Sleep With The Wolves
On Your Next Vacation

By Ron Coulter

The mournful howl of a lone wolf, sitting atop a distant hill, breaks the silence blanketed by the fresh, new-fallen snow. The howling echoes far and wide around the still mountainside and beyond. The wolf is in search of the rest of his pack, separated by the blizzard, and he knows that howling is the best way to find them. A wolf's "howl" will carry for six or more miles in the still, cold air after a snowstorm, unlike a mere "bark," which is not as effective and will not carry as far.

An ancient misconception of the wolf's howl is that, although the howling wolves were far, far away, common folk firmly believed the wolves were howling at their particular door; hence the popular phrase, even nowadays, "Let's keep the wolf from the door."

In fairytales, such as Little Red Riding Hood and The Three Little Pigs, the antagonist is always the misunderstood wolf, being portrayed as the "baddie" who will "eat you all up." These fairytales were borne out of a fear of the unknown --- a fear that was completely unfounded and gave the wolf a bad reputation that lingered for centuries.

For the wolf (canis lupus) is a social creature, and his family, his pack, means as much to him as our family does to us. The pack is headed by an alpha male and female; a dominant pair who are at the top of the wolf pack's hierarchy. Members of the pack know exactly where their place is, and are kept in line by the two alpha wolves.

This alpha pair is usually the sole breeding pair within the pack, and it is they that have the pups. Litters number but one per year and can range anywhere in size between five and twelve pups, but the average litter size is five or six. The pups are born in a den, which is excavated out of the earth beforehand, and they are raised there in safety.

The new mother does not venture out of the den for three weeks while she is nursing her pups. Her mate and other pack members bring food to her, to sustain her through lactation. When the pups are around five weeks of age, they are weaned and fed by the rest of the pack. To accomplish this, food is hunted, chewed and swallowed, then regurgitated by members of the pack for the puppies to digest easily. The pups are then raised and watched over by the entire pack, right down to the omega member, who is right at the bottom of the pack's hierarchy. All food is shared, so that no member of the pack goes hungry.

Wolves are necessary predators for the maintenance of healthy herds of their natural prey. Wolves hunt only sickly, weak, diseased, injured or young animals, which in turn promotes healthy and vigorous lines of prey. Elk, deer, bison and other large game are hunted for food by the pack, as are rodents and fish.

The natural habitat of the wolf is in forested terrain and rugged, remote wilderness areas. Once upon a time, the wolf was hunted, trapped, and poisoned to the point where their numbers plummeted, but the wolf is now making his comeback with the reintroduction of the Mexican Gray Wolf into the Southwestern United States and other parts of the country. To some, the wolf is a welcome sight, but to others, such as farmers and ranchers, the wolf is just another pest who will kill their livestock. But, for the knowledgeable, which are aware of the excellent work that wolves do to maintain the balance of nature in the wildernesses of the world, wolves will remain a welcome and much needed resource.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ron Coulter owns http://www.JollyTreasures.com. Specializing in New Products *  Gift Ideas  *  Wildlife Gallery  *  American Accents  *  World Treasures  *  Artistic Creations  *  Medieval Treasures  *  Divine Inspiration  Home Decor  *  Garden Decor  *  Cute Collectibles  *  Kid's Corner  *  Christmas Treasures  and also carrying: wildlife figurines & plaques, global crafts, affordable art, religious and patriotic gifts. Wait until you see the eagles, hummingbirds, songbirds, dolphins, wolves, tigers & elephants: