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The wolf started out 60 million years ago during the
Paleocene period. These animals walked on 5 toes and had
partially retractable claws. Almost like a cat, but not
quite. Some people think they looked like long legged
weasels. Then 20 million years ago during the Miocene
period, these two groups made up the dogs and the cats
who were quite different from each other. It is
interesting to note, that the wolf and the dog and the
cat all came from the same original family 60 million
years ago. As time went by, the legs of the wolf grew
longer and the brain became larger and the teeth
sharper. About 1 million years ago, during the
Pleistocene period, the wolf started to look like they
do today. Today, the wolf’s closest relatives are dogs,
they belong to the wolf species of CANIS LUPUS
FAMILIARIS. The family dog is actually a pure wolf.
Habits
The wolf uses body language to convey much of what it is
thinking. This is called posturing. They use their long
tail, ears that stand up and can be moved and long fangs
to express themselves. Wolves will howl for many
reasons. Just before a howl, a wolf often whines and
wags its tail. It may then lift its head and open its
mouth and let out a long drawn howl. Considerable tail
wagging, excitement, and general friendliness usually
accompany the howling. Wolves howl in a ritual fashion
before a hunt. When the wolves return from a hunt, the
wolves that stayed behind will rush to greet them and
many times a round of howling breaks out. Wolves are
very social animals and form strong bonds between other
members of the pack. While resting too, a single wolf
may start howling. One of the main functions of howling
seems to be for assembling the pack. Howling may also be
used to identify a wolf, it is like a fingerprint for
wolves. The wolf’s nose is packed full of little tiny
elements that the wolf uses to smell. It is believed
that wolves can smell the odor of their own kind from as
far away as one and one-half miles. More if the wind is
blowing in the right direction.
Wolves in folklore
 In many ancient myths, the wolf was portrayed as brave,
honourable and intelligent. The best examples of these
myths are the Native Americans. The wolf was also the
revered totem animal of ancient Rome - Romulus and Remus
and Lupercalia. In Proto-Indo-European society, the wolf
was probably associated with the warrior class and the
term was subject to taboo . Many Germanic personal names
used to include “wolf”.
In more modern western folklore, the wolf is a creature
to be feared. Examples of this image are the Werewolf
and the Big Bad Wolf. Norse mythology includes several
malevolent wolves - the giant Fenrisulfr, eldest child
of Loki and the giantess Angrboda, who was feared and
hated by the Aesir, and his children Skoll and Hati, who
devour the sun and moon at Ragnarok.
Human fear of the wolf is responsible for most of the
trouble the species face and have faced. However, in the
20th century, with the new knowledge of wolves and the
growing respect for the animal, the fear seems to have
reduced. Despite their often negative image, wolves have
variously been credited with adopting, nursing and
raising human feral children, the most famous examples
being Romulus and Remus and Mowgli of The Jungle Book.
Wolf hunting
Wolves are hunted for the pelt and to control the
numbers. Previously anything was used to kill wolves,
including large amounts of poison. Some of these poisons
have been used to kill wolves during the extermination
campaigns in Europe and America. Today most of the
hunting is done on the ground or from helicopters-.
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