Here the alpha female of Yellowstone's Canyon pack feeds on an elk carcass provided by her pack. The gray wolf (Canis lupus) generally specializes in vulnerable individuals of large prey. Animals preferred as prey by Yellowstone's wolves include moose, white-tailed deer, elk, mule deer, bighorn sheep, and bison.
Although wolves primarily feed on medium to large sized ungulates, they are not fussy eaters. Smaller sized animals that may supplement the diet of wolves include marmots,...
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Here the alpha female of Yellowstone's Canyon pack feeds on an elk carcass provided by her pack. The gray wolf (Canis lupus) generally specializes in vulnerable individuals of large prey. Animals preferred as prey by Yellowstone's wolves include moose, white-tailed deer, elk, mule deer, bighorn sheep, and bison.
Although wolves primarily feed on medium to large sized ungulates, they are not fussy eaters. Smaller sized animals that may supplement the diet of wolves include marmots, hares, badgers, foxes, weasels, ground squirrels, mice, hamsters, voles and other rodents, as well as insectivores. They frequently eat waterfowl and their eggs. When such foods are insufficient, they will prey on lizards, snakes, frogs, rarely toads and large insects as available. In times of scarcity, wolves will readily eat carrion visiting grizzly kill sites.
Wolves will supplement their diet with fruit and vegetable matter: they willingly eat the berries of mountain ash, lily of the valley, bilberries, blueberries and cowberry. Wolves can survive without food for long periods: two weeks without food will not weaken a wolf's muscle activity. A well fed wolf will store fat under the skin, around the heart, intestines, kidneys, and bone marrow, particularly during the autumn and winter. Digestion only takes a few hours, thus wolves can feed several times in one day, making quick use of large quantities of meat.
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