Wolf

True Wild Life | Wolf | The wolf is thought to be an ice age survivor, dating wolves around 300,000 years ago. The wolf is accepted to be the ancestor of the domestic dog as the wolf is thought to have selectively bred in order to breed appealing traits typical of puppies and to eliminate the not so appealing traits of adult wolves. The grey wolf is a highly adaptive animal found in all kinds of terrain. Wolves inhabit forests, deserts, mountains, tundras, grasslands and even urban areas with the wolf being a particularly dominant and ruthless predator within it's environment. They vary in color from pure white to pure black and every shade of brown and gray inbetween. At one time the wolf had the widest distribution of any mammal. The biggest wolves on earth live in Alaska and average 125-135 lb. One specimen was taken that weighed 200 lb. The smallest wolves live in Iran and average about 60 lb.

The wolf lives to be approximately 10 years old in the wild. Wolves live in packs that generally consist of the alpha male wolf, his mate the alpha female, and their offspring of various ages. Other wolves may also join, but it is the parents that are the leaders. The wolf has no real natural predators; their biggest threat is other wolf packs on adjacent territories. The wolf has been known to live up to 20 years old in captivity. Wolves are carnivorous animals and generally hunt large animals but wolves will also hunt smaller animals if they are need of their daily meal. Wolves hunt together in their packs and work together as a team in order to catch and kill a large animal such as moose and deer. Wolves are opportunists and will not waste their energy chasing a healthy deer 10 miles when an injured or sick one is available. The native Alaskan peoples call the wolf the "wild shepherd of the caribou".

Wolves have a layer of thick fur which is particularly needed for those wolves that inhabit areas of the Arctic circle where it can be extremely cold. It is during the winter months in these areas that calories are most critical . Larger animals such as elk and deer suffer greatly from the cold and lack of food to eat and it is during this time that the prey of the wolf is at its slowest and therefore is easier to catch. Wolves are considered to be an endangered species today as wolves have been widely exterminated from their former ranges by hunting, poisoning, and trapping to procure their fur and to protect livestock. Wolves have also been severely affected by habitat loss and have been pushed into smaller and smaller territories where the food source may not be plentiful enough to sustain a hungry wolf pack and where heavy inbreeding occurs.

Wolves tend to mate in late winter to early spring and the wolf cubs are born are born a couple of months later when the weather is warmer and prey is abundant. The wolf cubs then have the rest of the year to grow stronger in order to be able to survive their first cold winter. Wolf cubs stay with their mother in the wolf pack with the male wolf cubs often leaving to form a pack of their own. Wolves can interbreed freely with dogs, redwolves, coyotes, and jackals to produce fertile offspring. This is a case of incomplete speciation. There are physical, behavioral, and ecological differences between these species, but they are fully genetically compatible. None of the animals in this group can breed with foxes, which are too far separated genetically.

Raccoon Dog

True Wild Life | Raccoon Dog | The raccoon dog is a small species of canine, native to parts of eastern Asia. As it's name suggests, this wild dog has markings that closely resemble those of a raccoon and has also been known to display similar behaviours including the washing of food. Despite their similarities however, raccoon dogs are not actually closely related to the raccoons found in North America. The raccoon dog is now found across Japan and throughout Europe where it has been introduced and appears to be thriving. Historically however, the raccoon dog's natural range stretched through Japan and across eastern China where the raccoon dog is now extinct in many parts. Raccoon dogs are found inhabiting forests and woodland, that is close to water.

Raccoon dogs are unique canines as they are the only dog-like mammal that hibernates through the winter. Although raccoon dog hibernation is not true hibernation, it means that raccoon dogs are able to sleep through severe snowstorms when there is not enough food to allow them to survive. Raccoon dogs usually become more active again in February when the warmer, spring weather begins to return. There are five different species of raccoon dog found across eastern Asia and in parts of Europe, all of which have been severely affected by deforestation of their native woodlands. Raccoon dogs are also known to have incredibly dexterous front paws which come in very handy when trying to catch slippery food in the water and when climbing trees.

Raccoon dogs are carnivorous animals meaning that they only hunt and eat other animals in order to survive. As raccoon dogs spend a great deal of time close to water, their diet is primarily made up from frogs and fish along with rodents, small birds, eggs and invertebrates such as insects and spiders. The wolf is the main predator of the raccoon dog as packs of wolves are known to kill large numbers of raccoon dogs in the spring and summer months when they are also feeding their growing young. Foxes and wildcats are the other main predators of the raccoon dog along with humans who have hunted them for their meat and thick fur.

Raccoon dog pups are usually born when the summer begins in late April to early May. After a gestation period of up to 12 weeks, the female raccoon dog gives birth to a litter of between 5 and 16 raccoon dog pups which are blind when they are first born. Both raccoon dog parents help to raise their young until they are big enough to become independent and begin hunting for themselves. Today, although raccoon dog populations are thriving in their introduced habitats in Europe, wild populations in the far east have been rapidly declining mainly due to over-hunting and habitat loss.

Jackal

True Wild Life | Jackal | The jackal is a medium sized member of the dog family, originally found in Africa, Asia and southeast Europe. There are four main species of jackal with these jackal species being the golden jackal, the side-striped jackal, the black-backed jackal and the Ethiopian wolf jackal. The golden jackal is the most northernly species of jackal and can be found as far east as Burma in Southeast Asia. Jackals are generally found in packs of roughly between 10 and 30 jackal individuals. Jackals use their large group numbers to their advantage and work together in a similar way to a wolf pack to both occasionally hunt for food but more so that the jackals can protect one another.

Jackals are small canines that have adapted to hunting small mammals, birds and reptiles. Some species of jackal have even been known to eat poisonous snakes. Jackals are carnivorous mammals and jackals will often scavenge the remains of kills made by other larger predators. The jackal is a nocturnal mammal that can easily maintain speeds of 16km an hour for long periods of time. Although the jackal belongs to a jackal pack, jackals often prefer to hunt alone or with only one other jackal. This means that the jackals tend to have a higher chance of ambushing their prey as if the jackals regularly hunted in large groups, the jackals would have less success in being stealthy and silent.

Although the majority of the diet of the jackal is made up of meat, many jackal individuals (particularly those jackals living in the tropics of Southeast Asia) will often eat plant matter if no meat can be found. Jackals are very territorial animals and jackals have no hesitation in defending their marked territory. Jackals have a wide range of vocal sounds that are specific to each jackal family meaning that is rare for families of competing jackals to come into accidental contact with one another.

Jackals inhabit crevices in rocks and dens made by other animals in order to keep the jackals cool while they sleep. Although many jackal individuals live a nocturnal existence, particularly those jackals that inhabit areas close to humans, some jackals in more remote areas are slightly more diurnal and will be out hunting during the cooler times of the day.