The Arctic Wolf

St. Lawrence Central High
St. Lawrence, Newfoundland

By: Shamina and Holly(Grade 8)

The majestic arctic wolf lives in the silent vastness of the barren polar region, where darkness cloaks the land for up to five months a year. Here it hunts almost every other living animal.

It is able to tolerate years of sub-zero temperatures, months of darkness and weeks without food. The arctic wolf lives in one of the few places on earth where it is safe from the greatest threat of all - man. Arctic wolves inhabit some of the most inhospitable terrain in the world. In April, the air temperature barely raises above -22 degrees F. The ground is permanently frozen. The arctic wolf is one of the few mammals that can tolerate these conditions.

The wolf preys on lemmings and arctic hare, but it's most substantial source of food are musk ox and caribou. Because of the scarcity of grazing plants, animals must roam a large area in order to find enough food to survive. Consequently, the wolf pack has to travel over areas of up to 800 square miles in search of it's prey. When temperatures plummet, the wolves may follow migrating caribou south.