Mixed facts about the wolf

• The cubs grow up to adults after already a year. They then leave the pack and cover much distance, looking for a partner and a territory of their own. They are sexually mature normally at the age of two years.
• The wolf characterizes itself by shyness and prudence. If not exposed to hunting it may soon learn that human beings are not that dangerous.
• The wolfs’ temperament differs clearly from that of a dog. Nowadays dogs are bred for different types of work like shepherding and guarding. Also, the dogs’ social behaviors in relation to other dogs and to humans have been bred forward. The wolf is livelier and shows extreme aggressiveness towards strangers of its own species. Also, the wolf has an intensive instinct for hunting. For most people, the wolf is not suited as a domestic animal. It is extremely demanding and can even get dangerous.
• The wolf originates from primitive small carnivores, so called creodonts that established themselves on the planet about a hundred million years ago. The creodont developed into catlike animals, dog type animals, marten, bears and other species.
• The wolf is a protected animal in Sweden since 1966. It is not allowed to hunt the wolf, other, than under regulated circumstance. These may allow the owners of cattle to kill wolves that attack the cattle.
• All dog races in the world originate from the wolf.
• Coupling takes place in February/March and the pregnancy of the female takes 63 days. The cubs are thus born around the turn of the month April/May.
• Wolves usually give birth to 2 to 6 cubs, which is as many as a dog. In exceptional cases the number of cubs may be as many as 10 and even more. The place of birth uses to be a laird, dug out in the terrain, alternatively between two large rock blocks or in a dry place in a tight shrubbery.
• What often is called for “a wolf pack”, in reality represents a wolf family. 
• A wolf family lives in a strong hierarchy when it comes to executive power. In the top, the parents are found and they are often denominated the “Alfa” pair. The rest of the family consists, till the next coming spring of the most recently born cubs and some occasional brothers and sisters, that have not yet left the pack

• The following spring and summer period, most of last year’s cubs leave the territory of the parents and find their own territory. They can march long ways, distances of 400 to 500 km have been registered.
• The howling of the wolf can be heard over more than 10 km distance. By howling, the wolves keep in touch with the pack that may have split up in several smaller groups.
• During the 15^th century more than 30 000 people in Europe were considered to be “werewolves” and they were burned at the stake or skinned alive.
• When there is food, the wolf eats fast and eats much. An adult wolf can easily stow away 8-9 kg meat during one day.
• The wolf is totally unsuitable as a domestic animal, the same goes for the cross breeding between wolves and dogs, so called wolf hybrids. Such wolf hybrids have attacked and killed humans in both the USA and Russia.
• The successful Nordic project SKANDULV supports in Sweden by Svenska Jägare Förbundet, Naturvårdsverket and Världsnaturfonden and in Norway by Direktoratet för Naturförvaltning and Norsk Institutt for Naturforskning.