Editing Wolf (section)

== Ecology ==
=== Distribution and habitat ===

{{Main|Wolf distribution}}
[[File:Lupo in Sassoferrato.jpg|thumb|alt=Photograph of a wolf standing on snowy ground|An [[Italian wolf]] in a mountainous habitat in the [[Apennine Mountains|Apennines]] in [[Sassoferrato]], Italy]]

Wolves occur across Eurasia and North America. However, deliberate human persecution because of livestock predation and fear of attacks on humans has reduced the wolf's range to about one-third of its historic range; the wolf is now [[extirpated]] (locally extinct) from much of its range in Western Europe, the United States and Mexico, and completely in the [[British Isles]] and Japan. In modern times, the wolf occurs mostly in wilderness and remote areas. The wolf can be found between sea level and {{convert|3000|m|feet|abbr=on}}. Wolves live in forests, inland [[wetland]]s, [[shrubland]]s, [[grassland]]s (including Arctic [[tundra]]), [[pasture]]s, deserts, and rocky peaks on mountains.<ref name="iucn status 2 June 2024" /> Habitat use by wolves depends on the abundance of prey, snow conditions, livestock densities, road densities, human presence and [[topography]].<ref name=Paquet2003/>

=== Diet ===

[[File:Wolf with Caribou Hindquarter.jpg|thumb|upright|left|alt=Photograph of a wolf carrying a caribou leg in its mouth|A wolf carrying a [[Reindeer|caribou]] hindquarter, [[Denali National Park]], [[Alaska]]]]

Like all land mammals that are [[pack hunter]]s, the wolf feeds predominantly on [[ungulates]] that can be divided into large size {{cvt|240|–|650|kg}} and medium size {{cvt|23|–|130|kg}}, and have a body mass similar to that of the combined mass of the [[Pack (canine)|pack]] members.<ref name=Earle1987/><ref name=Sorkin2008/> The wolf specializes in preying on the vulnerable individuals of large prey,<ref name=Paquet2003/> with a pack of 15 able to bring down an adult [[moose]].<ref name=Mech1966/> The variation in diet between wolves living on different continents is based on the variety of hoofed mammals and of available smaller and domesticated prey.<ref name=Newsome2016/>

In North America, the wolf's diet is dominated by wild large hoofed mammals (ungulates) and medium-sized mammals. In Asia and Europe, their diet is dominated by wild medium-sized hoofed mammals and domestic species. The wolf depends on wild species, and if these are not readily available, as in Asia, the wolf is more reliant on domestic species.<ref name=Newsome2016/> Across Eurasia, wolves prey mostly on [[moose]], [[red deer]], [[Capreolus|roe deer]] and [[wild boar]].{{sfn|Mech|Boitani|2003|p=107}} In North America, important range-wide prey are [[elk]], moose, [[Reindeer|caribou]], [[white-tailed deer]] and [[mule deer]].{{sfn|Mech|Boitani|2003|pp=109–110}} Prior to their extirpation from North America, [[wild horse]]s were among the most frequently consumed prey of North American wolves.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Landry |first1=Zoe |last2=Kim |first2=Sora |last3=Trayler |first3=Robin B. |last4=Gilbert |first4=Marisa |last5=Zazula |first5=Grant |last6=Southon |first6=John |last7=Fraser |first7=Danielle |date=1 June 2021 |title=Dietary reconstruction and evidence of prey shifting in Pleistocene and recent gray wolves (Canis lupus) from Yukon Territory |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S003101822100153X |journal=[[Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology]] |language=en |volume=571 |pages=110368 |doi=10.1016/j.palaeo.2021.110368 |bibcode=2021PPP...57110368L |access-date=23 April 2024 |via=Elsevier Science Direct |issn=0031-0182}}</ref> Wolves can digest their meal in a few hours and can feed several times in one day, making quick use of large quantities of meat.{{sfn|Mech|1981|p=172}} A well-fed wolf stores fat under the skin, around the heart, intestines, kidneys, and bone marrow, particularly during the autumn and winter.{{sfn|Mech|Boitani|2003|p=201}}

Nonetheless, wolves are not fussy eaters. Smaller-sized animals that may supplement their diet include [[rodent]]s, [[hare]]s, [[insectivore]]s and smaller carnivores. They frequently eat [[waterfowl]] and their eggs. When such foods are insufficient, they prey on [[lizard]]s, [[snake]]s, and [[frog]]s, when available,{{sfn|Heptner|Naumov|1998|pp=213–231}} and have even been known to feed on [[Grasshopper|grasshoppers]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Barton |first=Brandon T. |last2=Hill |first2=JoVonn G. |last3=Wolff |first3=Carter L. |last4=Newsome |first4=Thomas M. |last5=Ripple |first5=William J. |last6=Lashley |first6=Marcus A. |date=18 September 2019 |title=Grasshopper consumption by grey wolves and implications for ecosystems |url=https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ecy.2892 |journal=[[Ecology (journal)|Ecology]] |language=en |volume=101 |issue=2 |doi=10.1002/ecy.2892 |issn=0012-9658 |access-date=20 April 2025 |via=Wiley Online Library}}</ref> Wolves in some areas may consume fish and even marine life.<ref name="Gable2018" /><ref name="Woodford2019" /><ref name="McAllister2007" /> Wolves also consume some plant material. In Europe, they eat apples, pears, [[Common fig|figs]], melons, [[Berry|berries]] and [[Cherry|cherries]]. In North America, wolves eat [[Blueberry|blueberries]] and [[Raspberry|raspberries]]. They also eat grass, which may provide some vitamins, but is most likely used mainly to induce vomiting to rid themselves of intestinal parasites or long guard hairs.<ref name="Fuller2019" /> They are known to eat the berries of [[Sorbus|mountain-ash]], [[lily of the valley]], [[Bilberry|bilberries]], [[Vaccinium vitis-idaea|cowberries]], [[Solanum nigrum|European black nightshade]], grain crops, and the shoots of reeds.{{sfn|Heptner|Naumov|1998|pp=213–231}}

In times of scarcity, wolves will readily eat [[carrion]].{{sfn|Heptner|Naumov|1998|pp=213–231}} In Eurasian areas with dense human activity, many wolf populations are forced to subsist largely on livestock and garbage.{{sfn|Mech|Boitani|2003|p=107}} As prey in North America continue to occupy suitable habitats with low human density, North American wolves eat livestock and garbage only in dire circumstances.{{sfn|Mech|Boitani|2003|p=109}} [[Cannibalism]] is not uncommon in wolves during harsh winters, when packs often attack weak or injured wolves and may eat the bodies of dead pack members.{{sfn|Heptner|Naumov|1998|pp=213–231}}{{sfn|Mech|1981|p=180}}<ref name=Klein1995/>

=== Interactions with other predators ===

Wolves typically dominate other canid species in areas where they both occur. In North America, incidents of wolves killing coyotes are common, particularly in winter, when coyotes feed on wolf kills. Wolves may attack coyote den sites, digging out and killing their pups, though rarely eating them. There are no records of coyotes killing wolves, though coyotes may chase wolves if they outnumber them.{{sfn|Mech|Boitani|2003|pp=266–268}} According to a press release by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 1921, the infamous [[Custer Wolf]] relied on coyotes to accompany him and warn him of danger. Though they fed from his kills, he never allowed them to approach him.<ref name=Merrit1921/> Interactions have been observed in Eurasia between wolves and golden jackals, the latter's numbers being comparatively small in areas with high wolf densities.{{sfn|Heptner|Naumov|1998|pp=164–270}}{{sfn|Mech|Boitani|2003|pp=266–268}}<ref name=Giannatos2004/> Wolves also kill [[Red fox|red]], [[Arctic fox|Arctic]] and [[corsac fox]]es, usually in disputes over carcasses, sometimes eating them.{{sfn|Heptner|Naumov|1998|pp=164–270}}{{sfn|Mech|Boitani|2003|p=269}}
[[File:Wolves bear ravens.png|thumb|350px|alt=Photograph of a wolf, a bear, coyotes and ravens competing over a kill|A wolf, a bear, coyotes and ravens compete over a kill]]

[[Brown bear]]s typically dominate wolf packs in disputes over carcasses, while wolf packs mostly prevail against bears when defending their den sites. Both species kill each other's young. Wolves eat the brown bears they kill, while brown bears seem to eat only young wolves.{{sfn|Mech|Boitani|2003|pp=261–263}} Wolf interactions with [[American black bear]]s are much rarer because of differences in habitat preferences. Wolves have been recorded on numerous occasions actively seeking out American black bears in their dens and killing them without eating them. Unlike brown bears, American black bears frequently lose against wolves in disputes over kills.{{sfn|Mech|Boitani|2003|pp=263–264}} Wolves also dominate and sometimes kill [[wolverine]]s, and will chase off those that attempt to scavenge from their kills. Wolverines escape from wolves in caves or up trees.{{sfn|Mech|Boitani|2003|p=266}}

Wolves may interact and compete with [[Felidae|felids]], such as the [[Eurasian lynx]], which may feed on smaller prey where wolves are present{{sfn|Mech|Boitani|2003|p=265}} and may be suppressed by large wolf populations.<ref name=Sunquist2002/> Wolves encounter [[cougar]]s along portions of the Rocky Mountains and adjacent mountain ranges. Wolves and cougars typically avoid encountering each other by hunting at different elevations for different prey ([[niche partitioning]]). This is more difficult during winter. Wolves in packs usually dominate cougars and can steal their kills or even kill them,{{sfn|Mech|Boitani|2003|pp=264–265}} while one-to-one encounters tend to be dominated by the cat, who likewise will kill wolves.<ref name=Jimenez2008/> Wolves more broadly affect cougar population dynamics and distribution by dominating territory and prey opportunities and disrupting the feline's behaviour.<ref name=Elbroch2015/> Wolf and [[Siberian tiger]] interactions are well-documented in the [[Russian Far East]], where tigers significantly depress wolf numbers, sometimes to the point of [[Local extinction|localized extinction]].<ref name=Miquelle2005/>{{sfn|Mech|Boitani|2003|p=265}}

In Israel, Palestine, Central Asia and India wolves may encounter [[striped hyena]]s, usually in disputes over carcasses. Striped hyenas feed extensively on wolf-killed carcasses in areas where the two species interact. One-to-one, hyenas dominate wolves, and may prey on them,<ref name=Monchot2010/> but wolf packs can drive off single or outnumbered hyenas.<ref name=Mills1998/><ref name=Nayak2015/> There is at least one case in Israel of a hyena associating and cooperating with a wolf pack.<ref name=Dinets2016/>

===Infections===
{{main|Parasites and pathogens of wolves}}
[[File:Wild Wolf Afflicted with Mange.jpg|thumb|alt=Photograph of a wolf with mange eating at a kill|Wolf with mange [[Yellowstone National Park]]]]
[[Viral disease]]s carried by wolves include: [[rabies]], [[canine distemper]], [[canine parvovirus]], [[infectious canine hepatitis]], [[papillomatosis]], and [[canine coronavirus]]. In wolves, the [[incubation period]] for rabies is eight to 21 days, and results in the host becoming agitated, deserting its pack, and travelling up to {{convert|80|km|mi|abbr=on|sigfig=1}} a day, thus increasing the risk of infecting other wolves. Although canine distemper is lethal in dogs, it has not been recorded to kill wolves, except in Canada and Alaska. The canine parvovirus, which causes death by [[dehydration]], [[electrolyte imbalance]], and [[Endotoxin|endotoxic]] shock or [[sepsis]], is largely survivable in wolves, but can be lethal to pups.{{sfn|Mech|Boitani|2003|pp=208–211}} [[Bacterial diseases]] carried by wolves include: [[brucellosis]], [[Lyme disease]], [[leptospirosis]], [[tularemia]], [[bovine tuberculosis]],{{sfn|Mech|Boitani|2003|pp=211–213}} [[listeriosis]] and [[anthrax]].{{sfn|Graves|2007|pp=77–85}} Although lyme disease can debilitate individual wolves, it does not appear to significantly affect wolf populations. Leptospirosis can be contracted through contact with infected prey or urine, and can cause [[fever]], [[Anorexia (symptom)|anorexia]], vomiting, [[anemia]], [[hematuria]], [[Jaundice|icterus]], and death.{{sfn|Mech|Boitani|2003|pp=211–213}}

Wolves are often infested with a variety of [[arthropod]] exoparasites, including [[flea]]s, [[tick]]s, [[Louse|lice]], and [[mite]]s. The most harmful to wolves, particularly pups, is the mange mite (''[[Sarcoptes scabiei]]''),{{sfn|Mech|Boitani|2003|pp=202–208}} though they rarely develop full-blown [[mange]], unlike foxes.{{sfn|Heptner|Naumov|1998|pp=164–270}} Endoparasites known to infect wolves include: [[protozoan]]s and [[helminth]]s ([[Trematoda|flukes]], [[tapeworm]]s, [[roundworm]]s and [[thorny-headed worm]]s). Most fluke species reside in the wolf's intestines. Tapeworms are commonly found in wolves, which they get though their prey, and generally cause little harm in wolves, though this depends on the number and size of the parasites, and the sensitivity of the host. Symptoms often include [[constipation]], toxic and [[allergic reaction]]s, irritation of the [[intestinal mucosa]], and [[malnutrition]]. Wolves can carry over 30 roundworm species, though most roundworm infections appear benign, depending on the number of worms and the age of the host.{{sfn|Mech|Boitani|2003|pp=202–208}}