Gray (Timber) Wolf - Canis Lupis

The Gray Wolf or Timber Wolf is a pack animal, closely related to our household canine companions. Like dogs, they are very social animals and are dedicated to their pack. A pack is typically 6 to 10 wolves, with an "alpha" male and female that have exclusive breeding rights.

Wolves require a lot of space to live. Their hunting territory can cover up to 100 square miles. They are constantly on the move, marking territory. Wolf pack boundaries butt up against each other, rarely overlapping. A non-pack member that crosses into another pack's territory risks being killed.

The large terriroties of wolves often have them brushing against human civilizations. Recently, the wolf has become a more popular, sympathetic creature, but historically, wolves have been hunted aggressively by man, to the point of endangering the species. Wolves have been perceived as threats to livestock, wild game and man alone in the wild. When viewed objectively, however, the impact of the wolf on livestock and wild game, is minimal. As an example, approximately 10-20 deer are killed each year per each adult wolf. Assumming 3,000 wolves in Minnesota, that means 60,000 deer year-long are killed by wolves. This pales in comparison to the 200,000+ deer harvested by hunters in Minnesota during the two week hunting season.

In a related note, wolf populations are directly tied to deer populations. As the White-tail Deer population continues to explode, there will be increased wolf populations.

As for wolves being a direct danger to humans, it is a popular literature device and little else. There are no documented cases of (non-rabid) wolves preying upon humans in North America within the last century. Humans are simply not perceived by the wolf as being prey.

For more information on wolves, see:

http://www.wolf.org/wolves/learn/intermed/inter_mgmt/faq_mgmt.asp