Q 01/05

What is the scientific name of the gray wolf?

A) Canis lupus

B) Canis latrans

C) Canis aureus

D) Vulpes vulpes

Answer · why

A) Canis lupus

Canis latrans is the coyote and Canis aureus the golden jackal; the wolf is close enough to both to produce fertile hybrids.

Q 02/05

The wolf is the largest living wild member of which animal family?

A) Felidae

B) Canidae

C) Ursidae

D) Mustelidae

Answer · why

B) Canidae

It is set apart from coyotes and jackals by a broader snout, shorter ears, a shorter torso and a longer tail.

Q 03/05

According to biologists, what effect do the phases of the Moon have on wolf howling?

A) They howl more at full moon

B) They fall silent at new moon

C) None at all

D) They howl only by moonlight

Answer · why

C) None at all

Wolves howl to assemble the pack before and after hunts, to raise an alarm at a den, and to find each other in storms or unfamiliar terrain.

Q 04/05

A wild wolf pack is, at its core, what kind of group?

A) Unrelated males who joined up

B) Females and pups only

C) Wolves that met at a kill

D) A mated pair and their offspring

Answer · why

D) A mated pair and their offspring

Offspring typically stay with their parents for anywhere from 10 to 54 months before dispersing to find mates of their own.

Q 05/05

Resting in the open at -40°, northern wolves cover their faces with what?

A) Their front paws

B) A scraped-up snow wall

C) Their ears

D) Their tail

Answer · why

D) Their tail

They tuck the muzzle between the rear legs; a well-fed wolf also stores fat around the heart, kidneys and bone marrow for winter.