Wolves
The global wolf population is estimated at 300,000, composed of about 38 subspecies. Wolves are believed to be the ancestor of todays domestic dogs. A wolf pack is usually made up of an adult mated pair and their offspring under the age of 4 years old. Average pack size in North America is 8 wolves, and 5-6 wolves in Europe. After young wolves reach about 4 years old they will leave the group to look for their own territory and mate. Occasionally during times of very abundant food, like large animal migrations, two or more wolf packs may temporarily join together. The famous wolf howl is used for communication. It may be calling the pack back together after a hunt, to sound an alarm, to find each other after a storm, or generally communicate over a long distance.
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