What do you already know about the beautiful animals known as Arctic Wolves?

One
thing is for sure that wolves are very well known for their majestic howls. But a few know about
the adaptions these beautiful animals have. Adaptions are special properties that an animal gain
in order to survive in a certain environment. Wolves are now an endangered species, so they
have these certain adaptions to help them survive in their environment. The Arctic wolf is a
certain type of wolf that is found in more of the far-north region.
First off, one adaption arctic wolves have is fur color change. In the article “Snow Day! 8
Surprisingly Snow-Loving Animals” by Liz Langley states “This far-north subspecies of the gray
wolf turns white in the winter as camouflage, so it doesn’t become a polar bear’s lunch” (Liz
Langley). This adaption is useful for many things. The most common thing is said in the quote, it
camouflage’s them so they are able to hide from predator’s. Another useful thing about this
adaption is it makes moving in the snow easier because they are harder to spot this way. The last
useful thing is that it doesn’t only protect them from other animal predators it protects them from
any hunters. My theory is that hunters go hunting for wolves in colder weather because the gray
would stand out but with this adaption, it makes it harder to hunt them. That is the first common
adaption.
The second adaption these arctic wolves have is their special layers of fur. In the source
“Arctic Wolf” by WolfWorlds it says “Due to the extreme cold where the Arctic Wolf lives, they
have two thick layers of fur. The outer layer actually gets thicker as the winter months come
along. Their first layer helps to form a waterproof barrier for the skin. As a result, their body
temperature can stay warm enough even when it is bitter cold” (WolfWorlds). Basically, this
quote explains both the two thick layers of fur these arctic wolves have. These two layers are
necessary for the survival of these incredible species of wolves. Not only does it keep these
wolves warmer longer it protects them from the harsh weather they have in their environment.
Without this adaption the wolves would not be able to survive in the environment they live in.
The third adaption an arctic wolf has is their small ear size. In the article “Arctic wolf
facts and adaptions” by Cool Antarctica it says “Small ears to reduce their surface area to volume
ratio” (Cool Antarctica). When you reduce your surface area it is easy to stay warmer longer. So
by adapting to their cold environment, they have smaller ears so their surface area goes down
and they are able to stay warm longer. Another quote that explains this is “Compared to other the
grey wolf and other subspecies, arctic wolves have proportionally smaller ears. This means that
there is less surface area to lose heat from compared to the larger ears of their more southern
cousins” (Cool Antarctica). This quote explains how having this adaption helps them much more
with being able to stay warm.
Fourth of all, this species of wolves have something we call “Foot heat exchanger”. In the
reading, by Anne Margolis, it states ”Each of a wolf’s toes is surrounded by stiff, bristly hairs
that aid in both insulation and traction”(Anne Margolis). This quote is explaining how the hairs
around arctic wolves paws act as insulation and traction. This helps because insulation “is the
process of keeping heat, sound, or electricity from spreading” (vocabulary.com) and since they
act as an insulator they kept the coldness from spreading through their body. Another thing the
reading states is “Wolves also have special blood vessels that keep footpads just above the
freezing point, preventing buildup of ice and snow” (Anne Margolis). This quote explains that
the adaption helps keep the wolves warm. It also says that it prevents buildup of ice and snow,
which means it also makes it easier for wolves to be able to run through the snow, which
explains their speed in the snowy and icy environment.
The final adaption is the wolves having pack territories. Them having these territories
doesn’t seem like much of an adaption but it is. In the extreme cold weather, the arctic wolves
live in food source is limited and so they have found ways of being able to hunt and get the food
they need in order to survive. An example of this is the article “Arctic wolf facts and adaptions”
by Cool Antarctica it states that “They will form groups of 2 to about 20 individuals or become
solo for a time depending on the amount and kind of prey available to them” (Cool Antarctica).
This quote explains how they form packs of only 20 so there is enough food for all in the pack.
Also when hunting in small packs it makes it easier for wolves to be able to get enough food and
for them to stay together. The last thing about having these territories is if the food source is in
one pack's territory only that pack is allowed to have it.
In conclusion, arctic wolves have many different adaptions. There is on for their warmth,
on for their speed, one for their protection, and one for their food source. They all have one thing
in common, they are all for the survival of these beautiful, yet strong animals. Adaptions are a
great thing that all animals have. And all animals have many of them just to secure their survival.
Can these adaptions actually cause harm to these wolves?