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Northern Lights Wildlife - Wildlife terms Category: Animals and Nature Date & country: 02/12/2013, USA Words: 159

habitat
the type of environment in which a plant or animal usually lives. Forest, deserts, and lakes are examples of habitats.

genus
part of the classification system used to identify plants and animals. Wolves are of the genus Canis, along with domestic dogs. A genus is a subgroup of a family.

gene
determines the characteristics (such as eye color and height) of living things.

Forest Service
the branch of the United States government which controls public lands in the national forest system.

game animal
legal name for animals that may be regulated and hunted under regulations and laws.

food web
an interlocking pattern of food chains. For instance, a green plant, a leaf-eating insect, and an insect-eating bird would represent a simple food chain.

food-begging
a behavior which pups and subordinate wolves use to get food from dominant members of the pack. The pup or subordinate lowers its body posture and licks around the muzzle of the wolf with the food. It may even whine. Sometimes, the dominant wolf can be enticed to give up some food to the subordinate. Pups induce the adults to give them food by this behavior. Pups also induce the adults to regurgitate food by engaging in food begging.

fertilization
the beginning of a pregnancy; when a sperm fertilizes an egg.

fiction
something invented; a literary work whose content is based on the imagination and not necessarily on fact. Fictional stories are ones with imaginary stories and characters.

food chain
the transfer of food energy from one organism to another as each consumes a lower member and in turn is preyed upon by a higher member.

feral
domesticated animals that have gone wild; e.g., wild burros, goats, cats, dogs. There is an important distinction between, for example, a feral dog and a wild dog. Sometimes livestock depredations are blamed on wolves when, in fact, the killing was done by a feral dog or a hybrid.

family
part of the classification system scientists use to identify plants and animals. Wolves are in the family Canidae, along with coyotes, foxes, and domestic dogs. A family is a subgroup of an order.

extirpate
to exterminate or wholly destroy a species in an area. fact

extinct
no longer in existence. An animal or plant facing extinction is one in danger of vanishing forever from our world

exaggerated looking away
a behavior to get other animals to play - a pre-play response. A wolf approaches another wolf with ears partially flattened and lips retracted. Then the wolf suddenly jerks its head around as if to look over its shoulder.

environment
the external conditions, including sun, air, water, soil, and plants that make up an area where an animal lives.

estrus
the period in which a female is ready to breed.

encounter
when a wolf meets its prey. Much has been learned about how wolves select a specific prey animal; much is still a mystery. Wolves are opportunistic; that is they look for opportunities to get a meal at the least amount of risk to themselves. This means they usually select vulnerable animals - usually the weak or the young. No one is really sure how a wolf detects weakness in a prey animal. Sometimes it is obvious, if the animal is lame, for example. Often, however, weakness is not obvious to a human observer. Wolves pick up cues that are too subtle for humans to discern.

ecosystem
natural unit or area defined not only by its physical characteristics but by the complex links and relationships between the plants and animals that live there. It is important to remember that ecosystems are not static. Rather, they are dynamic, meaning that they are always undergoing change and alteration in response to many factors.

ecology
the science of the relationships between plants, animals and the environment.

ecologist
a scientist who studies the interrelationship of living things to one another and to their environment.

digitigrade
walking so that the toes touch the ground and the heel is raised. Some animals that use this form of locomotion include wolves, deer, horses and cats.

documentary
A television or film presentation of factual events usually accompanied by the explanation of a narrator.

domesticated
refers to animals that people have tamed, kept in captivity and used for special purposes for many generations. Domesticated animals have lived among people for a sufficient number of generations to have adapted to humans and to human environments.

dominant
one animal having a higher position or status than another. Alpha wolves are dominant to all other animals in the pack.

depredation
refers to the damage done by wildlife to people's crops and animals. Livestock depredation by wolves means the killing of cattle or sheep.

den
the shelter wolves use to give birth and to raise their pups, usually a hole dug in earth.

delisting
removing a plant or animal from the endangered species list when it is no longer in danger of extinction.

data
the factual information used as a basis for reasoning, discussion or calculation.

consummatory face
this expression is observed when wolves are involved in activities such as urinating or rolling around in a strange odor. Ears are partially flattened, and the eyes are either partially or totally closed. If they are open, the wolves tend to be staring off into space as if in a daydream.

courtship
the behaviors animals use to attract a mate.

carrying capacity
the total number of a species that a given area of a habitat will support at any given time; the ability of a given area to supply water, food and shelter to a species.

class
part of the classification system scientists use to help identify plants and animals. Wolves are in the class Mammalia. Other classes include birds, reptiles, amphibian and fish.

conservation
protection of natural resources from loss, waste, or harm; the wise and intelligent use of natural resources so that they will be available for future generations.

consumer
in an ecosystem, this is an organism that feeds on other organisms. An herbivore is a primary consumer because it gets its food directly from plants. Carnivores are secondary consumers because they get their nutrition from eating herbivores!

Canis rufus
the scientific name for the red wolf.

captive breeding
breeding animals in such places as zoos. Captive breeding is a tool used to save critically endangered species such as the Mexican wolf. These captive populations are often used for reintroduction in many areas. The wolves that were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park and to Central Idaho in 1995 were wild wolves, captured and brought to the U. S. from Canada.

carnivore
an animal that eats meat.

canines
the sharp, pointed teeth (fangs) that carnivores use to pierce and tear the flesh of their prey.

Canis lupus
the scientific name for the gray wolf.

Canis lupus familiaris
the scientific name for the domestic dog.

breed
to reproduce; produce offspring.

buffer zone
an area between territories that are occupied by established packs. Prey species often flourish in these buffer zones. Wolves that have dispersed and who are alone often find relative safety and food in buffer zones with less risk of being attacked and killed by members of established packs. Buffer zones are, however, not necessarily neutral area and therefore safe havens. These zones are contested by resident packs, and supremacy shifts back and forth.

cache
n. a hiding place used for storing food if there is an abundance of meat from a kill; v. to store or hide

bite-intention signal
similar to the agonistic tooth snapping. The wolf will snap at the air when play becomes too intense as a means of increasing social distance.

bounty
a payment or other reward for removing certain species of animals designated as harmful. In the past, bounties were paid to people who killed wolves, thus helping to extirpate them from most of the lower 48 states. Use of bounties still exists in parts of the world.

biologist
a person who studies living organisms, life processes and/or the animal and plant life of a particular place. Biologists also study the relationship of living things to one another.

beta
the second-ranking animal in the pack.

big game (large game)
term used to designate larger species that are hunted. Examples

behavior
what an animal does; its reactions or actions under specific conditions.

backcountry
land remote from human development.

anthropomorphism
the act of giving human characteristics, behavior, feelings, and/or motivations to animals or objects. Animals are frequently anthropomorphized in literature and in movies.

allele
alternative genes for a particular trait. For example, there are alleles for blue eyes and different alleles for brown eyes.

alpha
the top-ranking or most dominant animal in the pack. In wolf packs there is usually an alpha male and an alpha female.

agonistic pucker
the horizontal contraction of the lips showing aggression.

agonistic tooth snapping
usually a warning for other wolves to keep their distance. This behavior involves the ears being alternately flat and then erect, the lips being retracted and the teeth being bared accompanied by yelps and growls.

aesthetic
relating to or dealing with something beautiful or pleasing to the senses. An aesthetic value relates to the value placed on beauty.

active submission
when one animal actively or intentionally acknowledges another pack member's higher status (as opposed to being forced to submit by a higher-ranking individual). The animal does this by wagging its tail rapidly and in low position and by lowering its ears and placing its body at a lower level than the higher-ranking animal.

adaptation
a change in an animal's behavior or body that allows it to live better in its surroundings. Some adaptations in wolves include having large feet with toes that spread which enable the animals to walk on snow and ice. Mexican wolves have large ears, an adaptation to help them regulate their body temperature in the extreme heat and cold of their Southwest habitat. The wolf's foot is also a marvelous example of adaptation. The large compact foot enables the wolf to travel long distances.