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Study on Wolves and the Pleistocene Epoch
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“People are often interested in knowing which is smarter, a wolf or a domestic dog.”
—Yash
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Study On Wolves And The Pleistocene Epoch By Yash
_____Yash_____
What is a Wolf?
A wolf (Canis Lupus) also known as “gray wolf” is a large canine, and is native to Eurasia and North America.
(Wikipedia). It is the largest member of “Canidae”. Canidae is a biological family of dog-like carnivorans; a member of this family is called a “Canid”. There have been many discussions about the differences between the domestic dog, and a wild wolf. People are often interested in knowing about which is smarter; a wild wolf, or a domestic dog. Mostly, it depends on the situation or consideration. If people consider that an animal has to stay in the wilderness to survive, then a wild wolf is smarter, but if people believe that animals need human interaction to live, then a domestic dog is smarter.(livescience). A wolf is an animal that resists on socializing with humans as they consider humans as predators. Therefore, wild wolves can be very dangerous.
The Beginning
The first wolves lived in the time of the “Pleistocene Epoch”. The Pleistocene Epoch was a time period which lasted for a very long time starting from around 2,580,000 years ago, and ending around 11,700 years ago, making it the world’s most recent period of repeated glaciations. It was known to have been the time period when a big part of earth was covered in glaciers.(livescience). The first wolf, “Canis Lupus”, has been assumed to have lived in Eurasia during the Pleistocene Epoch. The Canis Lupus 38 sub species, including the domestic dog; scientifically known as “Canis Lupus Familiaris”. The C. L. Familiaris is known to be the closest to Canis Lupus despite its major differences in behavior as wolves are carnivorans who hunt in the wilderness, and the familiaris is a domestic dog.(Wikipedia). Although they have differences, they share 98% of their DNA making them able to interbreed. A dog the size of a wolf has the same average life expectancy which is 12 - 14 years in captivity. Along with that, they share similar body language at times, and both work well in packs.(SchertzAnimalHospital) Domestic dogs interact well with humans, and wolves interact well with their pack, and they share the same sort of protective instinct.
Adaptivity
Wolves have almost no body-heat loss when they are in the snow as they have adapted to living in the cold during the Pleistocene Epoch. Along with that, their thick coat of fur protects them
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from the cold. They also live and hunt in packs as they work together to take down their prey, but they hunt and kill only to eat and survive. They are known to walk large distances, such as 12 miles in a single day.(NationalGeographic).
_____Yash_____
Wolves are very dangerous carnivorans because they live in packs and they are very smart when they hunt. Although all animals have ways to train, a wolf has been known to be the largest member of the Canidae family, being a canine.
Citations:
● "Pleistocene Epoch: Facts About the Last Ice Age | Live Science." 29 Aug. 2017, https://www.livescience.com/40311-pleistocene-epoch.html. Accessed 30 May. 2020.
● "Evolution of the wolf - Wikipedia." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolution_of_the_wolf. Accessed 30 May. 2020.
● "Dogs and Wolves: More Different Than They are Alike?." https://schertzanimalhospital.com/blog/dogs-and-wolves/. Accessed 30 May. 2020.
● "Wolves Beat Dogs on Logic Test | Live Science." 3 Sep. 2009, https://www.livescience.com/5672-wolves-beat-dogs-logic-test.html. Accessed 30 May. 2020.
● "Wolf - Wikipedia." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolf. Accessed 30
May. 2020.
● "animals/mammals/g/gray-wolf - National Geographic." 8 Sep. 2006, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/g/gray-wolf/. Accessed 30 May. 2020.
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