The Gray Wolf
Scientific Name: Canis Lupus
The gray wolf is usually a misrepresented animal, but in spite of everything bad that is said about them, what is interesting to me is the symbiotic relationship they share with ravens. The ravens provide a sort of alarm system (thanks to their always hovering around wolves), if there is notable danger the ravens fall silent or fly away. The wolves have learned to interpret this as a threat so they are known to take shelter and protect their pups. The ravens also help the wolves find prey. The ravens need the sharp teeth of the wolves to tear open the carcass of carcasses, this is why they can't just find previously dead animals and eat them (the wolves tear open the carcasses of carrion and the ravens get the leftovers). Wolves are predators, they hunt prey ranging to smaller than them to much bigger than them. In the North (From Northern USA to various parts of the Arctic circle) they eat mainly dall sheep, caribou, deer, elk, and moose. They regergitate food for their young (primarily when in the first few months of life).
two gray wolf pups observed by Helen and Bill Thayer
Charlie (Helen and Bill's) husky mix interacting with a wolf (possibly the one they nicknamed Mother)
A typical successful hunt ending with a young elk, notice the ravens
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