Red Wolf - description, habitat, lifestyle

The red wolf, which is otherwise called the Himalayan or mountain wolf, is a rather interesting animal. He is ranked in the category of mammals, is a member of the dog family. Predatory individuals differ from sebian-like habits, in a way to get food and reproduce. In this article we will study all the information that affects them, that you were able to form your own opinion.

Description

1. Presented animals are large. Individuals can stretch in length along the body up to 1 meter and even more. The size of the tail reaches half a meter, and the weight of the body varies from 17 to 20 kg.
2. According to the external characteristics of the individual of the family under discussion, they are similar at the same time with jackals, foxes, and ordinary wolves. They differ from their relatives by the pigmentation of the coat. The coat itself is elongated and rather dense.The tail is long, can sink to the ground.
3. Muzzle sharp in format, as well as elongated. The ears are located at an average distance between themselves, they are rounded at the edges, they look large, standing in a format. As for color, it varies depending on the season of the year and age category. As a rule, individuals are pigmented with black at the end of the tail.
4. Juveniles that have not yet reached the age of three months are colored in a dark brown tone. In winter, the coat is much thicker than in the warm season. It can be standing or hanging. In summer, it gets coarse, it becomes short, it gets dark. The tail is very fluffy, similar to a fox. More than 10 species of these wolves inhabit the vastness of our homeland.

Lifestyle

1. Representatives of the family prefer to live in the highlands. They can climb up above sea level by 4 km. and even more. Mammals live almost all year in the Alps, as well as in the surrounding areas. They like rocky terrain, which is equipped with gorges and hidden places.
2. Individuals are not located on the plains, trying to avoid such places by the side.In the process of extracting food, they can wander from one locality to another, overcoming obstacles and vast distances. Move away from the permanent area of ​​residence. Quickly adapt to atypical landscapes, master even deserts and steppes.
3. When the snow in the mountain habitat becomes excessively large, the animals seek out their artiodactyls and follow them. We are talking about mountain goats, argali, red deer and roe deer. Predatory mammals stop in front of the mountains, then rest in the sun and wait for prey.
4. Members of the family are not characterized by a single way of being. They spend all their time with their congeners. Together they go hunting, sometimes a pack can consist of two dozen individuals and more. Sometimes not one generation is interwoven in it. These animals do not show strong aggression towards themselves, they live peacefully.
5. In the process of choosing a place to stay individuals are guided by security. Usually choose gorges, rocky mountains, caves and any covered areas. Hearing is developed perfectly, which allows you to catch the danger and eliminate it if necessary.Wolves leave their place in emergency situations, the rest of the time guarding the house.

Habitat

1. To a greater extent, individuals are common in Asia, located in its center and east. Can live in India, Indonesia, Tibet, China, Sumatra, Mongolia. Predators are not common in all the described territories, their stay is chaotic, in some areas the species is completely excluded. Animals like steppe areas and highlands.
2. The considered individuals can live in quite diverse territories. Such animals are often found on alpine meadows and even in high-altitude valleys. In such steppe places there is a sufficient amount of vegetation.
3. In addition, wolves often appear in deciduous and cedar forests in the Far East. Also, animals are not rarely seen in coniferous forests, which are mainly inherent in Eastern Siberia.
4. Despite all this, regardless of the area where such animals are often found, the main feature of their habitat is the obligatory presence of low snow cover.If there is too much snow, the animals must move to less snow-covered areas.

Diet

1. Presented individuals can be classified as the most common predatory animals. Regardless of the time of year, wild wolves feed on various living creatures that can only meet them on the way. However, the main menu of such animals includes wild ungulates, which have small sizes.
2. It is noteworthy that in the warm season, the wolves in question are fed in sufficient quantities with food of plant origin. Wolves love to feast on green mountain rhubarb.
3. When people studied such animals, they often found such a plant in wolf dens with puppies. Therefore, we can conclude that parents feed young rhubarb. Often, adults at any opportunity even eat carrion.
4. During the hunt, such predators often drive their prey into the water. In this environment, mining is very difficult to resist. Wolves use such accessibility. It is noteworthy that before the hunt, such predators make a rather interesting and complex ritual.
5. Otherwise, the specimens are sent for hunting mainly during the daytime. In this case, the wolves use different methods of hunting. In the end, they still attack the prey in the classical way.
6. Often, predators are sent to the hunt in packs. Such criteria may depend on the size of the victim and the relief features of the environment. Alone such animals attack only all kinds of rodents and lagomorphs. If the victim is big enough, then the whole flock will go hunting.

Breeding

1. If we take into account the territories that are located on the Indian continent, such predators can breed for about six months a year. Most often, the mating period for the animals in question begins at the beginning of autumn and lasts until the end of winter.
2. After mating, females continue to bear the offspring for just over 2 months. In one litter can be from 4 to 6 babies. There were cases when the female brought as many as 12 puppies at a time! However, scientists have suggested that such offspring was united by 2 or 3 females.
3. As soon as the young are born, it already boasts a beautiful dark brown color.At this time, the kids are blind and helpless. After a fortnight the cubs begin to see clearly and hear. At about the age of 3 months they begin to leave the hole.

The considered individuals are interesting representatives of predatory animals. Such wolves are unique in their own way. It is interesting enough to watch them. In addition, predators are bred in special zoological parks. In captivity wolves behave a little differently.

Video: red wolf (Cuon alpinus)