B O D Y - L A N G U A G E - From Wikipedia
Wolves can communicate visually through a wide variety of expressions and moods ranging from subtle signals, such as a slight shift in weight, to more obvious ones, such as rolling on their backs to indicate complete submission.

Dominance – A dominant wolf stands stiff legged and tall. The ears are erect and forward, and the hackles bristle slightly. Often the tail is held vertically and curled toward the back. This display asserts the wolf's rank to others in the pack. A dominant wolf may stare at a submissive one, pin it to the ground, "ride up" on its shoulders, or even stand on its hind legs.
Submission (active) – During active submission, the entire body is lowered, and the lips and ears are drawn back. Sometimes active submission is accompanied by muzzle licking, or the rapid thrusting out of the tongue and lowering of the hindquarters. The tail is placed down, or halfway or fully between the legs, and the muzzle often points up to the more dominant animal. The back may be partly arched as the submissive wolf humbles itself to its superior; a more arched back and more tucked tail indicate a greater level of submission.
Submission (passive) – Passive submission is more intense than active submission. The wolf rolls on its back and exposes its vulnerable throat and underside. The paws are drawn into the body. This posture is often accompanied by whimpering.
Anger – An angry wolf's ears are erect, and its fur bristles. The lips may curl up or pull back, and the incisors are displayed. The wolf may also arch its back, lash out, or snarl.
Fear – A frightened wolf attempts to make itself look small and less conspicuous; the ears flatten against the head, and the tail may be tucked between the legs, as with a submissive wolf. There may also be whimpering or barks of fear, and the wolf may arch its back.
Defensive – A defensive wolf flattens its ears against its head.
Aggression – An aggressive wolf snarls and its fur bristles. The wolf may crouch, ready to attack if necessary.
Suspicion – Pulling back of the ears shows a wolf is suspicious. The wolf also narrows its eyes. The tail of a wolf that senses danger points straight out, parallel to the ground.
Relaxation – A relaxed wolf's tail points straight down, and the wolf may rest sphinx-like or on its side. The wolf may also wag its tail. The further down the tail droops, the more relaxed the wolf is.
Tension – An aroused wolf's tail points straight out, and the wolf may crouch as if ready to spring.
Happiness – As dogs do, a wolf may wag its tail if in a joyful mood. The tongue may loll out of the mouth.
Hunting – A wolf that is hunting is tensed, and therefore the tail is horizontal and straight.
Playfulness – A playful wolf holds its tail high and wags it. The wolf may frolic and dance around, or bow by placing the front of its body down to the ground, while holding the rear high, sometimes wagged. This resembles the playful behavior of domestic dogs.


P A C K - S O C I A L - S T R U C T U R E - From Wikipedia
Wolves function as social predators and hunt in packs organized according to strict, rank-oriented social hierarchies.[22] It was originally believed that this comparatively high level of social organization was related to hunting success, and while this still may be true to a certain extent, emerging theories suggest that the pack has less to do with hunting and more to do with reproductive success.

The pack is led by the two individuals that sit atop the social hierarchy: the alpha male and the alpha female. The alpha pair has the greatest amount of social freedom compared to the rest of the pack. Although they are not "leaders" in the human sense of the term, they help to resolve any disputes within the pack, have the greatest amount of control over resources (such as food), and, most importantly, they help keep the pack cohesive and functional.

While most alpha pairs are monogamous, there are exceptions.[36] An alpha animal may preferentially mate with a lower-ranking animal, especially if the other alpha is closely related (a brother or sister, for example). The death of one alpha does not affect the status of the other alpha, who will quickly take another mate.[22]

Usually, only the alpha pair is able to rear a litter of pups successfully. Other wolves in a pack may breed, but when resources are limited, time, devotion, and preference will be given to the alpha pair's litter. Therefore, non-alpha parents of other litters within a single pack may lack the means to raise their pups to maturity of their own accord. All wolves in a pack assist in raising wolf pups. Some mature individuals choosing not to disperse may stay in their original packs so as to reinforce it and help rear more pups.

The size of the pack may change over time and is controlled by several factors, including habitat, personalities of individual wolves within a pack, and food supply. Packs can contain between 2 and 20 wolves, though 8 is a more typical size.[37] New packs are formed when a wolf leaves its birth pack, finds a mate, and claims a territory. Lone wolves searching for other individuals can travel very long distances seeking out suitable territories. Dispersing individuals must avoid the territories of other wolves because intruders on occupied territories are chased away or killed. It is taboo for one wolf to travel into another wolf's territory unless invited. Most dogs, except perhaps large, specially bred attack dogs, do not stand much of a chance against a pack of wolves protecting its territory from an intrusion.

Wolves acting unusually within the pack, such as epileptic pups or thrashing adults crippled by a trap or a gunshot, are usually killed by other members of their own pack.


H I E R A R C H Y - From Wikipedia
The hierarchy, led by the alpha male and female, affects all activity in the pack to some extent. In most larger packs there are two separate hierarchies in addition to an overbearing one: the first consists of the males, led by the alpha male, and the other consists of the females, led by the alpha female.[12] In this situation, the alpha male was originally assumed to be the "top" alpha, but biologists have since concluded that alpha females can and do take control over entire packs.[citation needed] The male and female hierarchies are interdependent and are maintained constantly by aggressive and elaborate displays of dominance and submission.

After the alpha pair, there may also, especially in larger packs, be a beta wolf or wolves, a "second-in-command" to the alphas. Betas typically assume a more prominent role in assisting with the upbringing of the alpha pair's litter, often serving as surrogate mothers or fathers while the alpha pair is away. Beta wolves are the most likely to challenge their superiors for the role of the alpha, though some betas seem content with being second, and will sometimes even let lower ranking wolves leapfrog them for the position of alpha should circumstances necessitate such a happening, such as the death of the alpha. More ambitious beta wolves, however, will only wait so long before contending for alpha position unless they choose to disperse and create their own pack instead.

Loss of rank can happen gradually or suddenly. An older wolf may simply choose to give way when a motivated challenger presents itself, yielding its position without bloodshed. On the other hand, the challenged individual may choose to fight back with varying degrees of intensity. While the majority of wolf aggression is ritualized and non-injurious, a high-stakes fight can easily result in injury for either or both parties. The loser of such a confrontation is frequently chased away from the pack or, rarely, may be killed as other aggressive wolves contribute to the insurgency. These types of confrontations are more common during the mating season. Though rare, deaths can and will occur, as the average alpha male wolf kills two to four wolves in his lifetime.[38]

Rank order within a pack is established and maintained through a series of ritualized fights and posturing best described as "ritual bluffing". Wolves prefer psychological warfare to physical confrontations, meaning that high-ranking status is based more on personality or attitude than on size or physical strength. Rank, who holds it, and how it is enforced varies widely between packs and between individual animals. In large packs full of easygoing wolves or in a group of juvenile wolves, rank order may shift almost constantly, or even be circular (for instance, animal A dominates animal B, who dominates animal C, who dominates animal A).

In a more typical pack, only one wolf will assume the role of the omega: the lowest-ranking member of a pack.[34] Omegas receive the most aggression from the rest of the pack, and may be subjected to different forms of truculence at any time—anything from constant dominance from other pack members to inimical, physical harassment. Although this arrangement may seem objectionable, the nature of pack dynamics demands that one wolf be at the bottom of the ranking order, and submissive individuals are better suited for constant displays of active and passive submission than they are for living alone. Any form of camaraderie is preferable to solitude and, indeed, submissive wolves tend to choose low rank over potential starvation. Despite the aggression to which they are often subjected, omega wolves have also been observed to be among the most playful wolves in the pack, often enticing all of the members in a pack into chasing games and other forms of play. In general, omega wolves exist to help relieve pack tension, be it as punching bags or as pack jesters.


S C E N T - M A R K I N G - From wikipedia
Wolves, like other canines, use scent marking to lay claim to anything—from territory to fresh kills.[34] Alpha wolves scent mark the most often, with males doing so more than females. The most widely used scent marker is urine. Male and female alpha wolves urine-mark objects with a raised-leg stance (all other pack members squat) to enforce rank and territory. They also use marks to identify food caches and to claim kills on behalf of the pack. Defecation markers are used for the same purpose as urine marks, and serve as a more visual warning, as well.[34] Defecation markers are particularly useful for navigation, keeping the pack from traversing the same terrain too often and also allowing each wolf to be aware of the whereabouts of its pack members. Above all, though, scent marking is used to inform other wolves and packs that a certain territory is occupied, and that they should therefore tread cautiously.

Wolves have scent glands all over their bodies, including at the base of the tail, between toes, and in the eyes, genitalia, and skin. Pheromones secreted by these glands identify each individual wolf. A dominant wolf will "rub" its body against subordinate wolves to mark such wolves as being members of a particular pack. Wolves may also "paw" dirt to release pheromones instead of urine marking.[35]

Wolves' heavy reliance on odoriferous signals testifies greatly to their olfactory capabilities. Wolves can detect virtually any scent, including marks, from great distances, and can distinguish among them as well or better than humans can distinguish other humans visually.

G E N E R A L - K N O W L E D G E - random

Why don't wolves look each other in the eye?
-- It is considered a challenge for one wolf to look another in the eye. In fact, the only species who do look each other in the eye and see it as respectful are humans. When you rp here we expect that a wolf attacks if another looks it in the eye and the one that does stare the other in eye to be aggresive. When a wolf looks at another wolf, they often seem to be looking over the other's shoulder, or at a spot near the other's face, but not quite straight in the eye. A subordinate wolf will keep it's gaze lower, or lower their body so that they can look up at the more dominant wolf.

How Fast can Wolves run?
-- A wolf running at top speed can reach 35mph thanks to their long and powerful legs that were built for speed and endurance for chasing prey.

How do Wolves run fast?
-- Besides having narrow chest/butts and longer legs, which all help aid in a wolf's speed, wolves also have digitigrade movement (they run on their toes) which enables faster movement, compared to humans whom are plantigrade, we walk on the balls of our feet.

How good can Wolves hear?
-- Wolves ears are well furred inside and out, and are fairly short/broad with rounded tips. Their hearing is extremely sharp and can hear sounds as far away as 6 –10 miles depending on terrain. Wolves can hear sounds undetectable to humans ears, (high pitches) and sounds such as rodents knawing underneath the snow, as their furry ears are sensitive to lower frequencies. If you ever watch a dog when a sound occurs you will notice they will thingy their heads, or their ears may turn in directions independant of one another, this is kind of like antennaes trying to receive a better sound and tune in.

How well can Wolves see, and can they see in the dark?
-- A wolfs eye sight is quite keen; they detect even the slightest of movements so they can find and follow prey. They have excellent peripheral vision even though their eyes are situated on the front of their skulls. However, detecting details on the object of focus is not as good, wolves though they notice movement immediately, no matter how slight, they have a harder time viewing details of the objects they may spot. The farther away the object is the worse their vision gets, this would be called being near sighted in humans,or myopic. I have often remarked during observation of my own wolves, how they almost seem to be blind in some instances, as they have mistaken me, and even spooked thinking I was some stranger if they see me from a great distance approaching, till I speak to let them know it is me. Wolves although they have binocular vision like humans (the fovea responsible for sharper focus is not as well developed as in humans) but despite this they see amazingly well at night due due to having more night vision cells (rods) than we do, these rods react to lower light than cones. Wolves have a larger pupil than in humans which allows them to gather more light when it is scarce. A Wolf's eyes also glow within the tapetum , though this helps a wolf's vision in dim light, it will also scatter some of that light which will degrade the canine's vision significantly. Wolves rely on their eyes, but their other senses their hearing and sense of smell are well honed and very sharp to make up for what the eyes may lack.

How well do Wolves smell?
-- The wolf’s sense of smell is said to be 100 times greater than a human beings. They can smell their prey from as far away as a mile and a half. A wolf's sense of smell is vital to it's very existence within a wolf pack structure, for being able to not only detect smell sometimes from great distances, and to communicate with each other, but also interpret that smell which allows a wolf insight into the animal that may have left the scent, (prey/enemy) even if the animal may be ill/dying. Whenever I have visitors at the ranch, after the people leave the wolves will immediately go to every spot the visiting person (people) may have been sitting/ standing to sniff, and gain infomation.

How much do Wolves eat?
-- Contrary to popular belief wolves are not the most successful of hunters, and must work as a family unit together to bring down large game animals. Their success rate is approx 1 in ten animals that are pursued, this means traveling sometimes great distance and testing many prey animals before a success. Wolves work very hard *together* for what they do manage to kill. Wolves survive in the wild under a feast or famine scenario, when they are successful with a hunt they gorge themselves and eat as much as their bellies can hold, (feast) for they may not eat for a number of days there after, (famine) until a next kill. Wolves can eat up to 20 pounds of meat or more in one sitting.

How big are Wolf packs?
-- Wolf packs can consist of as little as 2 members all the way up to 25 plus members, it depends on the area they may reside, (more isolated areas with less threat to their livlihood (food source, habitat and their physical lives, packs tend to be larger) packs in general however consist of approx 5-10 members.

How long do Wolves live?
-- A wild life is a very hard life, because of this, wolves do not live as long as their captive born counterparts. In the wild a wolf is lucky to reach 6-8 years of age. In captivity however, if well cared for wolves can live to be into their late teens.

How many species of Wolves are there?
-- There are three types of wolves Gray wolves, Red wolves, and Ethiopian wolves. There are Thirty-two sub-species of Gray wolves, and on Carnassial we expect you to name the sub-species as well as the type.

Why would a Wolf kill another Wolf?
-- Most wolves are killed or severly injured by another wolf during the breeding season. An increase in hormones often makes all wolves act differently, usually more aggresive. Alpha females have been known to kill or maul fellow females who exhibit themselves ready to breed with the Alpha male or other more dominant wolves. In reverse, the Alpha male will attack any aggresive pursuer of the Alpha female during the breeding season. This rise of aggression within the pack is often called Winter Wolf Syndrome. Another reason a wolf might kill another is if a wolf challenges the alpha and neither back down. Usually such a fight consists of a mock battle without little harm to either, but occasionally they fight till death if neither are willing to submit. This is very rare. The last reason a wolf would kill another wolf is if a wolf was too weak to contribute. A crippled wolf or one too sick to hunt and help will either be aggresively driven from the pack or killed outright by a mass attack led by a more dominant member. Wolves do not randomely kill others, nor is every fight one to the death. Most aggresive wolves will challenge an alpha they see as weak, but submit when confronted. The aggreser would rather leave the pack and wander for miles searching to start his own pack instead.

How many pups do wolves have?
-- Wolves give birth to smaller litters on average. Wolves give birth to approx 1-7 pups with 3-5 being most common. Pups are born after approx 63 days of gestation , and are born blind , helpless, and well furred. It is common for at least one pup to die before adulthood, whether a stillbirth, dead shortly after birth, or an accident as a juvinile. Here on Carnassial we give litters in size 2-6 depending on the wolves that breed, the time they bred, and how much you bugs us about giving you pups. You are more likely to have a large litter if your wolves breed in the middle-middle end of winter.

[please pm to submit more information]