With the exception of some large dogs, the wolf is the largest species of current canines, and its weight and size vary greatly depending on the regions in which it is distributed around the world. As the latitude of the distribution increases, the larger the size and weight of the wolf. In general, wolves are 105-160 cm long, 80–85 cm tall at the shoulders, and about 2/3,29–50 cm long at the tail. Wolf weight varies by region, on average, the North American wolf is 70 kg (only a very small number of large individuals can reach this weight, the North American wolf weight varies greatly in different regions, the average weight of male wolves in British Columbia and the Northwest Territories can reach 44 or 45 kg, while the average weight of male wolves in quebec and ontario is only about 27 or 28 kg), eurasian wolves are 50 kg (only a very small number of large individuals can reach this weight), Indian and Arab wolves are 25 kg, and North African wolves are only 13 kg.
Wolves coexist with other canids in the same region, with wolves usually predominating. Coyotes common in North America are often killed by gray wolves, especially during the winter months. When this happens, gray wolves may attack coyotes' lair to find and kill young wolves. They rarely eat wolf carcasses. Although coyotes chase gray wolves when they are in numbers, there is no record of coyotes killing gray wolves. In Europe and Asia, gray wolves and Asian jackals are also common encounters. In areas where gray wolves are abundant, the number of Asian jackals is relatively small. The gray wolf kills a large number of raccoons in the spring and summer and is its main natural enemy. Gray wolves also kill red foxes, arctic foxes and shuffle foxes. The cause of the conflict is better than the prey, but gray wolves can also eat dead foxes. In Asia, their survival may have to compete with the Asian Jackal.
prairie wolf
golden jackal
fox
Jackals
Gray wolves can encounter brown bears in Europe, Asia and the Americas. The outcome of the encounter depends on the environment. In general, when there is a conflict over prey, brown bears generally have the upper hand. But in order to protect their cubs, the wolves will fight to the death to repel the brown bear. Although brown bears are much larger and stronger than individual gray wolves, wolves can compete with brown bears by the strength of their swarms. Both species kill each other's pups. Wolves would eat the brown bears they killed, while brown bears seemed to eat only young wolves.
The American Black Bear can only be found in the Americas. Because of their different habitat preferences, gray wolves and North American black bears have far fewer chances of encountering brown bears. Most of their encounters took place in the northern region. Mexico has no record of black bears and gray wolves fighting. Gray wolves have been recorded several times actively searching the nests of black bears (mainly young ones), killing but not eating bears. Unlike brown bears, conflicts between black bears and gray wolves often result in the loss of life.
Compared to brown and black bears, polar bears have very few chances of encountering gray wolves, although there are two records of wolves killing young polar bears. Wolves can also kill young Asian black bears. When wolves attack a bear during the day, the clever wolves will prolong the battle as long as possible into the night, because the wolf has better night vision than the bear.
In addition to the competitive pressure that human survival poses to gray wolves, tigers appear to be the only animals that hunt gray wolves. When gray wolves overlap with tiger-hunting areas, such as eastern Siberia, they create a fierce competition for survival. There is a good record of wolf-tiger encounters in the Sikhote Mountains. Until the beginning of the 20th century, the number of wolves in the area was very small. Some experts believe that the wolf population only rose when the Russians colonized the area in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and wiped out tigers in large numbers. This can be confirmed by local residents describing that they did not remember wolves roosting in the area before the tigers were wiped out in large numbers in the 1930s. The presence of tigers inhibits the number of wolves, whether regionally extinct or too few to constitute a meaningful factor in the ecosystem, and it seems that wolves can only be eliminated from competition after humans reduce the number of tigers.
The North American gray wolf is a collective name for the subspecies of gray wolves distributed in the northern United States, Canada and other regions. Among them, the British Columbia wolf is the largest, and the adult male wolf can be nearly 2 meters long and weigh up to 70 kg. In the category of natural species, the North American gray wolf is the largest canine on Earth. The colors are mostly gray, but also brown, black and white. All North American gray wolves are social, with the famous "Druid Peak Wolves" recording 35 horses during the peak period. They are arguably the most powerful and pinnacle predators in North America. The largest individual North American gray wolf ever caught is 94 kg. Shoulder height is about 0.75 meters.
Anyone who has ever had a dog knows what it's like to have such a large animal pounce on you