibs (25-59kg); Males are typically heavier then the females
Lifespan: 7-8 years in the wild, but some have lived 10 years or more

Diet
Wolves eat ungulates, or larged hoofed mammals, like elk, deer, moose and caribou. Wolves are also known to beaver, rabbits, and other small prey. Wolves are also scavengers and often eat animals that have died due to other causes like starvation and disease.

Population
There are an estimated 7,000 to 11,200 wolves in Alaska and more than 5,000 in the lower 48 states. Around the world there are an estimated 200,000 in 57 countries, compared to up to 2 million in earlier times.

Range
Wolves were once common throughout all of North America but were killed in most areas of the United States by the mid 1930s. Today their range has been reduced to Canada and the following portions of the United States: Alaska, Idaho, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
Mexican wolves are found in New Mexico and Arizona.
Thanks to the reintroduction of the wolves in 1995, Yellowstone National Park is one of the most favored places to see and hear wolves in their native habitat.

Behavior
Wolves live, travel and hunt in packs of 4-7 animals on average. Packs include the mother and father wolves, called the alphas, their pups and several other subordinate or young animals. The alpha female and male are the pack leaders that track and hunt prey, choose den sites and established the packs territory. Wolves develop close relationships and strong social bonds. They often demostrate deep effection for their family and may even sacrafice themselves to protect the family unit.
Wolves have a complex communication system ranging from barks and whines to growls and howls. While they don't howl at the moon, they do howl more when it's lighter at night, which occures more often when the moon is full.

Reproduction
Mating season: January or February
Gestation: 63 days
Litter Size: 4-7 pups
Pups are born blind and defensless. The pack cares for the pups until they mature at about 10 months of age.

Threats
The most common cause of death for wolves is conflict with people over livestock losses. While wolf predation on livestock is fairly uncommon, wolves that do prey on them are often killed to protect the livestock. Defenders are working with livestock owners to develop non-lethle methods to reduce the chances of a wolf attacking livestock. These methods include fencing livestock, lighting, alarm systems and removing dead or dying livestock that may attract crnivores like wolves.
Another seriouse threat is human encrochment into wolf territory, which leads to habitat loss for wolves and their prey species.
Overall, the greatest threat to wolves is people's fear and misunderstanding about the species. Many fairy tales and myths tend to misrepresent wolves as villainous, dangerous creatures.

Reasons For Hope
Defenders and many other conservation organizations have been working tirelessly on wolf conservation in North America from aerial hunting in Alaska to restoration efforts in the lower 48 states. Wolves are an integral part of an ecosystem as a top tier preator and Defenders will continue to make sure the iconic symbol of America always has a place here.

Legal Status/Protection
Endangered Species Act (ESA): Wolves throughout the lower 48 United States are listed as endangered except in Minnesota where they are listed as threatend. In Alaska, wolves are not listed under the ESA.
In Wyoming and portions of the Southwest wolves are designated as non-essential experimental populations, which isolates geographically-described groups from other existing populations and offers broader managment regulations.

Did You Know?
Wolves can range in color, from pure white in Artic populations, to brown, grey, cinnamon, and black.
Historic Victory for Northern Rockies Wolves!
On August 5, 2010, a federal judge overturned a decision by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to remove grey wolves from the Endangered Species Acy (ESA), restoring their endangered status and paving the way for these critical predators to rebuild their numbers to ecologically sustainable levels. This ruling is the result a lawsuit brought against the FWS in 2009 by Defenders of Wildlife and other conservation organizations.
"Pups are born completely blind and deaf (but have a keen sense of smell), depending on their mother and other members of the pack. The whole pack takes care and raises the pups (non-breeding females produce milk and males compete to baby sit),"
Usually four to six pups are born together. This is called a litter, and the pups in a litter are called litter mates. Pups are born inside a den. A den is sometimes a small cave or a hole dug out of the ground.
The den must be big enough for the mother and her pups. It shelters them from the weather and protects the pups from other animals that may want to hurt them. Packs sometimes use the same den year after year. At other times, they make or find a new den each year.
Wolf pups at this age may be preyed upon by Golden Eagles, Bears can also prey on young pups. There are several records of a number of adult wolves decoying bears away from their pups' den until they left.

Gestation Period
Pups grow inside their mother for about 63 days before being born. At birth they weigh only one pound, and their eyes are closed. Pups grow quickly. About 12 to 15 days after they are born, they open their eyes. By two weeks of age, the pups can walk, and about a week after that, they may come out of the den for the first time. At first, they live only in milk from their mother.

The Birth and Nursing
After birth the female wolf will lick the fetal sac from the puppy's head (she will also swallow all of these membranes), this allows the pup to take its first breath. The plecenta attached to the pup by the umbilical cord will be delivered along with the pup. The mother severs the cord and eats the plecenta (eating the plecenta provides a valuble meal when she is unable to hunt).
The female wolf will lick the puppy dry and encourages it to nurse. The pup will instinctivly mobve to the warm underbelly and nuzzles around to find a teat. The mothers mammary glands secrete colostrum, a watery milk which contains important antibodies. During nursing the mother will clean the pups and stimulates them to urinate and defecate by licking the genital region. She swallows all of their excretions, keeping the birthing area clean abd oder-free.

Stages of Development
10-13 days: The eyes open
3 weeks: The milk teeth appear, they start to explor the den
4-5 weeks: Short trips outside the den, begin to eat meat
6 weeks: Moving up to a mile from the den (with adult wolf)
6-8 weeks: Pups are weaned, traveling to rendezvous site.
12 weeks: Begin to travel with the pack on hunts (with adult wolves)
15-28 weeks: Milk teeth are replaced
7-8 months: Begin to hunt with the pack

Mortality
Pup mortality ranges from 30% to 60%. Pups die from diseases, malnutrition, and starvation , life in the wild can be difficult. Wolves being very social animals are known to burry dead pups, In R.D Lawrences' "In Praise of Wolves" pack members "mourn as deeply as might a human family".

In Early Years
In a few weeks (4-5 weeks), the pups start eating meat. This is brought to them in the stomachs of the adult wolves. The pups lick around the mouth of the adult, the food cames back up into the adult's mouth. This sounds terrible to us, but wolf pups love it!
All the wolves in a pack help take care of the pups. When the pups are very small, other pack members bring food to the mother so she doesn't have to leave the den. When the pups are a little bigger, pack members "take turns" bringing them food, playing with them and even "baby sitting".
Once the pups are about eight weeks old, they leave the den and start using "rendezvous sites." These are meeting places where the wolves gather to sleep, play and just "hang out." Until the pups are old enough to go with the adults, (when pups are six months old, they look almost like adult wolves. Around this time, they start hunting with the rest of the pack) they stay at the rendezvous site. Often, one of the adult wolves stays with the pups to watch over them.
Wolf pups love to play. They chase each other and roll around the way dog puppies do. Many of their games appear to be a sort of practice for the things they will do as adult wolves. Pups have been observed playing with "toys" like bones, feathers or the skins of dead animals. They "kill" the toys over and over again and carry them around as "trophies." As they get bigger, they begin to hunt small animals, like rabbits. This is all good practice for the day they join the pack for their first real hunt for large animals.

Eye Color
Most wolf pups are born with blue eyes, which gradually change to a yellow-gold color by eight to sixteen weeks, though sometimes their eyes can change color much later. Occasionally, a mature wolf will be found with blue eyes.

General Wolf Facts
Size:
Average Length (from nose to tail): males- 5 to 6.5 ft.; females- 4.5 to 5 ft.
Average Height (at shoulder): 26 to 32 inches
Average Weight: males- 70 to 110 lbs.; females- 60 to 80 lbs.
Life Span:
- 13 years in the wild
- 14 to 19 in captivity

Pelage:
- gray but can also be white, brownish, or black. Usually corresponds to the wolves' environment.
Adaptations:
Ears: Wolves can hear sounds up to 6 miles away. While sleeping, its ears stand straight up. This helps catch prey and warn wolves of danger.
Eyes: Poor frontal vision beyond 100 to 150 feet. However, they have very accurate peripheral vision.
Nose: Sense of smell is 100x better than a hooman's. It's nose is essentail in finding prey. The wolf can smell prey more than a mile away. It can sense the presence of an animal 3 days after its gone.
Legs: More than any other carnivore, a wolf is adapted to run. The anatomy of their front lags set them apart from other canines. Their knees turn in, their paws turn out. They can top speeds of 35-45 mph.
Teeth: 42 teeth. Four canine teeth are used for hanging onto or biting through the flesh of prey. The molars are at the back of the mouth. These specialized shearing teeth, known as carnassials is one of the reasons that wolves have managed to survive.
Coat: Wolves thick coat helps them survive the extreme cold of winters, especially in the Arctic regions.
Communication: Wolves howl to warn, to bond, to play, and to gather a hunting group. They also growl, snarl, whine, yip, whimper, and bark to communicate. They use facial expressions to show emotion and scent marking to show territorial boundaries; warn nearby packs.
Wolves are very social animals, and they communicate well with each other within the pack. Gestures of dominance and submission keep the pack in order.

Reproduction:
- Alpha Pair sometimes mate for life
- Breeding Season: January to March
- Gestation Period: about 65 days
- Litter Size: 1-9; usually 6 pups
- At Birth: Pups have blue eyes and weigh 1 pound
-Sexual Maturaity: males- 3 years old; females- 2 years old

Pack Size:
- 2 to 15 wolves *sometimes larger
Wolf Hierarchy
Highest Ranking: Alpha Pair---->Beta pair---->Surbordinates---->Omega---->Pups: Lowest Ranking
Hunting:
- wolves stalk and chase large hoofed animals in groups, working together to bring down the prey
- usually hunt young, sick, or weak animals
- deer, elk, moose, bison, caribou
- When hunting alone, a wolf will eat small animals such as rodents, rabbits, beaver, oppossums, and even snakes or lizards
- Occasionally, wolves will kill ranchers' livestock due to the depredation of their own natural prey by hoomans
- Wolves almost always prefer wild prey

Competition:
The wolf has no natural predators. However, its competition includes other predators in their range such as wolverines, bears, and cougars. Also wolves tend to have problems with coyotes who try to steal carcasses after a hunt.
Threats To Survival:
- loss of habitat due to destruction, development, and encroachment by hoomans
- persecution by humans
Most Common Subspecies and Habitat:
North American Subspecies;

Mexican Wolf:
Canis Lupus baileyi
Mexico and Southwest United States
Buffalo Wolf:
Canis Lupus bubilus
Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Upper Michigan
Mackenzie Valley Wolf:
Canis Lupus occidentalis
Western Canada and Alaska

Arctic Wolf:
Canis Lupus arctos
Far North Region and Ellesmere Island

Timber Wolf:
Canis Lupus lycaon
Eastern United States and South Eastern Canada
European Subspecies;

Scandinavian Wolf:
Canis Lupus lineeaus
Norway, Sweden and Finland.
European Wolf:
Canis Lupus lupus
Mid-Europe
/The European part under construction by WolfMoon

Conservation:
- The wolf has been hunted, trapped, and poisoned by humans for centuries. The government gave bounties for killed wolves in the past. Now the government is protecting the wolf through the Endangered Species Act (ESA). With the help of wildlife societies, the wolf is slowly being restored to its natural range.
- Recovery of Timber Wolves in New York
- Recovery of the Mexican Wolve
- Reintroduction of wolves in Yellowstone National Park and Central Idaho

Facts:
- 1998 National Wildlife Federation Poll shows 76% of Americans support wolf restoration
- Incidence of rabies in wolves is extremely low
- Farmers and ranchers are often compensated for cattle killed by reintroduced wolves

The Most Hated:
- For generations the wolf was the symbol for evil; compared to the devil
- Many myths and fairy tales surround the wolf; almost always the villian
- Today, luckily, farmers have the most problems with wolves

The Most Loved:
- In recent years, the wolf has become the symbol of great hope, courage, and wilderness
- It represents all endangered species and their survival
- The wolf's beauty and mystery has intrigued many to watch, study, and protect the species
- The wolf is a survivor and it still lives on...
For more info please visit Defenders of Wildlife and International Wolf Center
European links comes later!

Wolves have a rich vocabualry of visual signals that communicate social rank, mood, and intentions. Subtle changes in tail and ear positions, of body and head angle and height, making and breaking eye contact, and various facial expression show this information. Even two emotions of varying intensity, such as fear and submission, or submission and defensive threat, can be signaled at the same time. Although these
displays are instinctive, a wolf learns who is who in the pack and what to expect in certain social situations. He is aware of the various roles he and other wolves play in different situations. This awareness is termed "metacommunication"--"He knows that you know that he knows." Because of this, the frequency and complexity of communications signaling can be reduced; a mere glance or slight flick of the ears suffices.
Aggression

Since each wolf knows its place in the rank order, conflicts are reduced. Once a stable dominance hierarchy is established, peace reigns in the pack. Any disagreements are settled by ritualized fighting or "jaw wrestling," and sometimes just by a threat display without any physical contact at all. The alpha wolves may "police" others, subordinating an upstart with a direct stare and breaking up squabbles between two lower-ranking wolves.
What seems to be very aggressive is the pinning of whining subordinates to the ground by the growling leader. Subordinates often solicit this; such behavior is not aggressive but is a ritual display of rank between pack members, serving to reaffirm the unity of the pack and the alliance to the leader.
As soon as a wolf gives a surrender signal and shows submission toward the other contestant, the latter will immediately stop fighting. Wolves do show chivarly!
Play

Wolves of all ages, from four weeks of age and on, engage in play. They are by nature curious creatures, and any novel item that catches their fancy could become a play object: a stick, piece of antler, or the tail of another wolf. Wolf cubs especially engage in a form of "hallucinatory" self play, pawing, snapping at, and even chasing their own tails or spooking and pouncing on or running away from nothing, just like a kitten. A stick or strip of deer hide can be a toy for solitary play to be stalked, attacked, shaken, and "killed" or a catalyst for social play even for adult wolves. Suitable objects can be used for tugs of war, chase, and catch or even as a "dare", where one wolf dares another to steal its toy.
Then there is the social play of wolves, enjoyed by all pack members. Social play takes many forms. Hugging and wrestling are forms of contact-play which are usually started by a "let's play" bow and are especially evident during courtship. Contact play is often interspersed with brief bouts of affectionate grooming and may lead to playful fighting, chasing, stalking, and ambush, involving two, three, and more wolves.

Parental Behavior

Much of the social life of the pack revolves around the care and rearing of young. When parents go off hunting, another adult will baby-sit. Adults play for hours with the cubs and are extrememly tolerant and affectionate, but not overpermissive. Cubs soon learn their places within the pack. Little is known about how the older wolves teach cubs to hunt, but much is probably picked up by observation and imitation alone.
Socialization and Group Rituals

As cubs play and interact with each other and with adults, they become socialized or emotionally bonded at an early age. This bonding period wanes around four months and cubs begin to shy away from strangers.
Older cubs persist in mobbing the leader, licking the face, whining and tail-wagging in the same way they once did in order to solicit food from their parents. The food-soliciting and mobbing greeting toward parents become the collective "love-in" display of affection and allegience shown by subordinate adults to the leader. Such ritual ceremonies are performed especially when wolves wake up, before they split up to hunt, and when the pack is reunited after a hunt.
Another ritual often follows this, namely the pack howl or chorus. The sound of a wolf pack in full song perhaps best exemplifies the highly evolved sociability of the wolf.

A well-understood and respected hierarchy eliminates most serious conflict within the pack. Wolves are incredibly strong, and potential injuries could be fatal if wolves chose to fight one another. Hunting would be less effective without the full strength of each individual, and the pack would suffer.
Wolves possess a strong social nature. Understanding this sophisticated and highly complex social system and its dynamics is the key to understanding wolves. Each wolf assumes a particular role within the pack; a role that may change as the wolf matures and develops into either a strong, decisive individual or, maybe, a more submissive follower.
The Alpha wolves are usually the oldest and most experienced members of the pack. The alpha male and female guide the activities of the pack and share the duties of leadership; the alpha male may determine hunting strategies and take the initiative in marking his pack's territory. The alpha female makes decisions on where to establish den sites- a crucial role, as this determines where the pack will live and hunt as well.
Dominant wolves display strong personalities and must be confident decision makers. Alpha leaders have to be able to earn the respect and affection of other pack members. Lower-ranking members show this respect by approaching the alpha male or female with their bodies lowered and greeting them by reaching up to lick or nuzzle the alpha animal's face. "Top dog" in the wolf pack is an honored role and even young pups begin testing and challenging one another through play fighting to establish dominance.
Clear communication is a key element to the success of a cooperative pack- when signals from the alpha wolf are clear and are respected by other pack members, disputes can be settled quickly and without physical confrontation. Wolves communicate even complex messages in very subtle ways. A strong glance or a quick growl may be all that is neccessary to keep the peace. Even when pack members don't see eye to eye, quarrels are quickly forgotten once settled.
Subordinate pack members need time to learn the skills their leaders can teach. The health of a wolf pack cannot be measured by sheer numbers but rather by the strength and skills brought to the whole pack by individuals, each playing vital roles.
A wolf's decision to leave the security of the pack is not made lightly, as a lone wolf is quite vulnerable. Acquiring food is a dangerous and difficult proposition for a whole pack, much less a wolf on its own. Often it is confident and aggressive wolves under the age of two that choose to become dispersers and possibly leaders of their own pack. They may leave because they have been harassed by other pack members, because food supplies have become scarce in their pack's territory, or because of a need to mate that cannot be fulfilled within their pack of origin.
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Enemies and Allies
In Yellowstone, the threatened grizzly bear and the reintroduced gray wolf seem to have developed a relationship since 1995. The two have been observed traveling together, and sometimes even killing together. An individual bear may even walk up to a carcass, scaring off nearby wolves. But also a sow with two cubs have been seen traveling with a couple of wolves for about a week, feeding together.
However, grizzlies are also known to prey upon wolf pups at 2 weeks of age, and wolves will chase away bears from the den area. Golden Eagles will also attempt to steal wolf pups.
Foxes have been observed stealing from wolf kills, and wolves have been know to steal fox dens. Also wolves have been known to kill foxes, though rare. Wolves usually ignore these small predators, except in the arctic region where wolves will kill a fox on sight.
One of the most interesting relationships between animals is the one that exist between wolves and raven. The raven, scavenger of food of all types, will often follow wolf packs in hopes of morsels of food. Wolves have learned to watch for circling ravens as a sign of possible food below. Also wolves and ravens may play a game of 'tag'. When the wolf wins, it is usually at the cost of the raven's life.
Wolverines may scavenge kills in the presence of other carnivores with added risk of death or injury. Where they both coexist, wolves and mountain lions may kill wolverines.
Although wolves are capable of breeding with dogs, such crosses usually happen in captivity. Most encounters between wild wolves and dogs are aggressive in nature. It is only natural a dog would be a trespasser in a wolf's territory, and small yapping dogs may be attacked as nuisances.
Coyotes will avoid wolves most times. but when encounters occour they are aggressive. Rare in nature, the cougar being a lone hunter is at a disadvantage in a fight with a wolf pack.
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Evolution and Classification

Miacis, Hesperocyon, and Cynodesmus are three prehistoric carnivores that played an important part in the wolf's evolution.

The Gray Wolf: Canis Lupus

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
Subphylum Vertebrata
Class Mammalia
Order Carnivora
Family Canidae
Genus Canis
Species lupus
SubSpecies;
Some of the many descriptive subspecific names once or still recognized for the gray wolf follow:
LYCAON Refers to a character in Greek mythology; Lycaon, king of Arcadia, was turned into a wolf by Zeus as a punishment. The eastern timber wolf of North America, Canis lupus lycaon.
ALCES Referring to this wolf's dependency on very large moose, which are themselves classified as Alces Alces. The Kenai Peninsula wolf, Canis lupus alces.
BAILEYI Named after the a government trapper. The Mexican wolf, Canis lupus baileyi.
CAMPESTRIS "The wolf of the open plains." The steppe wolf, Canis lupus campestris.
COLUMBIANUS The British Columbia wolf, Canis lupus columbianus.
FUSCUS "Tawny", referring to the coat color of the Cascade Mountains wolf, Canis lupus fuscus.
HUDSONICUS The Hudson Bay wolf, Canis lupus hudsonicus, ranged west and north of Hudson Bay.
LABRADORIUS The Labrador wolf, Canis lupus labradorius, had a distribution throught out northern Quebec and Labrador.
NUBILUS "Cloudy" or "cloudy gray," referring to the generally pale gray coloration of animals that once roamed the Great Plains. The Buffalo wolf,Canis lupus nubilus.
OCCIDENTALIS The "western" wolf, also known as the Mackenzie wolf, Canis lupus occidentalis.
ORION Another reference to mythology, comparing the wolf to the great hunter Orion. The Greenland wolf, Canis lupus orion.
YOUNGI Refers to a government hunter who helped spread wolf tales and lores in the 1940s and 1950s. The southern Rocky Mountain wolf Canis lupus youngi.

Some sixty million years ago, in the Paleocene, the ancestors of the wolf began to develop. They found a niche as carnivores that hunted by chasing their prey. As these creatures evolved, they developed partially retractable claws and long, thick tails. As climatic changes took place, some of these carnivores moved out of the forests and onto the plains, giving rise to bears, raccoons, weasels, and wolves. Those carnivores that continued to inhabit the trees took a seperate evolutionary path-- retaining their retractable claws and refining an ambush style of hunting-- and their descendants survive as members of the cat family.
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Hunting

A successful hunt depends on the cooperative efforts of the entire pack. It is vital that all members get along and understand their roles if the pack is to survive. They depend on one another to bring down the game that would certainly elude them if each worked alone.
Because huntng carries a relatively low chance of success, wolves search for easy targets. It is the vunerable animals- the crippled, the diseased, the injured, those with poor sight or hearing, and the oldest or youngest- on which the wolf survives. In eliminating these weaker animals, the wolf helps maintain strong, viable populations of large ungulates such as caribou, deer, elk, and moose.
Before a wolf pack devotes great amounts of time and energy to pursuing prey, it tests the animal it has selected. Wolves will force their potential quarry to run or stand ground in defense.
If the prey animal vigorously defends itself, the wolves will think twice about continuing the attack. If, however, an individual exhibits any sign of weakness or injury (a limp, an inattentive mother, open wounds, substantial hair loss), it will become the focus of the pack's attention regardless of the other animals nearby.
Because their prey is generally much larger and swifter than they are, wolves make great use of any advantages they can find. Moving in close before attacking, aproaching from upwind, surprising prey, or encircling prey to cut off escape routes may provide the few valuable seconds that assures a successful kill. To wear out their quarry, one wolf may sprint while others lay back, surging ahead to take over when the lead wolf tires. The pack will snap at the animal's legs, rear, and sides to weaken it further.

Prey Species;
Deer:
Depend on their sharp, hard edges of their front hooves for defense. Or, if near water, they will charge in. Excellent swimmers, most deer can outpace wolves in deep water. However, their legs and hooves make moving on ice and hard-crust snow very treacherous. In these cases, wolves are likely to overcome their prey. Mature: 250-300 lbs.
Moose:
The most dangerous of the wolf's prey. The moose's legs and hooves are strong defense weapons. If they choose to flee from wolves, they often seek safety in water for they are strong swimmers and they can also give a good chase on land. To find success, wolves most often take the old, sick, or disabled, or young calves that have become seperated from their mothers. Mature: 800-1500 lbs.
Hares and Rabbits:
Greatest defense is their speed, as most mature hares can outrun their hunters. Other adaptions include large ears, large eyes, and sensitive nose for early warnings. Wolves do not depend on this prey as a source of food, but will readily take them in when available.

Beavers:
Depend on their highly developed senses of hearing and smell to warn of danger. If cut off from the water's edge by a wolf or other predator, the beaver literally goes underground escaping through a plunge hole beneath the forest floor, then underwater to their lodge. Mature: 50-60 lbs.
Bison:
Long ago, bison traveled across North America in large herds before European settlers and their guns. The bison were an important source of food for wolves. Native Americans learned much from wolves on how to effectively hunt the giant bison. Bison can smell trouble from afar, and when threatened, they use their their large horns for defense weapons. Presently, because of work to save the almost-extinct bison now their numbers have grown to safe thousands. Mature: 1000-2000 lbs.
Wild Boars:
Mostly active in the evening or at night, their acute sense of smell helps warn of danger. Their thick skin and dense layer of fat are not easy for a wolf to penerate if it is even successful in getting the chance. Wild pigs will defend themselves tenaciously and all come equipped with a set of growing tusks. Kept razor sharp, they present a formidable means of defense.
Wild Sheep:
Greatest defense is to escape to steep slopes that are not easily accessible to wolves. They stay in small herds, scanning the surroungings with their eyes that can move independently in different directions. 180-200 lbs.
Musk Oxen:
Defense from attacking wolves, they will form a circle with the young animals in the center. The adults face outwards to protect their flanks and their young. They present to their adversaries a circle of formidable horns and heavy, slashing hooves. Mature: 700 lbs.
Goat Antelopes:
Live in small herds, with two or more animals always on alert for approaching danger. Their best defense is their ability to manuever among rocky mountainsides and cliffs where predators dare not follow.
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Pups

Late winter breeding takes place. The pups are born nine weeks later, usually in spring or early summer, where survival is favored. Pups born during plentiful times have the best chance of survival, meaning before the cold and snow of winter arrive.
Preparation for the birth of the pups is a group effort. While the Alpha female begins to prepare one or more dens, the other pack members store food for her to eat, burying it in caches near the den site. The pregnant female may create a den in a cave, a hollow log, or an abandoned den usually of a fox or beaver. Often the female prepares more than one den as a backup site, in case environmental conditions or encroaching animals threaten the pups. A new den may be complete three weeks before the pups are due. Most often a day before the birth, the mother will enter the confinement of the den.


Often the litter size is five or six pups, but can be as little as two or as much as eleven. At birth, pups weigh one pound, cannot hear or see and cannot regulate their own body temperature, depending completely on their mother their first weeks of life. Their mother is the only member of the pack that has contact with them during this time.
All pups have soft, fuzzy brown or black fur at birth with small, droopy ears and blunt muzzles. Within two weeks pups open their eyes and most often begin to walk at this time as well. At 3-4 weeks they will begin to develop real vision. Their eyes are a baby blue, but usually change as they mature. Up to this time, they have fed off their mother's milk. At around three weeks, pups begin to eat semisolid food regurgitated by their mother. A week later, they will begin to explore outside yet still close to the den's entrance.
The pack is overly excited when greeting the young pups as they are the pack's future. The pack members welcome the pups with licks and nuzzles, sniffing the new scents. Each wolf now takes the role of CareTaker. Each member provides food, play, and protection for the pups. Adults carry food back for the pups announcing their arrival with little squeaking noises. The pups in turn greet them squeaking, begging, tail wagging then nibble and lick the feeder's muzzle to stimulate regurgitation.
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Pup Behavior;

The pups life is to eat, to sleep, and to play. Most adults are affectionate and tolerant of the playful pups, sometimes even joining in the romp sessions. Chasing, stalking, play-fighting, bounding, running, pouncing, and chewing on anything and everything meets the pup's fancy whenever it's not sleeping. As well as having fun, the pups are learning certain hunting skills and building strength and coordination. By imitating the adults, the pups are also learning to socialize; finding close relationships with the other pack members helps maintain the pack's bonds and establishes the pup's role in the dominance hierarchy.
By six weeks old, the pups try to follow adults for short distances from the den. Knowing they are not old enough to travel far or on their own, they explore all around, taking care not to stray too far from the den site. Leaves, bones, blades of grass, and pinecones are constantly investigated by the curious pups. They eagerly shadow adult wolves, chase small animals, especially birds, pounce sticks and twigs, as well as puddles of water.

Bold pups will climb all over an adult, pulling its tail and nipping its ears, as long as the adult will tolerate it. Adult wolves are very caring, patient and gentle with the pups. Even older wolves will join in a playful chase or a happy chorus of howling. No matter what the age, a wolf's qualities include friendliness, curiousity, and intelligence. Around 4 to 7 weeks, pups begin learning to howl through imitation. At eight to ten weeks old, pups have grown enough to leave the den site and join the pack at the rendezvous site. This area is about an acre and always near a source of water within the pack's territory. While the rest of the pack hunts, pups explore and play in the area under the protective eye of an adult puppy sitter.
As the season changes from summer to autumn, the young wolves are around six months of age, they show signs of growth that indicate they are ready to travel with the pack. However, the pups still have less stamina, speed and strength than the adults.
Pups aren't physically mature until they are at least two years old. Successful breeding isn't likely, for those who become the dominant wolves of the pack, until they reach three years or more.
While the pups grow stronger each day, they follow the older pack members, learn their territory and their role in the hierarchy, learn to sniff out and track prey, and to hunt skillfully.

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Visual Expressions
The position of a wolf's peripheral parts usually indicates the animal's social rank. Thus there are two extremes in posture, expressing either a very dominant or superior status, or a very inferior or subordinate rank; and there are several intermediate positions displaying different degrees of social acceptability between extremes.


The tail is a sensitive indicator of mood and status. Position, shape, and movement are all significant in this respect. Differences in these properties occur during social interactions, either friendly or status-demonstrating. Under conditions without social tension, the tail hangs loosely from a raised base.
Two extremes in tail positions can be seen. A wolf threatening or showing dominance raises its tail above the plane of its back (1,2, & 3). A submissive animal holds its tail very low, often tucked in between its legs or curved forward alongside its legs (9, 10, & 11). Wolves of intermediate rank or indivuals displaying dominance less forcefully carry their tails between these extremes (4, 5, 6, 7, & 8).
Tail movements are related to various feelings. Loose, free tail wagging indicates a general friendliness, with the swinging in inferior wolves aften extending to the entire rump and pulled-in tail. Quick, ubrupt wagging of a tail tip or the whole tail sometimes occurs during an agressive mood. A trembling vertical tail is characteristic of a high-ranking wolf meeting another wolf of high status. During mock fights, the attacker often beats its tail toward its opponent.
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Vocal Communications
Wolves have complex communication, which enables them to let others know what they are thinking without any violence.
Howling
Howling
Howling is the most familiar wolf vocalisation to everyone. When wolves howl they harmonize, rather than howl the same note, making the impression that there are more wolves. This is usually to deluge neighbouring packs. It is a myth that wolves howl at the moon. In fact, they howl for many reasons, such as to assemble the pack before and after hunts, to warn neighbouring packs of their presence, to locate members of the pack over distances, and apparently they howl just for the fun of it.

Pack Howl
Adult Howl
Cub Howl
Barking
Wolves infrequently bark, and when they do it is usually to indicate stress or a warning. An example is if a stranger is found approaching the den site, the alpha female usually barks to warn the stranger and to signal to the other pack members that help is needed
Growl-Bark
Warning Bark)
Chuff (muffled bark)

Growling
Like barking, growling is a sound used as a threat, or in a dominance dispute. Wolves also growl during feeding, but this sound is most commonly used playfully by pups. Usually all an Alpha has to do is use a "direct stare" accompanied by a soft growl and a subordinate will cringe, whine and slink away.
Warning Growl
Threatening Growl
Snarl
Whining
Whining is usually a sorrowful or submissive sound. There is another type of high-pitched whimper, which is a sound of intimacy. It is associated with greeting, feeding the pups, play and other situations of curiosity or anxiety.
Whine
Whimpering Cubs

~Nakomis~
Elder Sweet Mystic

Webmasters: NevaPaws
Web graphics © Cecilia "WolfMoon"Olsson
Thanx to Therese "Ailah" Larsson for permission to use her artwork in the title.
The making of this website is a Pack effort and various Members have contributed.
Written Content Copyright © 2000-04 Sweet Mystics unless otherwise stated.
All rights reserved
Facts to Know when Hunting;
1. Wolves do not chase prey until the prey flees. Wolves need the stimulus of a running animal to give chase.
2. Wolves concentrate on the flank (side), rump, hind quarters, shoulders, back, neck, and muzzle when attacking prey. They steer clear of the legs and try to avoid the hooves.
3. Wolves do not kill by biting the neck as felines do. The Wolf's prey dies due to blood loss. Tearing and ripping at the prey vest achieves success in a hunt. Taking hold of the prey's flesh while trying to bring it down also helps.
4.In real-life wolves usually begin feasting on prey as it is dying though still alive, but we as Sweet Mystics will show respect for the prey's life and wait for death to occur before feasting.
Hunting Rules
a)Please do NOT over hunt within TimberMyst.
c) Honored Guests are equal to Pack.

Small Hunts;

1. All Members, Assessments and Honored Guests may hunt small prey with the presence of Pack Member or Full Assessment.
2. Only Pack Members and Full Assessments control small prey movements, using :: ::.
3. Pack Pups, Pup assessments, and out of pack pups over 3 months may hunt small prey if accompainied by a Pack Member, OR a Full Assessment with permission of a Pack Member. (revised 10/7/04)
4. Visitors may hunt small prey with a pack member, the member may control prey movements. Visitors may also hunt small prey alone within the territory with a member controlling the prey movements.(revised 10/7/04)

Medium Group Hunts;

1. 2 or more Pack Members are needed to hunt medium prey with permission of Alpha, Beta, or Sweet Mystics Hunter. Full Assessments may then join the hunt.
2. Alpha, Beta, or Sweet Mystic Hunters control medium prey movements, using :: ::. Wolves that are in training as Hunters, Deltas, or wolves that would like further experience may control prey movements, using :: :: with permission from the Alpha(s) or Beta(s).(revised 10/7/04)
3. Pack or Full Assessment pups 6 months to 8 months may only hunt in Medium hunts if accompanied by Alpha, Beta, or Sweet Mystics Hunter.
4. Visitors and 'Assessments in Waiting' may hunt only if invited by Alpha, Beta, or Sweet Mystic Hunter. Knowledge, or witness of pack hunts should be acquired before joining a hunt.
5. If a Group Hunt is already taking place and you join the channel, you cannot join in the middle of the hunt. You must stay in the clearing.


Big/Huge Group Hunts;

1. Only Alpha or Beta call Group Hunts. That means that big/huge prey will only be hunted with the permission of Alpha or Beta.
2. 3 or more Pack members are needed to hunt big/huge prey.
3. Alpha, Beta, or Sweet Mystic Hunters control big/huge prey movements, using :: ::. Wolves that are in training as Hunters, Deltas, or wolves that would like further experience may control prey movements, using :: :: with permission from the Alpha(s) or Beta(s).(revised 10/7/04)
4. Pack Members and Full Assessments may join when Group Hunts are called.
5. Pack or Full Assessment pups 9 months to 12 months may only hunt in Big group hunts if accompanied by Alpha, Beta, or Sweet Mystics Hunter. Wolves must be 12 months or older to hunt in Huge hunts.
6. Visitors and 'Assessments in Waiting' may hunt only if invited by Alpha or Beta. Knowledge, or witness of pack hunts should be acqiure before hunting.
7. If a Group Hunt is already taking place and you join the channel, you cannot join in the middle of the hunt. You must stay in the clearing.

If rules continue to be broken after fair warning, hunting privileges will be taken away.

How to Hunt in TimberMyst;

1. The Lead Hunter will initiate a hunt and scent the air howling to call a Group Hunt. A lone hunt can be intiated by the Members/Full Assessments for other Assessments and pack members acting out the prey movements using
2. When prey is found, the highest ranking wolf present and hunting will tell the 'Order of Attack'. Ex: Alpha, Beta, Sweet Mystic Hunters, Pack Members, Assessments
3. Locating, Stalking, and Chasing of prey will be acted out as well as the prey movements. Depending on size of prey Alpha, Beta or Sweet Mystic Hunter will act out prey movements using :: ::
4. When the rush is initiated, the 'Order of Attack' will take place. Prey will be acted out accordingly. The Order of Attack is the initial attack and continues in order until the animal collapses.
5. After the kill is made, a small gathering of the hunters takes place followed by the feast otherwise the kill will be dragged back to Myst Tree within the clearing. 'Order of Feast' starts with highest ranking, followed by Pack and Assessments, Honored Guests and Visitors.
6. The remains are buried at Myst Tree. The Lead Hunter will memo #soulwolves with an update of the food supply.

Reacting to Competition;
1. When competition is sensed Alpha, Beta, or SM Hunter may commence an attack or ignore. This will be acted out by Alpha, Beta and ranked Hunters. Use your own judgement and knowledge of wolves VS non-prey species. For Example: wolves will tolerate bears on most occasions, though they will sometimes chase a bear or be chased by a bear. The fox however is almost always attacked and killed by wolves.
2. There is NO 'Order of Attack' when hunting non-prey species. Attack at chance.
3. 3. Any Member or Assessment can join in on the attack at anytime until the animal flees or is killed. Pups 6 months or younger must stay back. However, if the competition is a Big species, all pups (under 12 months)are advised to stay back.
Prey Species in TimberMyst

Small:

Mouse
Snake
Fish
Squirrel
Meekrat
Raven
Arctic_Hare

Medium:

Buck
Doe
Mountain_Sheep
Bison_Calf
Beaver
Caribou_Calf
Fawn

Big:
Boar (Feral Pig)
Musk_Ox

Caribou

Huge:
Bison

Moose

Competition

Fox-small
Wolverine-medium
Coyote-medium
Lynx-medium
Cougar (Mountain Lion)-big
Brown Bear-big


General Habits
Eating Habits

Although the wolf can eat large amounts of food in a short time, such quantities are not always available, so the predator may have to go without eating for several days at a time. A wolf can consume almost twenty pounds of prey at a feeding. This food is digested quickly, so the wolf probably eats several times a day when large amounts of food are available. A wolf is well adapted to fasting as it is to feasting for these reasons. Growing wolves need two or three times as much food per pound as do adults, for food is used by pups not only for heat and energy, but also for growth.

Hunting Behavior

As long as a wolf's stomach is empty the creature is ready to eat and therefore to kill; however, the animal is also prepared to wait until it finds prey that can be killed safely and without undue effort. Wolves hunt merely by traveling widely over their range until they meet up with prey. Wolves are active mostly at night, especially in the summer. However during winter months wolves hunt both at night and during the day.

Locating Prey

1. Direct Scenting- locating prey by odor, direct scenting is generally one of the most common methods of detecting prey. Wolves must usually be directly downwind of an animal. Whichever way they are traveling, when their route crosses the wind flowing from the direction of the prey, the lead animals suddenly stop. All pack members then stand alert with eyes, ears, and nose pointed toward the prey. If the wolves are in an open area, they may then carry out a group ceremony with the animals standing nose-to-nose and wagging their tails for a few seconds. If they are in deep snow, they usually just pile up behind the leader and point toward the prey. Then they veer abruptly from their route and head directly toward the prey.

2. Chance Encounter- encountering prey merely by chance. Neither direct scentng nor tracking is used. Chance encounter seems the main factor in hunting Dall Sheep where the sheep flee to the mountains and wolves patrol the hills hoping to surprise a sheep at a disadvantage. Other chance encounters include when wolves patrol the high grounds until they locate elk or caribou on the slopes below and then rush them.

3. Tracking- following their prey's track; usually very fresh tracks. The pack strikes out on a fresh scent trail. When about 250 yards crosswind, they stop and scent the air. The first animals lay about 200 yards from the prey and rest, while the rest of the pack catch up. Then they continue along the trail, noses to ground. Two wolves remain downwind and about 25 feet ahead of the trackers. When the first two trackers reach 25 feet from them, the prey usually becomes alert. Meanwhile, the rest of the wolves catch up.

The Stalk

Direct scenting and tracking both allow sensing of the prey for long distances out of view of the wolves. As they close the gap between themselves and their prey, the wolves become excited but remain restrained. They quicken their paces, wag their tails, and peer ahead intently. Although they seem anxious to leap forward at full speed, they continue to hold themselves in check. This stage of the hunt is the stalk. When this approach is used, the wolves sneak as close to the prey as they can without making it flee. At times they can come very close, apparently because wolves move directly upwind (in the case of direct scenting) and approach slowly and alertly.

The Encounter

This is the point when the prey and predator confront each other. Prey responds three ways:

1. Approach the wolves- seldom

2. Stand its ground- Moose and Elk show this behavior most often. When an animal has detected wolves but fails to flee, it faces the approaching predators. As soon as the wolves see that their quarry has sensed them but is not running, they stop their stalk. Either a stalk results if the quarry is not facing the wolves, or a hesitant approach if the quarry is facing them. Wolves prefer not to be eyed when approaching their prey. When large prey such as moose stand their ground, they usually can fend off wolves, so standing is a form of defense with them. A deer that stands its ground will do so merely as a stopgap effort; sooner or later it will have to run.

3. Flee- As soon as the prey and the wolves notice each other, the wolves stop advancing. The whole situation is tense and it appears that both prey and the wolves are ready to bound away at an instant. Wolves do not rush until the prey does. Wolves need the stimulus of a running animal. A nonmoving creature seems to inhibit the rush response. As soon as prey runs, the wolves almost always chase.

The Rush

The flight of the prey during the encounter stage of the hunt almost always results in an immediate rush. The rush is the most critical stage. If the wolves fail to get close to their quarry during this stage, the prey runs off at top speed, and the predators may never get close to it. If they close the gap between predator and prey within a few seconds of the rush, they may get a chance to attempt an attack. Or, if they do not come quite close enough to actually attack, they may at least gain enough ground to give them a good start during the chase.

The Chase

This is a continuation of the rush, in which the prey flees and the wolves follow. If the wolves catch up to their quarry, they may attack. If they fall behind, they give up quickly. The hunting technique of wolves is based on the sudden-rush tactic wherein stalking and a quick burst of speed, followed by a short chase, are the main factors in overcoming prey. When attacking, wolves avoid the hoofs and concentrate on the parts of the body farthest from them-- the rump, flanks, shoulders, neck, and nose.

Selection of Prey

Wolves must hunt often and test many animals before finding one they can catch and kill. Most of the individuals that wolves do capture must be disadvantged in someway, for they would have escaped if they were not.

A prey animal could be disadvantaged in several ways:

1. Surprised by wolves where its escape route is cut off.
2. Psychologically or behaviorally inferior
3. Poor sense of sight, hearing, or
4. Newborn, inexperienced, malformed, sick, old, wounded, starving, or crippled

Age Selection

Wolves kill primarily animals less than one year old or those that have lived at least half the usual life span for the species in the wild. During winter wolves prey primarily on the youngest and oldest members of most primary prey species. In the summer calves and fawns compose a high percentage of the food supply.

Selection By Sex

One might think that with large prey it would be easier for wolves to kill females because they often are smaller than males. On the other hand, even the large males must grow old some day and at some point in their lives become vulnerable. It can be said that wolf predation may exert a certain amount of selection for one sex or the other in various species and in different seasons. In most cases the year-round mortality from wolves probably occurs evenly on both sexes.

Selection by Physical Condition

Wolves kill mainly the youngest and oldest animals, probably because weak and inferior indivduals are the only ones that the predators can kill under normal conditions. However many of the middle-aged animals killed by wolves were injured, diseased, or parasitized because these indivduals were also easier and safer to capture and kill.

When the Opportunity Arises...

Although wolf predation generally selects out the young, sick, old, weak, injured, and diseased members of prey, one needs to avoid the conclusion that wolves perform such services intentionally or purposely. Without even knowing it, the wolf culls out the weak animals leaving the strong to survive.
The wolf is an opportunist. Whatever meat is available the animal will eat, including refuse, carrion, bait, and fresh prey. There is no reason to believe that the wolf would purposely refuse to eat prime, healthy animals and choose only the inferior ones. Thus selection for the young, old, and otherwise inferior individuals can be thought of as a very mechanical process. It is the wolf's natural tendency to kill whatever prey it can- when the opportunity arises.
“Pact
Respect Elders,
Teach the young,
Hunt when you can,
Play when you want,
Rest In Between,
Work with the Pack,
Share your affection,
Leave your Mark,
Take care of the young for they are our future,
Never question your existence,
Keep your Spirit wild,
Be sociable,
Live life like play,
Love your freedom,
Live for the hunt,
Hunt to stay alive,
Move swiftly....Leave only tracks,

Nature's Law is to kill for prey and protection of our territory, which is the TimberMyst Clearing.
Fighting will NOT be tolerated, esp. by visitors.
Way of the Pack:
1. To join the Sweet Mystics, all loyalties must be to this pack and this pack alone. You are not allowed to belong to any other pack, if you are in the Sweet Mystics Pack.
2. If you are apart of the Sweet Mystics, you must leave all other wolf characters behind. If you are truly devoted to our family and the Sweet Mystics, it will be a sacrifice well made.
3. Approval must be given by Alpha upon request to court, mate, or breed.
4. Magic is not allowed within TimberMyst Clearing.
5. Keep personal rivalries out of the clearing.
6. Fighting is strongly discouraged within the clearing. Avoid fighting whenever you can. Do not provoke aggressive situations. Members are expected to show responsibility and self-control.
7. If you invite a friend into TimberMyst, you are responsible for their actions. You are expected to let them know what our pack is about and make sure they know the rules as a visitor to our home.
8. We like to remain as natural as possible, do not add unnatural characteristics to your wolfen-self, please follow the Way of the Wolf.
9. If there is a problem that concerns a Wolf's Assessmentship, Membership, the welfare of the Pack, or the harmony within TimberMyst that cannot be dealt with by the Sentinel(s) alone or there is no Sentinel ranked, do NOT hesitate to speak to the Alphas. If the Sentry feels a situation is above their abilities or warrents higher authority, they should know to seek counsil as needed before taking action.
Added 11/9/01 Revised 3/02/03

Channel Rules:
1. No idling. If you are away please mark your nick away or AFK. Just as a warning, if you are caught "sleeping", you may be ambushed by a member. So be alert! ;)
Visitors & Assessments in Waiting: After one hour, regardless of your nick, you will be kicked. If you know in advance that you may be away for a long period of time, it's best to depart from the channel and rejoin once you are back.
2. No Sex/Perv channels while within #soulwolves; automatic kick/ban. Members/Assessments will be routinely /whois in and out of #soulwolves. If a Member or Assessment is using their wolfen nick within inappropriate channels, they will be removed of their status.
3. Swearing is not allowed In Character or Out of Character, including 'damn' and 'hell'. We are a family channel and have a diverse group here.
4. No flooding; automatic kick/ban
5. No scripts; by scripts we mean automated responses like bot scripts, or mp3 scripts, or away scripts, etc etc
6. No multi-charactering in #soulwolves, which means only play onewolf character at a time. If you need to change characters, please part and rejoin after the nick change.
Visitors: No Cloning.
Pack Members: If you need to change your nick due to another channel, you should open up a new IRC client in order to keep your regular nick in #soulwolves.
7. Any arguements bring to PM (private message).
8. OOC (Out of Character) please use brackets, like ( ). OOC talk is not discouraged; we wish to know and learn everyone as hooman and as wolf alike. However, when there is active IC wolfing going on in the clearing, please be respectful and move OOC chat to the (Out of Clearing) channel #Soul_OOC. revised 7/23/04
9. No advertising
Exceptions
1. Websites/channels relating to Sweet Mystics.
2. The Sweet Mystics wolf pack wish to support and help the wild wolf in any way possible. Invitations to visit websites relating to wolf support groups, petitions etc. is acceptable.
10. Only Assessments, Honored Guests, and fellow Alphas are given +. Some Honored Guests may earn @.
11. All Pack Members log to #soulwolves

Fair Warning will be given if Rules are not followed. If after Warning there is no change, the result will be Kick and/or Ban.

Overall, please be respectful within our home and have fun!

Humans and other animals:


Humans are not welcomed within TimberMyst. Those who choose to enter our clearing as a human, please be aware you will be asked to leave or roleplay as a wolf. TimberMyst clearing is set in an isolated area located in Canada away from human interaction. Please respect our ways.

Other animals are welcomed to visit our clearing, so long as they understand the relationship with the wolf, be it prey or non-prey species. As we are wolves, we will react accordingly Please be aware of the animals that belong in Canada and those that do not. Also remember, we are a peaceful pack and do not welcome fighting. Those who come into our home to roleplay an attack, choose else where.

Members and Full Assessments are to PM unrealistic characters or unnatural characters to Canada, including humans, dragons, etc. and request them to leave the channel or join as a Wolfen character and respect our ways

Assessments:
Assessment in Waiting:
This is the time where wolves get to know the members of the Sweet Mystics, learn the Way of the Pack, and become familar with TimberMyst. Wolves should become regulars of the clearing during this time. Much patience and understanding is needed in learning what the Sweet Mystics are about. Assessments in Waiting may hunt during Group Hunts (large prey) if invited by Alpha or Beta. This waiting period can last from weeks to months. It all depends on the actions of each individual wolf, for wolves are not grouped into time periods. The Alpha and Beta decide who is ready to advance and when.

Full Assessments:
Once it is shown that the Assessment in Waiting is serious in wishing to join, and understands the rules, they are advanced to Full Assessment Status. These wolves are expected to show knowledge of the Way of the Pack, as well as the way of the Wolf. The Pack will evaluate the wolf during this time and watch how well they greet visitors and interact within TimberMyst. Full Assessments may hunt during group hunts. The Alpha chooses when the assessment period is over. Be aware not all assessments will be accepted.

ALL Assessments will be given voice (+v)
Please visit our Joining page for more info. Click Here.
Departing the Sweet Mystics:
Probation for Assessmentship (Full and in Waiting):
If on any occasion an Assessment is dropped/removed from status for any reason and at one point or another wishes to return as Assessment, the Alpha will give a probation period of unmarked time in which they will watch and reevaluate the wolf then decide whether or not to reenstate their Assessmentship. This can only happen ONE time. If they are dropped/removed a second time they may not join the Pack.
As Member:
If specific conditions are met, a former Member may be approved for Re-Evaluation to rejoin the Sweet Mystics. If one departs for a second time, they may not Ever become a Member again under any nick at anytime. Wolves are not always accepted back into the Pack. Only one chance will be given IF approved for a Re-Evaluation Period. See Re-Evaluation Section
Re-Evaluation
Former Members may be eligible for Re-Evaluation if:
1. 3 months have passed since their intial departure.
2. Alpha and Beta's permission is granted for Re-Evaluation.
3. Council with the former Member is given by Alpha and Beta prior to beginning Re-Evaluation Period.

In order to Re-join the Pack;
ALL Members must accept the Re-Evaluated wolf back into the Pack. The rank of Omega will be given to the Re-Evaluated wolf upon acceptance. This rank will not be permanent.

Rejection;
If the former Member was requested to leave the Pack by Alpha/Beta or left the Pack under disrespectful circumstances, they may not be eligible for Re-Evaluation.
Inactivity
Inactivity is defined as absence from the clearing for 2 weeks or more without the Alpha or Beta aware of the situation.

Pack Members and Full Assessments will be placed as "Inactive" until regularly visiting the clearing again. When Alpha and Beta are aware, Pack Members and Full Assessments will be given 'Leave of Absence' for the time they are away. If you need a 'Leave of Absence', tell us. You can tell us that its a personal reason and thats fine, just let us know you're going to be away. Thats all we ask. If away for an unexplained period of over 2 months, Full Assessments will be removed and placed back into Assessment in Waiting status.

Assessments in Waiting will be dropped of their status. Upon their return if they wish to still join the pack, they may be renamed 'Assessment in Waiting' when they become regular visitors of the clearing again.

Lost Members;
If a Member is away for more than 3 months without any contact with the Pack, they will be placed as a 'Lost Member'. Lost Members are extreme cases of absence. Upon the return of the Lost Member, those under 'Leave of Absence' (meaning the Alpha was aware of their absence) will be welcomed back as Full Member and those under 'Inactive' status (meaning the Alpha was not aware they were going to be absent this long) will need a valid explanation of their absence to return as Full Member.
Merging with Another Pack
Merging is a special condition where two Packs unite in the hopes to become stronger together and bring further bonds into the Pack. The Sweet Mystics have special conditions upon agreeing to merge with another Pack. The Pack requesting to merge must agree for the Sweet Mystics to remain as is including Pack name, members status, rules, and functioning of the Sweet Mystics. The Members of the merging Pack will be advanced to Full Assessments status upon acceptance of the merger, with the 'Assessment in Waiting' period waved. Agreement and much thought goes into merging with another Pack. The only known Pack to have merged with the Sweet Mystics are the Moon Dancers.


Courting, Mating, and Breeding:
Mating is not the most important part of a wolf's life, though when discussed it is taken with most seriousness because wolves are expected to mate for life and it is a huge decision within the Sweet Mystics. Keep in mind, having a mate should not be a priority of Wolf-Roleplay and many see it as just that. You must have patience and understanding to be able to seek out the right mate for you and it may take much time and experience.

Adopting Pups:
Adopting a cub is an important decision because as with becoming a member or courting/mating within the Sweet Mystics, it is usually for life. There will be a ceremony announcing the adoption. This does not mean the cub is a Pack Member, but may become Assessment to join.
For more info and to read the Relationship Rules go to the Relationship Page

Hunting and Eating:
When hunting, the actions of the prey, as well as the environment, are represented using :: :: by the Pack Members or Full Assessments depending on the size of the prey

For Example:
[Wolfie1] ::A small rabbit chews on a patch of grass at the edge of the clearing::
*Wolfie2 darts after the rabbit
[Wolfie1] ::the rabbit gets spooked and runs away::
Wolves are opportunists usually most successful in catching and killing the weak, sick, youngest or oldest of a species. If you overly hunt within the clearing you will be warned. A cache of remains is kept near the base of Myst Tree to feast upon. After a Group hunt, eating is much like the way of a real-life wolfpack. The highest ranking eats first, then down the hierarchy.
After a hunt the Alpha, Beta, or ranked Hunter will memo #soulwolves of the food supply .
For more info and to read the Hunting Rules go to the Hunting Page
Weather:
The weather, such as wind and precipitation, is managed by Pack Members using :: ::. Keep in mind, TimberMyst is located in Canada where, generally, winters are long and summers short. Season changes will be posted on the History Page with a description. Harsh conditions, such as snow/rain storms, would be shown in the channel topic. Daylight/Nightime follow EST (Eastern Standard Time).

Being a Sweet Mystic earns certain privileges, like using :: :: in hunting, the weather, and control of the environment. Members are expected to show good judgement, as in all situations.
The Wolf has always been a symbol of evil as well as good, either a demonic, brutal killer or a reflection of the mysterious, untamed wilderness. The reality of the matter, however, is that the wolf is neither evil nor exceptionally good. Wolves are simply predators. As with humans, wolves need to eat to survive. In this way, wolves also help preserve nature's delicate balance by keeping herds of deer, elk, moose, and other large mammals in check. They also keep these populations strong and healthy by hunting the weak and sick.
Both the idealized wolf and the demonic wolf are created by the human mind. The Big Bad Wolf has filled our myths and legends and if you only know of wolves in that sense, then you truly do not know the wolf at all. What humans don't know, they fear. That fear is possibly the greatest threat to the survival of the wolf.
Fear breeds fear; hatred breeds hatred. Enveloped in a dark cloud of anxious imagination, wolves attained a fearful reputation for gluttony. On the one hand, they were accused of unbridled depredation on livestock, though in fact they almost always prefer wild prey. On the other, they were denounced for craving human flesh, though in fact they do not generally hunt down human beings. It is the true nature of wolves that humans never really understood. Their normal response to people is not aggression but curiousity or fear.

The Big Bad Wolf

With the spread of Christianity, the Bible's dictate to control and conquer the world flew through the forests with the force and destructiveness of a fire as man declared war on the wolf. The wolf was especially evil in the folklore, literature, and Church teachings of medieval Europe.
It is true the wolves in the Middle Ages, like foxes, skunks, and even domestic and wild dogs, sometimes carried and transmitted rabies. Rabies is a terrible disease that we, luckily, almost never encounter today. Back then rabies was always fatal. However, fables of evil skunks, foxes, or dogs were not created as they were with the wolf. Man's extreme fear of wolves were stirred up by tales of wicked creatures acting out of devotion to the darkest powers of hell.
However, man's fear did not stop there. Worse then just the wolf was the human-wolf creature known as the werewolf. The thought that a human could transform into a wolf and be able attack, kill, and sometimes even gorge other humans struck deep fear in the minds and hearts of many medieval men. Yet only the fears of facing the court of the Inquisition were greater. At this time, werewolves became equal to witches and sorcerers. Relatives and friends accused each other of evilness. If they did not fear, they would most likely be found as witches or werewolves. The Inquistion was a terrible time of witch hunts and torturing that the Church and higher ups named a spiritual cleansing and where many innocent people died a horrible death.
When Europeans arrived in mass in North America, they brought with them eighteenth-century versions of these lurid misconceptions. And to add to this: a struggle against wilderness that was both literal and mythic. The settlers arrived with a mission to tend a garden in a wild land. There was no place in the garden for predators. Wolves were killers, and, in addition to any actual threat, reminded the newcomers that they were ultimately not in control, even in this new and promised land.
On both continents, Europe and North America, wolves were persecuted with fury; hundreds of thousands were slaughtered due to these false beliefs.

Native American Views of the Wolf

Native American perceptions of nature were very different from those that Europeans shared. The different Native American cultures shared a deep respect for other creatures.
Many Native American people called the wolf the PathFinder or Teacher. They admired the wolf's intelligence, courage, and strength. They also saw in the wolf a loyal pack member who help with the family as a whole when necessary. The tales handed down from generation to generation are mainly stories of wolf the keen hunter, wolf the devoted family member, wolf the proud defender of his territory, wolf the intelligent teacher, and wolf the true survivor. These were characteristics deserving great respect and emulation. To carry wolf power, among many tribes, was to be greatly honored and admired. In turn, the wolf was celebrated in ceremony and legend, as well as in dance and song.
Understanding of wolves differed between Native Americans cultures that depended heavily on hunting and those that were mainly agricultural. It was for the hunter or shaman that the wolf played the greatest role, rather than the farmer.
The Navajo, however, called the wolf mai-coh, meaning witch. Their fear of wolves was based not on the nature of the wolf, but on human nature. Both the Navajo and the Hopi believed that human witches used or possibly abused the wolf's powers to hurt other people. While Europeans warned of a wolf in sheep's clothing, certain tribal beliefs cautioned against a human in wolf's clothing.
The profound similarities between human and wolf have been celebrated in many Native American cultures for centuries. In some traditions, this kinship is believed to transcend even death, for in the spirit world, wolves are uniquely powerful. When they howl, are the spirits calling to us? According to a Cree myth, it was Wolf who, after the great flood, carried a ball of moss round and round the survivors' raft, until the Earth reformed.
It is no longer possible to trace the relationship between wolves and humankind to its origins, but it probably extends back at least two million years. Even then, wolves lived much as they do today, and our far-distant ancestors may have watched them running single file through the trees, hunting hoofed animals on green prairies and bearing their pups in the comfort of sand dens. Indeed, our ancestors may have followed a similar way of life, travelling in small family groupings and feasting on what they could kill.

Change?

"Everybody believes to some degree that wolves howl at the moon, or weigh two hundred pounds, or travel in packs of fifty, or are driven crazy by the smell of blood," Barry Lopez points out in Of Wolves and Men. "None of this is true." The truth is that we know little about the wolf as it is and a great deal more about the wolf as we imagine it.
The wolf has been the symbol of great respect and honor as well as hatred and persecution. We, as humans, must let go of our fears; our legends. We must strive and want to understand that every creature on this earth has value and purpose. We must learn to know the importance of nature's balance and beauty. Only then will the wolf's true destiny come to view.
What is a "hybrid"?
A hybrid is the offspring of a cross between a wolf and a dog, a wolf and a hybrid, a dog and a hybrid, or two hybrids. Hybrids are also known as wolf-dogs. Hybrids are generally defined in one of four ways. The most common way is verbal; a person simply says their animal is a hybrid. It may have a wolf ancestor, or it may not. The second way is by appearance and behavior. If the canine displays primary wolf behaviors and appearance, it may be defined as a hybrid or wolf.A third way is by ancestry; in other words, any canine that has a wolf ancestor (no matter how many generations ago) is a hybrid. Hybrids defined this way may actually be all or mostly dog or all or mostly wolf. Finally, a hybrid may be defined by its genetic makeup. While genetics are the only way to determine how much wolf and dog is in a hybrid, at this time our genetic tests are not sophisticated enough to make this determination.*
Such animals are bred in the intent of making a super-dog, one that possesses the best characteristics from both dogs and wolves. Unfortunately, this is not the case – hybrids are extremely unpredictable and dangerous to humans. The reason for this is that the hybrid loses the wolf’s natural shyness of humans by being bred with a domestic animal, but still holds the wolf’s predatory instincts and exceptional strength. To them, small children, cats and dogs are all prey.
Wolf-dog hybrids also strengthen wolves’ already false bad reputation of being savage animals. Hybrids often attack and kill humans, but it is usually pure wolves that get the blame. The wolf’s misinterpretation has contributed a lot of harm to the animal. Also, the crossbreeding wolves and dogs is also a serious threat to the genetic purity of wolves.
The Market
Unfortunately, a market exists for wolves and for hybrids that are predominantly wolf. Such pups may sell for hundreds of dollars. These animals are often sold to naive people by breeders who greatly exaggerate the percentage of wolf in the pup. Sometimes breeders do this knowingly to increase the price, and sometimes they are simply ignorant of the difference between genetics and ancestry. Either way, the pups' new owners may be unaware that their animals are dogs or mostly dogs, and therefore hold them out to friends and family as wolves or genetically high-percentage wolf hybrids. Naturally, these canines are the "hybrids" one most often meets on the beach, in town, playing with children, etc. Because of the characteristics, true wolves and high-percentage hybrids are not commonly seen in public.
Breeders falsely advertise hybrids as being loyal family pets. People selling these animals get much money from it and therefore will disclose the actual facts on hybrids. The ignorance of this animal has caused the deaths of not only many wolves and wolf-dog hybrids but also people.
It is estimated that there are 300,000 to 500,000 wolf-dog hybrids in captivity in North America. Unfortunately, most of these animals a put down or badly mistreated.
*Throughout these webpages the term "hybrid" will refer to a genetically high-percentage wolf hybrid, which will necessarily display primary wolf appearance and behavior..
Genetics

Wolves vs Dogs
Sometime between 20,000 and 100,000 years ago, a few wolves began scavenging around human encampments. Since that first association, humans have exerted great selective pressure (some consciously, some not) for canines that are less skittish, territorial, predatory and aggressive than wolves. Research has determined that the hormonal systems of canines with these traits (i.e. dogs) are different from those of wild canids. Those hormonal differences cause profound differences in behavior; they result in an animal that never really behaves like a mature canine. In a nutshell, a dog is a wolf in arrested development; they act very much like adolescent wolves their whole lives. An adolescent wolf is playful, adaptable, and able to form bonds with other species, takes directions readily, and is far less territorial and predatory than an adult wolf-all traits that make dogs such delightful companions. As an adolescent wolf's hormonal system reaches maturity (between 18 months and three years), it begins to exhibit all those normal adult behaviors that make wolves so difficult to deal with in captivity.
So, while many taxonomists recognize the dog as a subspecies of the wolf and the genetics of the two are quite similar, it is a misconception that these facts prove the wolf and the dog are the same animal. When hybrid breeders and enthusiasts argue that wolves and dogs are essentially the same because they share so much common genetic material, stop to consider this: ninety-eight and four-tenths percent (98.4%) of the genetic material in humans and chimpanzees is identical, yet our behaviors are radically different. Certainly no one would promote crossbreeding humans and chimpanzees as a way to create an animal that is "the best of both worlds."
Genetically high-percentage hybrids may be physically and behaviorally indistinguishable from a wolf. The smaller the percentage of wolf genetics in a hybrid, the more dog-like its appearance and behavior will be.
Ancestry vs Genetics
The wolf is the ancestor of all dog breeds that exist today. Wolves and dogs are very similar genetically, but the seemingly insignificant differences in their genetic structure create hormonal changes that result in vastly different behaviors.
Ancestry and genetics are not the same thing. While you can easily determine the ancestry of an animal (provided you know the parents' ancestry), it's impossible to determine the genetic makeup of offspring that result from breeding hybrids.
When a pure wolf breeds with a pure dog, each pup is genetically 50% wolf and 50% dog. At this point, ancestrally speaking, they're also 50/50. Pups receive half of their genetic composition from each parent, but whether they receive the dog half, the wolf half, or a combination is indeterminable. Each parent passes on thousands of genes. While a pup's genetic makeup is unlikely to be to be one extreme or the other, it may fall anywhere between 100% dog and 100% wolf. For this reason, it's grossly inaccurate for anyone to claim that their animal, in a genetic sense, is 63.5% wolf. Here's the bottom line: Any time you breed a hybrid to another canine, you're playing genetic roulette.
No test exists that can reveal the genetic makeup of a hybrid puppy. And remember, it's genetics, not ancestry that determines adult personality and behavior.
Environmental Influence
Environmental conditioning can modify any animal's innate behavior. A properly raised and socialized animal living in an interesting environment will be easier to handle than one that spends its days at the end of a chain. However, just as it is ludicrous to think that a cow raised like a tiger would grow up to act like a tiger, it is ludicrous (and more dangerous) to think compassion, tender love and empathetic nurturing can subvert wolfish behaviors that have evolved over millions of years. Hybrid owners may successfully raise and enjoy one hybrid, only to find that the next hybrid they acquire acts like a wolf, despite the similarities in how the two animals were raised. The difference lies in the genetics of the two animals: The first was primarily dog, the second primarily wolf.
Wolf vs Hybrid vs Dog

Physical Differences
Wolves have narrower chests, proportionally larger feet and teeth, and longer legs than dogs. Their eyes are more almond-shaped than dogs', and the inside their ears are well furred and never flop. Wolves' tails, while they may be held down or up, never have a curl to them. Dogs usually have some curve to their tails. In contrast to dogs which breed twice a year and can produce pups at any time, wolves breed only once a season. Wolf pups are always born in the spring or early summer. It is important to remember that there are no physical features that conclusively separate a wolf from a hybrid from a dog.
Training a wolf or Hybrid
Wolves and hybrids are much more cat-like than dog-like in their response to training. While they're perfectly capable of learning commands, they cannot be counted on to obey them in frightening or dangerous situations or when they've decided they're bored with the game. These are the times, of course, when it is most important to be able to rely on obedience. This trait is attributable to fact that they are expressing "adult" canine behavior as opposed to the more "juvenile" canine behavior of dogs. From an evolutionary perspective it is very important for young wolves to obey older pack members. However, as they reach adulthood it is important for them to assert independence.
Dangerous Behavior

Wild Animals!
A well-behaved wolf is not a well-behaved dog. The wolf behaviors discussed below have enabled wolves to survive as wild animals for millions of years. Unfortunately, these healthy, normal, natural drives are extremely difficult to deal with in captivity, and "proper" training doesn't eliminate them. While dogs often exhibit these behaviors to some degree, they've been greatly altered by generations of selective breeding. In wolves and hybrids, these wild characteristics are strongly expressed-it is unrealistic and inhumane for people to expect such animals to suppress them.
Dominance
As puppies, wolves and hybrids readily accept domination by their human owners. This makes sense because under natural circumstances a wolf pup's survival depends on its willingness to submit to elder pack members. However, by the end of their second year they have matured sexually; it is at this time that they often challenge their owners for the dominant role. In the wild, wolves have a strong incentive to become dominant because usually only the strongest female and male members of the pack-the alphas-breed. Subordinate pack members may attack a dominant wolf that displays signs of weakness. In interactions with its human "alpha," a captive wolf or hybrid may interpret clues as subtle as fatigue, frustration, or a twisted ankle as weakness and initiate a dominance battle that is potentially lethal. Dominance battles also occur between wolves, hybrids, and their canine companions, be they dogs, wolves or hybrids. In the wild a subordinate wolf may choose to leave, but obviously this avoidance behavior isn't an option within the confines of an enclosure. Therefore, it is not unusual for captive wolves and hybrids to seriously injure or kill pen mates. Additionally, the proper social manners of a wolf or hybrid can harm a child. When two wolves greet, they lick faces, bite muzzles, and straddle one another to communicate dominance. Such "greetings" from an animal that weighs 100 pounds or more can easily frighten and potentially endanger a child.
Predatory behavior
In North America there has never been a verified account of a healthy, wild wolf killing a human. Unfortunately, this is not the case with captive wolves and hybrids. A child running, screaming, stumbling or crying may trigger a predatory response (even in an animal that has always been "great with kids"), resulting in serious injury or death of the child. Once this predator-prey response has been stimulated, the animal may never again view children as anything but prey. Other animals also arouse wolves' and hybrids' predatory instincts. Cats, small dogs, chickens, sheep and other domesticated animals are not safe in the presence of a hybrid or captive wolf. While we all know many dogs who exhibit this behavior, it is to a lesser and much more controllable degree.
Territoriality
Wild wolf packs maintain territories and drive off or kill trespassing wolves. This behavior ensures that packs do not compete for prey within a territory. In captivity, mature wolves and hybrids display territorial behavior by being extremely aggressive with strange dogs. Any meeting is potentially lethal to the dog.
Nuisance Behavior

Scent Marking, "destructiveness", possessiveness, excessive shyness, pacing, digging, howling.
Several other wolf characteristics, while not necessarily dangerous, constitute behaviors undesirable to humans. Scent marking (urination and defecation) may occur anywhere the wolf or hybrid wishes to establish territorial boundaries, which may include the living room sofa. Chewing behavior is another common complaint of hybrid owners, as jaws powerful enough to crush the femur bone of an adult bison quickly dissect any interesting object. An owner rapidly learns that once a wolf or hybrid has taken possession of a favorite shoe, no amount of discipline will help recover it, and an attempt may in fact lead to a serious bite. To a wolf, possession is 100% of the law; YOU DON'T TAKE THINGS AWAY FROM A WOLF OR HYBRID unless you're prepared for a fight. Additionally, wolves and hybrids are often quite suspicious and uncomfortable around objects they weren't exposed to as puppies (again, a powerful survival adaptation in the wild). Things that most dogs take in stride, such as umbrellas, people wearing backpacks, overhead ceiling fans, or who-knows-what can panic wolves and hybrids. Extremely shy animals may panic simply at the approach of a stranger. Frightened wolves and hybrids have been known to scale fences that had contained them adequately for years. Panic can cause destruction of property, injury to the animal or loss of control of the animal with resulting injury to someone else. Finally, wolves and hybrids are active and curious. If not given plenty of exercise and mental stimulation (several hours daily-especially during their most active times, dawn and dusk), they can be depended upon to continually pace, move prodigious quantities of earth and howl incessantly.
Consequences

Maturity
Wolves and hybrids often don't begin to exhibit mature behavior until they are two or three years old. Therefore, problems associated with maturity such as aggressiveness, extreme shyness or predatory behavior are often not seen until the animal becomes an adult. If it's really a genetically high-percentage wolf hybrid, odds are its behavior will undergo a radical transformation. A preliminary study in Washington state revealed that the average age of privately owned hybrids was much lower than the average age of dogs; this indicates that people don't hold on to hybrids as long as they do dogs. The reason for this, based on anecdotal evidence, is that as hybrids mature, people find them increasingly difficult to handle. The end result is that they are euthanized or, in an act of extreme cowardice, turned loose.
Killings
While it is true that dogs can and do exhibit many wolf behaviors, in general their behavior is genetically altered so that they are much less likely to "follow through" with predatory, dominant and territorial behavior. While many dogs stalk and chase animals, including people, few of them follow through with an actual bite, especially in the case of humans. This is not the result of training; it's due to an inhibition that is genetically based. Because of this, it is difficult or impossible to train many dogs as guard animals (i.e. to actually bite and injure an intruder).
The estimated 300,000 hybrids and captive wolves in the USA killed 10 people between 1986 and 1994 (about 1.25 deaths/year/300,000 hybrids) and injured many more. In contrast, the 50 million dogs in the USA killed an average of 20 people/year (about 0.11 deaths/year/300,000 dogs). Put another way, captive wolves and hybrids are 11 times more likely to fatally maul a human than a dog is. Additionally, bear in mind that many of those 300,000 hybrids actually have little, if any wolf in them. If the statistics were only for wolves and genetically high-percentage wolf hybrids, the rate of fatal attacks would be much higher.
When wild wolves are blamed
In some cases, hybrid owners may release their hybrid into the wild thinking they are doing the right thing. THAT IS THE WRONG THING TO DO! Hybrids released into the wild may cause trouble in nearby communities and wild wolves may take the blame. Also in rare instances if a wolf and hybrid would to breed, the resultant offspring may compromise the genetics of wild wolves.
Fatal Attacks by Dogs
It should be noted that dogs who are selectively bred for attack work and/or "sport" fighting are responsible for most of the deaths caused by dogs and are statistically as dangerous as captive wolves and hybrids. These lineages, like hybrids, are not pets and should not be treated as such.
Myths

Myth #1-
Wolves and hybrids are good guard animals.
Truth #1-
In the wild, non-dominant pack members hang back in the face of intruders or strange situations while the alpha animals decide how to handle the situation. In a captive situation, with the human as alpha (you wouldn't want nor be able to live with an alpha wolf), a wolf or hybrid's natural tendency will be to stay behind while its owner confronts the burglar!
Myth #2-
Wolves and hybrids are healthier and smarter than dogs.
Truth #2-
Dogs are extremely diverse genetically. There is absolutely no reason that dogs should have health problems due to inbreeding. The inbreeding problems exhibited by some dog breeds (hip displasia, deafness, proneness to eye infections, extreme nervousness) are the result of careless and ignorant breeders and buyers who value a "certain look" over health. These problems can be quickly eliminated in a breed by "out" crossing it with another breed.
While wolves tend to be better able to learn through mimicry, dogs are much quicker at learning abstract commands. Intelligence is a difficult trait to measure. Intelligent behavior in one environment is often stupid behavior in another. The brains of wolves have evolved to deal with problems found in the wild, while the brains of dogs have evolved to deal with problems found in associating with humans. Neither animal's brain deals very well with problems encountered outside of the environments in which they evolved.
Myth #3-
Native people in Alaska breed their sled dogs with wolves to create stronger pullers.
Truth #3-
While sled dogs share some physical characteristics with wolves, such as thick fur, these characteristics have simply been selected for because they are necessary for a dog's survival in the Arctic. The best sled dogs work well with strange dogs and take commands readily. Wolves and hybrids do not display these behaviors. Native people know this and do not allow their valuable sled dogs to breed with wolves.
Myth #4-
Neutering a wolf or hybrid makes it easier to handle.
Truth #4-
Neutering will lower the intensity of a wolf or hybrid's attempts to become a dominant animal and certainly should be done. However, for the most part this difference in behavior is evident only during the breeding season. Neutering causes little or no difference in behavior during the rest of the year.
Keeping a Hybrid

Minimum Requirements for keeping a wolf or hybrid safely and humanely in captivity:
1. Build an enclosure surrounded by two layers of fencing: an inner chain link fence ten feet high that extends two feet underground, and an outer fence eight feet high with at least four feet between the two fences. The outer fence should be posted with warning signs, and the gate should be locked at all times.
2. Provide at least 1/2 acre for each animal, and fill it with plenty of environmental stimulation: shelters, vegetation, platforms, large water containers, etc.
3. Keep at least two animals per enclosure. Canines-especially wolves and hybrids-are very social animals and need canine companionship. For the greatest assurance of lifetime compatibility, the animals should be of the opposite sex and introduced as young as possible, preferably before they are six months old.
4. Provide meat, hide and bones on a regular basis. Debilitating diarrhea may result from feeding wolves and hybrids only commercial dog food.
5. Obtain the knowledge necessary to handle wolves and hybrids. Learn about special techniques for raising and socializing them. Without an understanding of these techniques, you may end up with an unmanageable animal. Wolf Park, Battle Ground, IN (765-567-2265) regularly conducts seminars on the subject.
6. Make sure at least one other person is trained and familiar with the animals, to provide relief-care in emergencies. 7. Retain a veterinarian experienced with wolves or willing to do the necessary research and consultation to competently treat them.
8. Recognize that since no legally recognized rabies vaccine exists for wolves and hybrids, authorities are acting within their responsibilities if they require an animal that has bitten someone (even in play) to be euthanized.
9. Obtain all necessary state and local permits. These can be expensive and difficult to acquire. They may be impossible to acquire in urban areas.
10. Never allow children or other animals to come into direct contact with the animals, except in controlled, supervised situations, and then only with full understanding of the possible consequences for all involved if an injury occurs.
11. Never allow the animals to run loose.
12. Purchase adequate liability insurance.
13. Be prepared to spend a minimum of one hour per day, every day, interacting directly with the animals.
14. Neuter the animals.
15. Plan to provide all of the above for the lifetime of these animals-as long as 18 years.
What you should do if you own a hybrid and can no longer keep it safely anymore:
Do not pass your responsibility on to an unsuspecting party. A few organizations (the Internet is a good resource) provide care for unwanted wolves and hybrids, but requests to place these animals greatly outpace available openings. You may try to place your animal in one of these facilities, but first you should visit the facility to determine whether it will provide a reasonable life for the animal. It is difficult for hybrids and wolves to adapt to new surroundings and new people. It is imperative that you are honest about what is best for your animal. Passing your responsibility on to someone else may make you feel better, but often the least cruel fate is to take responsibility and humanely euthanize your animal.
Child Behavior around Canines:
Never stick fingers, hands, possessions or food of any kind through a fence or cage unless a qualified keeper is present and says you may (this goes for any kind of animal). Many accidents happen when an animal grabs fingers or hands stuck through a fence.
Never approach chained canines unless their owner is present and says you may.
Never try to interact with a canine in any way unless its owner is present and says you may. (And even then, proceed with caution.) What a child interprets as playing may be viewed by a canine as teasing, threatening, intruding, etc.
Anytime a canine is around, adults should closely supervise children who are too young to obey rules. Children and adults without proper training should never be allowed to interact with wolves or hybrids without close supervision by a qualified, trained handler.
Behavior to minimize risk of attack from a threatening canine (hybrid or dog):
1. Do not run or make quick movements of any kind.
2. Tuck your arms close to your sides and cover your throat with your hands.
3. Talk softly, slowly and in as low and confident a voice as possible.
4. Keep your eyes on the animal, but do not stare intently into its eyes.
5. Back away slowly, being careful not to trip or fall.
Should the animal jump up on you and/or attack, protect your face and throat with your hands, brace yourself, try to stay on your feet and continue moving away.
Question: "Could I just release it into the wild"?
Answer: NO!! Unless they are part of a special governmentally run program (where they are taught wild survival skills and are kept from becoming socialized to humans), captive wolves cannot legally or humanely be released into the wild. They do not have the hunting skills necessary for survival, and because they are socialized to humans they will seek food near human habitations. "Released" hybrids and wolves slowly starve to death and/or create problems that may be blamed on wild wolves. A released captive wolf or hybrid is much more likely to be killed by a wild wolf than to mate with it. However if, due to highly unusual circumstances, a hybrid bred with a wild wolf, the resultant hybrid offspring would compromise the genetic soundness of wild wolves.
Letter from Hybrid Owner

To whom it may concern:
So you want a wolf-dog? Please answer "yes" or "no" to the following questions:
1. Do you have the proper facilities to contain the animal? (i.e. so that it will NEVER, EVER leave your property unattended. It's as easy as a puff of wind opening a not quite closed front door.)
2. Are you ready to accept the animal as it is, rather than an extension of your own ego? There is nothing "cool" about owning a wolf-dog. The responsibilities are too overwhelming.
3. Are you prepared to remain unruffled and unafraid while watching the animal as it begins to "psyche out" a terrified child or wary adult? Wolf-dogs seem to "feed" on such vibrations.
4. Can you handle a confrontation? How will you react if the animal turns on you?
5. Can you stand the horror, humiliation and anger after the animal has bitten the neighbor's child?
6. Can you bear the thought of it harming your own child?
7. Are you ready to comply with the "dangerous dog" acts many counties are employing to curb dog bite problems? They include:
a. $75.00 to $1,000.00 fee PER year to keep the animal,
b. Mandatory liability insurance of at least $50,000.00,
c. A class C FELONY action against YOU if the animal bites more than once,
d. Fines up to $5,000.00 and /or one year of imprisonment
8. Can you afford to employ a PROFESSIONAL trainer to help control the animal and educate you on wolf and dog psychology? KENNEL CLUB training does not count!
9. Are you ready to take these responsibilities "'till death do you part"? Because giving or selling the animal is only passing the problem on to someone else, their children, friends, neighbors and county authorities. And while we're at it, will you be responsible enough to neuter the animal rather than letting it pass on these problems to others through its progeny?
This test is neither Pass nor Fail. You know how you did.
I didn't know any of this nine years ago when I adopted my wolf-dog. And I have been through all of the above as well as spent over $7,000.00 on proper containment, training and attorney fees. In spite of it all, my wolf-dog stays with me because he has no where else to go. But the oppressive liability of it overshadows us daily. These questions are depressing at best. But they must be asked...and answered truthfully.

Courting, Mating, Breeding, & Adopting Rules:
1. Permission must be given by Alpha to court, mate, or breed. Courting time can last from 2 months and on. Alpha and other high ranking wolves decide when waiting period ends.
2. Both wolves must be 1 year or older to request a courtship and mate.
3. Both wolves must be 2 years or older to request to breed.
4. Out of Pack courtships and matings must have permission from Alphas of both packs. The couple must confront their Alpha and request to court. A council will then be given with the Alphas of both packs. This must be done in order to keep the loyalty of the pack in check.
5. A couple or single Member may adopt a cub with the permission of Alpha/Beta. Pups are 12 months and younger. A waiting period of 2 to 3 months is expected. Out-of-Pack adoptions must have permission of both Pack's Alphas.
Pups and the Pack
Having pups is a big decision just like courting and mating. Pups aren't born into the pack. They need to be evaluated just like any other Pack Member through Assessment Periods. To be a pup isn't an easy way to get into the Pack. The most common thing on IRC is adopting lone cubs that may wander into the clearing. The future parents shouldn't just snatch up any lone pup they see. They should watch for actions in character as well as out of character because this will help see how the pups will act towards its elders and behave in the clearing.
Birthing pups:
A transition period may be needed, while the Parents look for someone to be their cub on a permanent basis. During the transition period, a member approved by Alpha who is active and experienced with knowledge of cubs will play the cub in its first month. By this I mean act out movements using :: :: After transition period, if players are not found for cubs, the cubs will die of illness or neglect, or predation.Once a permanent wolf is found I would request them to remain within the Sweet Mystics territory until they are old enough to roam to other clearings (channels) I would say until they are 6 months. They should understand this before making that commitment of being a cub at 1 month old to Sweet Mystic parents. Cubs are not born into Pack, they must go through Assessment period. There are rules to go by dealing with birthing of cubs and time periods.

Other Rules to Remember:
The waiting period (pregnancy) is about 9 weeks. Gestation should occur in the natural timeframe; gestation would be around dec/jan and birthing around feb/apr though this may vary (Research is still needed) The most common size of a litter is 6 pups; but usually ranging from 1-8 pups. Pups are usually born during springtime. When pups are born they are blind and helpless and cannot regulate their own temperature. They depend solely on their mother and no other members except their mother are to see the pups until they are ready to leave the den. Pups open their eyes by about 9 days. The begin developing their vision around 3-4 weeks. They leave the confinement of the den by 1 month and begin traveling with the pack by 3-5 months. Since irc wolves dont really travel and stay in the clearing, this would mean the pups would stay close to the den and meet the members for up to 3-5 months, then may start exploring the territory. Pups are independant at about 1 year. Please visit the Hunting Page for ages when pups may hunt. Also Wolf Facts to read more in depth about pup behavior
Family is for Life.
Wolves are not really evil and wicked! They are simply animals that are trying to survive in the wild. Read on for some interesting facts about wolves that are not intended to project wolves in a bad light, rather, these facts reveal only the truth associated with them.
Interesting Facts about Wolves:
A wolf holds the reputation of a killer and is known to be a skillful hunter who eats animals that may belong to the same genus.

Wolves are known to hunt in packs and this pack is divided as per hierarchy. In a pack, it is noticed the breeding pair enjoys a lot of freedom as compared to other wolves. This does not mean, however, the breeding pair has all the rights to take decisions for the entire pack.

A pack of wolves can range from two members to around 20 wolves as well! When in a pack, two members are known to stay back at the den.

These packs also travel large distances together. Wolves can cover 30 miles or even more in a single day when they are out hunting for food.

Apart from the breeding pair in a pack, there is also another wolf that enjoys a prominent role in the pack. This wolf is known to fulfill other important tasks for the pack such as looking after the young ones.

Experts have the opinion that wolves are known to have the same ancestry as domestic dogs. In fact, yet another interesting fact about wolves would be the presence of many wild dogs that have a strong resemblance to wolves, which establish this fact.

Wolves have large paws, which enable it to go across different terrains with ease. Even if there is snowfall, wolves have particular webbings between each toe, which helps it move across the ground with ease.

When compared to dogs, wolves have relatively larger paws, longer legs, bigger teeth and prominent yellow eyes. This can perhaps be said to be their distinguishing features.

Wolves have thick coats that consist of two layers. The first layer of the coat protects the wolf from dirt and water. The second coat is almost water resistant and this coat is generally shed during the early summer season.

Although wolves are described as wicked creatures, the acts of humans are even more wicked. In areas that are not protected, wolves are subjected to torture when they are trapped in snares.

The howls of wolves are often used in an exaggerated way in most horror flicks. In reality, experts have the opinion that wolves howl during breeding season and this kind of howling is used to communicate with each other. There are of course, many other reasons why a wolf howls in particular. It could be as a way to mark their territory or even as a way to communicate between two packs. Wolves make use of different tones and pitches to express different things. Experts say this howling intensifies especially during twilight.

Wolves use scent markings to mark their territory. These scent markings are also used on fresh kills.

Wolves use various ways to communicate only through body language and a variety of expressions. For example- if the wolf is stiff legged and the tail is vertical, it displays an act of dominance. Besides if the wolf joyfully wags its tail and even let’s its tongue roll out, it simply means the wolf is in a joyful mood!

These interesting facts about wolves would have surely cleared the fog that surrounds wolves, which depict them in a bad light! Just like other animals, wolves are only struggling for their survival.
Wolf Factoids
(1) The wolf (Canis lupus ) Order: Carnivore, Family: Canidae
(2) The wolf is the largest in the wild canine family
(3) The coyote evolved separately from the wolf over 500,000 years ago
(4) The wolf has 42 teeth
(5) The wolf has rounded ears
(6) The wolf has a broad heavy muzzle
(7) The wolf has extremely powerful jaws capable of generating 1,500 psi pressure
(8) The wolf has one of the widest ranges of size, shape and color of any mammal in North America
(9) The wolf lives in a pack, family oriented social structure
10) Mating season for the wolf occurs in February and March.
11) The gestation period for the wolf is 63 days
(12) Wolf pups are born in April and May
(13) The average litter size for the wolf is 4 to 7 pups
(14) Litter size for the wolf depends on nutrition factors as well as fitness of the female
(15) Mortality rates for wolf pups can be as high as 50%
(16) Wolves have a vast communication repertoire including scent marks, vocalizations, visual displays, facial and body postures and rituals
(17) Wolves communicate with each other more by harmony and integration rather than by aggression and submission
(18) Wolves are territorial and defend their territory through vocalizations and scent marking
(19) If necessary, wolves will attack other wolf intruders to protect their territory
(20) There are two species of the wolf in North America, the Gray Wolf (Canis lupus ) and the Red Wolf (Canis rufus )
(21) In North America there are 10 recognized sub-species of the wolf
(22) The main threat to wolf populations is loss of habitat
(23) Predation is not violence, it is the act of obtaining food for survival
(24) The wolf is an ultimate predator at the top of the food chain
(25) The wolf is designed for running, catching and killing large animals
(26) The wolf is opportunistic and will attempt to catch the easiest and most vulnerable animal
(27) The wolf can kill healthy animals but naturally seeks out the sick, the weak, crippled, old and young animals
(28) The wolf primarily travels at a 5 mile per hour trot
(29) In chases, the wolf can achieve estimated speeds of between 28 and 40 miles per hour for up to 20 minutes
(30) Radio tracking wolves has been used in wildlife research since 1963
(31) Wolves are vulnerable to skull injury from kicking prey
(32) The canine teeth "interlock" so the wolf can grip and hang on to struggling prey
(33) The back teeth, or carnassial molars, are designed to crush bones and shear meat
(34) The wolf uses facial display in ritual aggression, dominance, submission or fear
(35) The wolf has 2 types of hair, "Guards and "Undercoat"
(36) The hair of the wolf is shed in the spring and summer and sheds out in sheets unlike most dogs
(37) The color of a wolf's pelt can be anywhere from white to black
(38) The wolf uses its hair to communicate anger, dominance and aggression
(39) The wolf's sense of smell is more than 100 times greater than a human
(40) A wolf 'scent rolls' to promote interaction with other pack members
(41) Dominance in a wolf pack is not necessarily established by brawn or direct attack
(42) A wolf 'scent marks' its home range. This serves as messages, and provides warnings
(43) The hierarchy in a wolf pack neutralizes aggression, reduces conflict and promotes social order
(44) There are two hierarchies in a wolf pack, one for females and one for males
(45) Change of rank in a wolf pack is more frequent in lower rank positions
(46) Wolf pups, while low in hierarchy, have many privileges and social freedom
(47) 'Ethology' is the study of animal behavior as a scientific counterpart to human psychology
(48) The "Alpha" wolf is the highest ranking individual within the dominance hierarchy
(49) "You just can't let nature run wild" by Alaska Governor Walter J. Hickel
(50) The "beta" wolf is the second ranking individual within the dominance hierarchy
(51) The "omega" wolf is the lowest ranking individual within the dominance hierarchy
(52) In the winter, the wolf's tail helps keep the face warm
(53) Wolves breed only once a year; most dogs breed twice
(54) In addition to the wolf (Canis lupus ), the genus Canis also contains the domestic dog, the coyote, the golden jackal, the black backed jackal, the side-striped jackal and the dingo
(55) Three (3) geographic races of the red wolf have been recognized; the Florida Red Wolf, The Mississippi Red Wolf and the Texas Red Wolf
(56) Wolves are often confused with Indian dogs, huskies, malemutes and German Shepherd Dogs
(57) Arctic tundra, taiga, plains or steppes, savannahs, hardwood, softwood and mixed forest were all originally inhabited by the wolf
(58) Adult male wolves average ninety-five to one hundred pounds and females about fifteen pounds less
(59) Wolves howl to greet one another, to indicate their location, to define their territorial boundaries, and to call the pack together
(60) Wolves can trot at five to ten miles per hour almost indefinitely
(61) A wolf may spend as much as a third of its time on the move
(62) The wolf is generally a docile animal with a strong aversion to fighting
(63) Submissive behavior plays a big role in maintaining peace within the pack
(64) A wolf's front feet are larger than their back feet
(65) Packs hunt in territories of up to 600 square miles
(66) A pack's home range will sometimes overlap the territory of another pack
(67) In addition to howling, wolves bark, yap, whine, and growl
(68) Litters of up to 14 pups are born in April through June
(69) Pups emerge from the den at about one month of age
(70) All members of a wolf pack take part in caring for the young
(71) When pack members return from the hunt and they are nipped on the snout by the pups, the hunters regurgitate undigested meat for them
(72) Wolves are considered to be competitors with people for game animals such as moose and caribou
(73) Although wolves are feared throughout much of the world, documented attacks on people are extremely rare
(74) Attempts to keep wolves as pets are not usually successful
(75) Wolves use direct scenting, chance encounter, and tracking to locate prey
(76) In scenting an animal, wolves must usually be downwind of the prey
(77) Wolves are active at all times of the day in winter
(78) Where waterways are plentiful, wolves often travel on the windswept and hardpacked ice in winter
(79) Wolves actually have a low hunting success rate
(80) To catch enough food, wolves must hunt often and test many animals before finding one that they can catch and kill
(81) Most packs contain less than eight members
(82) Wolves bear an average of six young per litter(82) Wolves become sexually mature at approximately twenty-two months
(83) Strong bonds are needed to hold a pack together; if there were no bonds, each wolf would go its separate way
(84) Most packs include a pair of breeding adults, pups, and extra adults that may also breed
(85) Ambushing is used by both single wolves and by packs
(86) Wolves at one time had an extensive range, occurring throughout North America, Europe, Asia, and Japan
(87) The only substantial population of wolves left at present in the contiguous 48 states inhabits northern Minnesota
(88) The range of the red wolf once extended from eastern Texas to Georgia and Florida and northward through Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Illinois
(89) The basic unit of wolf society is the pack
(90) The wolf's front teeth are sharp and pointed and adapted to puncturing, slashing, and clinging
(91) The wolf's pointed premolars and molars are useful for tearing and shearing once the prey has been killed
(92) The wolf's massive rear molars aid in cracking and crushing bones
(93) The wolf does little chewing
(94) A wolf can consume almost twenty pounds of prey at a feeding
(95) Wolves can maintain a chase for at least twenty minutes
(96) The wolf feeds almost exclusively on flesh, bones, and other animal matter
(97) Lone wolves have no social territory and rarely scent-mark or howl
(98) The range size for a given pack of wolves depends on many environmental factors, particularly prey density
(99) It is common for wolves to be moving eight to ten hours in a day
(100) A pack may cover distances from 30-125 miles in a day
(101) Wolves possess upwards of two hundred million olfactory cells
(102) A wolf's tail hangs while the tail of the dog tends to be held high and is often curly
Body :
The average adult wolf is 127 to 164 cm long from nose to tail.An adults tail is 47 mm long. A pup's tail is about 27 mm long.The front paws are smaller than the back paws. Wolf paws are 2 times bigger than a coyote paws.
Wolf Pups :
Mating season is from January to April. Pups are born about 63 days after breeding. The average litter is 6 pups. The mother stays close to the young for about 2 months. She eats some food then throws it up for her pups to eat. The pups start getting teeth in the third week. A wolf lives approximately 10 years.
Wolf Packs :
There are 4 to 36 wolves in a pack. Two to six of them stay at the den. They have a territory that ranges from 130 to 13,000 km. They will defend it. They eat anything from a mouse to a moose, depending on what is available.
Hunting :
Wolves either hunt in packs or alone. They follow their prey. They hunt elk, deer, sick animals and weak animals.
Communication :
You can tell wolves are friendly ,when they roll over and show their bellies. When they want to play, they put their paws down and wag their tail. When they want to fight, they show their fangs and start growling. When they want to stop they put their ears back and lay down.

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Tag der Veröffentlichung: 21.08.2010

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