GRAY WOLF
Munson Creek Falls - Tillamook, Oregon
DID YOU KNOW?
That's one Big Dog!
Wolves are the biggest of the Canid group - out of wolves, jackals, foxes, coyotes, and domestic dogs. They have digitigrade feet, meaning they walk on their toes, which makes for some great running!
Coming Home
During reproduction and taking care of pups, the pack - usually consisting of 2-9 - have a den or rendezvous place to come to after hunting and raising their young. Pups are carried from site to site until they are old enough to do it on their own!
Like a little toddler who's fallen asleep and needs to be carried to bed (or if you were anything like me, pretending to be asleep so you didn't have to walk:)
Deaf and Blind
When pups are born, they are both deaf and blind. This causes a deference and need for their mothers guidance and teachings. Mother wolves are at a disadvantage during their gestation period, causing for a shorter term and not fully formed pups. Wolves have an immensely good sense of smell - 100x better than humans - and rely on that sense until sight and hearing come into play.
Social Creatures
Wolves are social creatures and howling is one of their ways of communicating. These howls can be heard from 5 miles away and are used as a way to assemble a pack and advise others that they are in their territory.
SPIRTUAL MEANING
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Strong Community
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Strength, Loyalty, and Freedom
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Wild Spirit - they are the ancestors of the domesticated dog and are a guide to finding our Wild again too
UNIQUE
Wolves are the great, great, great, great - okay you get it - grandparents of the now domesticated dog. This practice began almost 15,000 years ago, when humans began training the Wild out of wolves to have them be tame, well-behaved animals for them to have. This is a practice that's been used towards many other animals and even plants - horses, cows, sheep, corn, wheat, barley, etc.