Yes, they do. One reason is when wolves have rabies, but these only account for about half the times that wolves eat people.

Wolves rarely attack people in North America . . . a lot of the reported cases were exaggerated or completely false, due to an economic incentives for inventing such incorrect data. However such reports are not entirely false, and are likely to increase as wolves and people become more likely to come into contact with each other in the future.

The affects of wolves on livestock in America are not significant in general, being a small fraction of those which die from natural causes.

The same applies to wolves killing dogs in America . . . it does happen, but is only a very tiny effect on the population.

Livestock and dogs, as well as people in Europe and Asia are more likely to be killed by wolves than in America.

For more details on this, see The Wikipedia data on “Wolf attacks on humans”

Wolf Gaze
Agression and warning, the intensity of its gaze an expression of the power of its determination for survival and freedom.

For more great wolf photos, see our Blog post . . . Wolf Photos

It is commonly thought that wolves always live in packs with a rigid hierarchy with an “alpha male”, frequent challenges to dominance, etc. This is not a correct view of natural wolf behaviour.

Wolf society can vary considerably with some wolves living alone such as old animals or young animals finding a new territory. A wolf pack is more accurately described as a nuclear family, as it usually consists of a pair and their offspring.

A typical wolf pack is around eight individuals, although up to thirty-six wolves have been sighted in a pack, depending on many factors such as availability of food, and personalities of wolves within the pack.

Unlike the commonly held idea that subordinate wolves will challenge and displace the dominant ones, this behavior has never been observed at all in the wild, and is therefore likely to be merely a result of unrelated captive wolves being put together and being unable to disperse and find their own territories when they become mature at around two years old. In the wild, the fact that the parents are dominant over their offspring is no more significant in wolves than in any other species.

Wolf packs are territorial, and will sometimes fight to the death. Almost all wolf deaths occur very near the border of their territory, and are most commonly dominant animals, who will defend their territory most aggressively. Howling is the main method of keeping wolf packs separate.

From this behavior, it can be seen that the practice of putting unrelated wolves together in a very small area in captivity is very likely to lead to unusual behaviors such as fighting over leadership which is where the commonly-held false ideas of the social nature of wolf packs come from.

Wolves will tend to live with their parent’s pack for some of their adult lives, fulfilling important roles such as helping to care for new pups, and hunting. They are prevented from breeding by the actions of the senior pair and so will tend to leave the pack in order to reproduce by finding an unrelated member of the opposite sex and a territory to start their own pack.

Wolves will often kill a member of their own pack if they act very unusually, such as being severely sick or injured.

Wolves in Asia are usually less sociable than in the New world, and are more likely to live in pairs or as individuals who occasionally socialize.

See our Blog post Wolf Photos for a superb selection of great photos of wolves.

See Wikipedia “Wolf” page for more details.

Wolves are one of the most popular subjects of wildlife art and photography. They are strongly archetypal . . . used in many contexts to represent particular qualities, sometimes good, sometimes bad, but always powerfully evocative.

Some great links on wolves . . .

Interesting Facts And Stories About The Wolf. (article)

Alaskan Wolves. (article)

The Grey Wolf. (Wikipedia page). Largest of the wolves.

Eurasian Wolf . (Wikipedia page), sub-species of the grey wolf.

Red Wolf. (Wikipedia page). Lives in southern US.

Arctic Wolf. (Wikipedia page). Another sub-species of Grey Wolf.

Eastern Wolf. (Wikipedia page). Probably a distinct species, related to the red wolf.

(Click on an image for more details) . . .

Gray Wolf

An amazing wolf photo, the intense gaze of the wolf

appearing from out of the dark birch forest, so well camoflaged

and at home in its wilderness. Wise and wild yet somehow gentle.

Mountain Ranger

A grey wolf among the silver birches and the white of the snow,

focussed and alert yet calm and in control.

Wolves

Three powerful and beautiful wolves gazing with focussed intensity

their fur black, cream and almost orange, keeping them hidden among the

shadows of the winter forest.

Gray Wolf

The hidden wolf, almost unseen in the habitat it is so perfectly adapted to.

It’s colors matching the bark of the trees of the forest, it’s ability to see

without being seen. Powerful and mysterious, wise and elusive in its wilderness home.

WWF - Grey Wolf

Bright with intelligence, the focussed gaze of the wise wolf in winter.

Timber Wolf

The timber wolf moving through the winter forest, intensely aware of

its environment, at home in its endless wilderness.

White Wolf, Pair in Winter, USA

The strange white wolves of the arctic, aloof and distant in their frozen home.

Portrait of A Wolf print
The unpredictable tempermant of the wild wolf, the subtle beauty
of its markings adapting it superbly to its wilderness environment.

Timber Wolf
A tall slim wolf in its winter wilderness, infinitely varying grays of its fur

against the cool white of the snow.

Grey Wolf Portrait, USA
The intense but calm gaze of the wolf, warm in its beautiful fur,

at home in the endless northern forests.

Wolf Gaze
Agression and warning, the intensity of its gaze an expression of

the power of its determination for survival and freedom.

Gray Wolf, Canis Lupus
A relaxed family group of pale wolves, so comfortable in each others company.

Woodland Pride, Montana
The alert gaze of the proud wolf, the beauty of its long fur

expressing the health and vitality of its ability to survive

in the winter wilderness.

Close View of Wolf
The face of the wolf . . . intense yet calm, focussed yet aware of everything.

Close-up of a Wolf, Canis Lupus
The dark wolf, supreme hunter of the northern forests.

Wolf postcard
Focussed curiosity and intelligence, supreme survival ability.

Two Gray Wolves Touch Noses during a Tender Moment
A tender moment between confirming the togetherness of the pack.

Female Timber Wolf Resting, Northern, Canada
Gray wolf in a gray land.

Gray Wolf Near Birch Tree Trunks, Canis Lupus, MN
Gazing from between the birches, clever and curious, able and alert.

Call of the Wild
The howl in the wilderness, the sound of the wild.

Winter Wolf
A powerful presense rarely seen in its winter wilderness.

Grey or Timber Wolf (Canis Lupus) in the Alaskan Snow, Alaska, USA
Pale grays against the cool snow, self-reliant pride in its wild life.

A Portrait of a Wolf (Canis Lupus)
White wolf in the vast gray wilderness.

Grey Wolf in Woodland, Minnesota, USA
Black wolfs gaze . . . nothing escapes the intelligence behind those eyes.


Pacing the wild beach in prefect step with each other,

wolf-shadows gray on the untouched sand.

Wolf in Snow, MT

Timber Wolf
Wolf on the prowl, no escape.

Captive Wolf Pup with Parent
The alert wolf mother ready to defend her pup.

Jumper

Wolf springs . . . focussed and aware in the perfect grace of its instinctual flow.

Prowling Wolf card
beware!

Smell the Breeze

Intense focussed curiosity, alert alive will.