Red wolf - description, habitat, lifestyle

The red wolf, otherwise called Himalayan or mountain, is a rather interesting animal. He is classified as a mammal, a member of the canine family. Predatory individuals differ from self-similar habits in the way they obtain food and breed. In this material, we will study all the information that affects them, so that you can make your own opinion.

Description

1. The animals presented are of large size. Individuals can be extended in length along the body up to 1 meter and even more. In this case, the tail size reaches half a meter, and the mass of the hull varies from 17 to 20 kg.
2. By external characteristics, individuals of the family under discussion are similar at the same time as jackals, foxes, and ordinary wolves. They differ from their relatives in pigmentation of the coat. The coat itself is elongated and fairly dense. The tail is long, can sink to the ground.
3. The muzzle is sharp in format and also elongated. Ears are located at an average distance between each other, they are rounded at the edges, look large, standing in format. As for color, it varies depending on the season of the year and age category. As a rule, individuals are pigmented in black at the end of the tail.
4. Young growth, which has not yet reached the age of three months, is painted in a dark brown tone. In winter, the coat is much thicker than in the warm season. It can be upright or hanging. In the summer it becomes coarse, becomes short, darkens. The tail is very fluffy, similar to a fox. In the vastness of our homeland there are more than 10 varieties of these wolves.

Lifestyle

1. Representatives of the family prefer to live in the mountains. They can rise up to 4 km above sea level. and even more. Mammals live almost the whole year in the Alps, as well as in the surrounding territories. They like the rocky terrain, which is equipped with gorges and hidden places.
2. Individuals are not located on the plains, try to bypass such places. In the process of mining, food can wander from one locality to another, overcoming obstacles and vast distances. Depart far from the permanent residence area. Quickly adapt to atypical landscapes, master even deserts and steppes.
3. When there is an excessive amount of snow in the mountain habitat, animals seek out artiodactyls and follow them. We are talking about mountain goats, argali, deer and roe deer. Predatory mammals stop in front of the mountains, after which they rest under the sun and wait for prey.
4. Representatives of the family are not characterized by a single mode of existence. They spend all their time with relatives. They go hunting together, sometimes a flock can consist of two dozen individuals or more. Sometimes in it more than one generation is intertwined. These animals do not show strong aggression in relation to self-similar, they live peacefully.
5. In the process of choosing a place to live, individuals are guided by security. Usually choose gorges, rocky mountains, caves and any covered areas. Hearing is well developed, which allows you to pick up the danger and eliminate it if necessary. Wolves leave their place in emergency situations, the rest of the time they guard the house.

Habitat

1. To a greater extent, individuals are common in Asia, located in its center and eastern part. They 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 appearance is completely excluded. Animals like steppe plots and highlands.
2. The considered individuals can inhabit quite diverse territories. Such animals are often found in alpine meadows and even in high mountain valleys. In such steppe places there is a sufficient amount of vegetation.
3. In addition, the presented wolves often appear in deciduous and cedar forests in the Far East. Also, animals were 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, animals have to roam in less snowy areas.

Diet

1. The presented individuals can be classified as the most common predatory animals. Regardless of the time of year, wild wolves feed on various animals that can only meet them on the way. However, the main menu of such animals includes wild ungulates, which are small in size.
2. It is noteworthy that in the warm season, the wolves discussed in sufficient quantity eat 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 animals with rhubarb. Often, adults at any opportunity even feed on carrion.
4. During the hunt, such predators often drive their prey into the water. In this environment, mining is very difficult to resist. Such accessibility is also enjoyed by wolves. It is noteworthy that before hunting such predators perform a rather interesting and complex ritual.
5. The rest of the considered individuals go hunting mainly in the daytime. In this case, wolves use various hunting methods. In the end, they still attack the prey in the classic way.
6. Often predators go hunting 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 hares. If the victim is large enough, then a whole flock goes 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 season in the animals in question begins in the autumn and lasts until the end of winter.
2. After mating, females continue to bear offspring for a little over 2 months. In one litter, there can be from 4 to 6 babies. Cases were recorded that at a time the female brought as many as 12 puppies! However, scientists suggested that such offspring were combined by 2 or 3 females.
3. As soon as young growth is born, it can already boast of a beautiful dark brown color. At this time, the kids are blind and helpless. After a fortnight, the wolf cubs begin to see and hear. Around the age of 3 months, they begin to emerge from the hole.

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

Video: red wolf (Cuon alpinus)