Talk:Wolf

Lifespan?
Currently, this article makes no mention of how long wolves are expected to live. Morganfitzp (talk) 22:56, 24 August 2023 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 4 September 2023
Ecology: Interactions with other predators. Please, change "One-to-one, hyenas dominate wolves[...]" to "One-to-one, hyenas dominate Indian and Arabian wolves [...]" Jenoveffo (talk) 18:28, 4 September 2023 (UTC)


 * ❌. I inspected your source and it doesn’t back up your claim.
 * I will accept your change if you can demonstrate 2 things:
 * You can provide the exact quote(s) from your source that back up your claim
 * You can demonstrate that at least one species of wolf dominates hyenas.
 * Until then, it’s safe to say your proposal edit won’t be done. Closetside (talk) 22:09, 4 September 2023 (UTC)
 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. When providing a reliable source to support this request, feel free to reactivate this edit request. -- Pinchme123 (talk) 00:42, 5 September 2023 (UTC)

What type of degrees?
In the Description/Pelage section it says "Wolves in northern climates can rest comfortably in open areas at −40 °C (−40 °F) by placing their muzzles between the rear legs and covering their faces with their tail." Now -40°C and -40°F are definitely not the same. In the source it is written "...wolves can turn their backs to the wind and sleep comfortably in the open at forty degrees below zero." without specifying if it is Fahrenheit of Celsius. But elsewhere in the book, he writes: "In the Northwest Territories it may reach seventy degrees below zero or climb to ninety degrees on a summer day", which is clearly Fahrenheit. So I assume he uses Fahrenheit throughout the book, thus the text on this page should be changed to "4 °C (-40° F)" 109.253.179.218 (talk) 03:59, 9 September 2023 (UTC)


 * Or even the other way around - "-40° F (4 °C)", since the source mentions Fahrenheit" 109.253.179.218 (talk) 04:08, 9 September 2023 (UTC)
 * -40 °F is the same temperature as -40 °C (F = 1.8C + 32). It is the one temperature where they are the same. —  Jts1882 &#124; talk 06:12, 9 September 2023 (UTC)

Wolf predators
It is well known that Cougars, Bears, and Siberian Tigers prey on Wolves. That should be added to the article. 47.197.29.147 (talk) 16:02, 6 October 2023 (UTC)


 * Did you even bother to read the article? Mariomassone (talk) 19:11, 6 October 2023 (UTC)
 * Sorry, I didn't realize that was what it was implying. It's worded strangely. 47.197.29.147 (talk) 22:41, 10 October 2023 (UTC)

Suggested Correction to Behavior
Within the topic of "Behavior," under the subtopic "Social Structure," the final line of the section states: "one study concluding that 14–65% of wolf deaths in Minnesota and the Denali National Park and Preserve were due to other wolves." However, the study actually states that "39%—65% of total mortality" (Mech, 1998) was due to other wolves. The "14%" comes in the following sentences, in reference to human-caused deaths of wolves within the Denali population.

Additionally, the source referenced only refers to wolves in Denali, Alaska, stating nothing about wolves in Minnesota. Either an additional source should be added in reference to Minnesota, or it should be removed.

As the is a protected page, I cannot edit it myself. I suggest someone who can do so. BananaVendetta (talk) 03:58, 1 March 2024 (UTC)
 * Red question icon with gradient background.svg Not done: it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format and provide a reliable source if appropriate. UtherSRG (talk) 11:36, 1 March 2024 (UTC)
 * The issue here is with the final sentence in the "Social Structure" section, which reads: "Territorial fights are among the principal causes of wolf mortality, one study concluding that 14–65% of wolf deaths in Minnesota and the Denali National Park and Preserve were due to other wolves." The numbers are incorrect, and the claim is unsupported by the cited study. A correct statement utilizing the information from this study would instead be: "In wolf populations with a low rate of human-caused mortality, territorial fighting can be the principal cause of death among wolves. In a study performed at Denali National Park and Preserve, where the human-caused mortality rate among the total wolf population is less than 4%, it was estimated that 39%—65% of deaths amongst radio-collared wolves within the park were due to other wolves."
 * The source for this is the exact one already cited, which I've pasted below for convenience. The "14%" figure seems to have been taken from the amount of wolf deaths caused by humans, and the study was performed in Denali, Alaska, not Minnesota. The phrasing of "Territorial fights are among the principal causes of wolf mortality" is an assumption not supported by the study. It is also important to note that the study emphasizes that this population has a low rate of human-caused deaths, and that the various mortality rates were calculated using data from radio-collared wolves.
 * Mech, L. David; Adams, L. G.; Meier, T. J.; Burch, J. W.; Dale, B. W. (2003). "Ch.8-The Denali Wolf-Prey System". The Wolves of Denali. University of Minnesota Press. p. 163. ISBN 0-8166-2959-5. BananaVendetta (talk) 18:14, 1 March 2024 (UTC)
 * Hello BananaVendetta, you are indeed right about the Denali National Park and Preserve proportion of wolf mortality due to other wolves. However, wolves in Minnesota, as you might know, are not as protected as in Denali because their studied populations are not all in protected settings, thus wolf-on-wolf killings sharply decrease in terms of %. Wolf-on-wolf killing is the primary mortality cause of grey wolves worldwide that is natural, obviously human-caused wolf mortality is the highest death cause worldwide. In national parks, wolf-on-wolf killings, in terms of % and occurence, sharply rise as compared to this cause of death proportion outside the park, for various reasons. 1) Usually more wolves are concentrated in protected areas, thus competition for ressources and territories is higher, therefore increasing interactions between packs and logically, increasing the probability of a wolf being killed by another wolf or wolf pack. 2) As with protected areas in general, prey abundance is generally higher, therefore packs can carve inside smaller territories, and thus, there is a much bigger wolf density and wolf packs numbers inside an area. Young adult wolves, both males and females, often disperse from their natal pack to try to find a group or an unrelated wolf to start a new pack and build a family of their own. However, if the wolf density is higher and packs are crammed, it faces a much more challenging ordeal than a wolf dispersing from a pack outside of an protected area with a stable population. They each faces challenges of course. One must navigate thru many pack territories and avoiding conflicts from usually bigger packs (pack size is usually larger inside of protected areas than outside) in high stakes area. The other must thrive on its own and moved significantly while avoiding being killed by humans. They both have the problem of not knowing the area they disperse (or at least, they rarely do). 3) Wolves lifespan is short. In national parks, for instance Yellowstone, the mean age at death for a wolf is 4.4 years. Outside of this park, in the neighboring areas, it is only a tad over 2 years (2.2). It's very problematic and exemplify the complexity of wolf-human coexistence and breaks the line between "natural untouched ecosystems" and "a landscape of fear and stress". Wolves in North America comes to breeding age at 22 months (1 year 10 months), with extremely rare occurrences of pup reproduction (at 10 months)...
 * Many newly formed packs outside of national parks just can't go pass their first 3 years, because humans kill one or both breeders too fast for pack numbers stabilization...
 * My reply could be repetitive and unhelpful, but I think dissecting the conditions in which wolf populations of both regions lives and their protection status help understand why the natural mortality causes are very high in Denali and not in Minnesota. Gimly24 (talk) 10:24, 2 March 2024 (UTC)