Difference between revisions of "Wulfra"

Revision as of 17:19, 11 April 2005

This topic is about the Wulfra, the National Animal of Sozy.

Classification

Anatomy & Mortality

The average Wulfra weighs 60 kg (130 lb), and is about 1 to 1.5 m (40 to 60 in) long with the tail being roughly a third of their body length. The males and females are of the same size, though at birth, the females are slightly bigger. The coloration runs from grey to grey brown, they adapt their hair to the climate, Wulfras in the North of Sozy have white tins, whereas the Wulfras in the forests have dark-grey tints. His eyes have a silver or golden colour, but they can also have one golden and one silver eye.

The Wulfra's body is thin, for high-speed running. The most powerful muscles are in his legs. Their paws are well-adapted to any kind of surface.

His coat is also well resistant to the harsh climates. The two layer coat keeps out water and dirt, whilst it also leeps the animal warm. The Females keep their winter coat further into spring than the male Wulfras.

The tooth configuration is the same as that of the Grey Wolf: The upper jaw has 6 incisors, 2 canines, 8 premolars, and 4 molars. The bottom jaw has 6 incisors, 2 canines, 8 premolars, and 6 molars. The canines are by far most important, as they are used to catch and hold prey. One common reason for wolves to starve is tooth damage after being kicked by larger prey.

There has been an unofficial record of a Wulfra that became 30 years old. But most reach 16 years in the wild and approximately 24 years in captivity. Many pups do not survive the harsh winter. Wulfras have become more vulnerable to diseases over the past few decades. Deforestation and urbanisation caused mass-death of many Wulfras, but in the wild Wulfra populations adapt quickly to the amount of preys in their territory.

Social structure

Wulfras live in packs, they are social predators that cooperate during hunting and protection of territory. There is a very strict social hierarchy, one pack is led by a female and a male (the alphas). The alpha pairs, like other Wulfra pairs, are completely monogamous. But the loss of one of the couple means the other will just immediately find a new mate. The hierarchy isn’t quite noticeable in the large packs Wulfras live, but generally, the most active male and female (during hunting) are the alphas. A Wulfra pack can consist out of 20 to 40 members: but the median pack sizes have decreased dramatically the last decade.

In a Wulfra pack, all animals are allowed to produce offspring, all members of the pack get the same food. One could say that instead of autocrats the alphas are the oligarchs: the couple with wisdom and experience. Of course, the alphas like to maintain their power and do so by putting psychological pressure on the other members of the pack. This differs per attitude of an entire pack of course. There rarely is any serious fighting amongst challengers and the established, but they do occur.

When a fight does occur, the challengers will first try to psychologically force the other to give in immediately, physical threats happen. The Wulfras step around eachother in a small circle, with the other members of the pack watching at a distance. When it comes to a fight, the challenger rarely hit eachother fatal. The looser occasionally leaves the pack, but usual joins the pack, in a lower rank. Females may show off fights like these in the winter months, this is not for dominance, but for the protection of her pups.

Fighting for dominance occurs, but is not preferred by either side.

All Wulfras in a pack mate, although the alphas have the highest chance of growing up their pups. Pups generally stay in the pack for a long time, mostly their entire live. But many pups die in the first year (see mortality).

Wulfras are fierce in protecting their territory. Wulfras know this from each other, but may try to intrude each other’s territory. In a “territorial dispute” Wulfras are moe likely to fight than in an internal dispute. Sometimes a Wulfra leaves its birth pack to form a new pack. In the search of wolves and food rich territory, some Wulfras have been reported to walk 250 kilometres from their birth territory, this explains most of the encounters with humans.

Hunting

Hunting domestic animals

Communication

Reproduction

Wolfs & Humans

The Cultural Impact of the Wolf

Wolf Hunting