| The sun hangs leaden in the sky over the frozen | | | | extinction due to their encounters with man. There |
| tundra of the high arctic. Flat expanses of land are | | | | are few differences between the arctic and gray |
| dotted with low-growing shrubs dusted with frost. | | | | wolf subspecies. The white wolf is slightly shorter, |
| From the south a herd of musk oxen loiter along, | | | | standing 25-31 inches high at the shoulder. But they |
| digging away the icy surface of the ground to reach | | | | are bulkier; an adult male can weigh up to 175 pounds. |
| nutritious lichen and ground plants, oblivious as eight | | | | Smaller, rounded ears and thicker fur are physical |
| stealthy white figures move in around them. As the | | | | adaptations that have allowed the arctic wolf to |
| wolves get closer, the herd snaps into action, forming | | | | weather its inhospitable terrain. |
| into two rings, with younger calves in the middle | | | | To survive, wolves live in small packs of 7-10. The |
| protected by the adults facing outward. The circle | | | | family group consists of a breeding pair (the alpha |
| would be impossible for one wolf to penetrate, so | | | | male and female), their pups, and their unmated |
| the pack must work as a team. Back and forth race | | | | offspring from prior seasons. A strong hierarchy |
| the wolves, snapping at the legs of creatures five | | | | exists within packs, and the dominant animals will |
| times their weight. Standing shoulder to shoulder, the | | | | force inferiors to cringe or lie on their backs to show |
| musk oxen hold their ground, using their massive | | | | respect. Lesser wolves hold their tails at a lesser |
| horns and hard skulls to throw off the charging | | | | angle than the dominant male. Males reach maturity |
| wolves. The wolves tear from one side to the other, | | | | at 3 years old, but they may strike out on their own |
| shifting the disoriented herd, until one infiltrates the | | | | anytime after their first year. Lone wolves are at |
| circle. The herd scatters as wolves give chase. The | | | | great peril, and they will avoid contact with other |
| race does not last long, for musk oxen overheat and | | | | wolves unless it’s a potential mate. Then the |
| tire easily, unlike wolves which are able to maintain | | | | male will find and claim an unoccupied territory, |
| high speeds over much longer pursuits. A weakened | | | | marking it with its scent. |
| musk ox falls back from the herd, and the wolves | | | | Wolf territories are vast (as large as 800-1,000 |
| focus in on it. The largest of the pack, the alpha | | | | square miles), as they must roam areas large enough |
| male, leaps and grasps its victim’s neck in a | | | | to supply the amount of food needed by a pack. |
| desperate hold. The mighty animal collapses in a heap. | | | | Their primary food source is musk oxen, caribou, and |
| Statistically, only one in ten wolf attacks are | | | | smaller mammals such as lemmings and hares, but |
| successful, and it has been several days since the | | | | wolves will eat anything they can catch. They may |
| pack has obtained such a large kill. They will each eat | | | | follow migrating caribou south in the summer. Arctic |
| up to 20 pounds of meat at this meal, leaving nothing | | | | wolves are found all along along the northern edge of |
| of the animal behind, neither bones nor fur. A few | | | | the North American continent, and along the eastern |
| miles away the alpha female cares for her month-old | | | | and northern shores of Greenland. They are |
| cubs, waiting for the herd to bring back food. The | | | | sometimes confused with another distant cousin, the |
| pack shares in the responsibility, even regurgitating | | | | tundra wolf, of northern Europe. |
| meat for the cubs to eat. | | | | Wolves may be the most misunderstood and |
| Arctic wolves, also known as polars and whites, have | | | | maligned animal in the world, due to their elusiveness |
| thrived in the high arctic for thousands of years, one | | | | and to superstitions stretching back to prehistory. |
| of the few mammals able to tolerate the sub-zero | | | | However, their pack structure, hunting methods, and |
| temperatures and five months of darkness. Indeed, | | | | general curious and friendly natures suggest that wolf |
| they have been more successful than their gray | | | | and man may have more in common than was ever |
| cousins to the south, who have barely escaped | | | | imagined. |