Have you ever heard a 4-week old wolf cub taking his first few howls? This amazing, although very loud, video was able to catch these rare beginner yowls! Even at such a young age, this cub’s cries will definitely capture your attention.
Wolf Pack.
Wolves live in family groups called packs. The pack generally consists of the male and female parents, pups from the last few years, and other family members such as siblings, aunts, or orphans that have joined them. A normal litter of wolf pups is 5-6.
This pup, at only 4 weeks of age, is too young to be weaned and out on his own.
Wolf pups
It is at around this age, 4 weeks, the pups may start to wander outside of their den and start practicing howling, as you can see and hear this little pup doing in this video.
His mother may have gone off on a short hunting trip to gather food for him and his pup siblings. At this age, the parents will begin bringing their catches back to the den where they will regurgitate them and feed their pups.
Trail cams.
The video of this 4-week wolf cub beginning its howling was captured by a trail cam in Voyageurs National Park in northern Minnesota.
The Voyageurs Wolf Project, according to their Facebook page, is a foundation that specializes in studying wolves and their prey in and around the National Park.
Minnesota’s wolf population.
The Grey Wolf, or Timber Wolf, was an endangered species in the United States for quite some time. At one time the population of these regal animals was estimated to be at 500 — all of them in Minnesota!
Endangered animals.
So what could cause an apex predator’s numbers to drop so low that they almost go extinct? Since these animals don’t have many natural predators, the cause is probably humans. Since timber wolves only live in wild regions, it is becoming more and more difficult for them to survive as humans are developing these territories.
Wolves beware!
Sadly, wolves are the most hunted animal in all of the United States’s National Parks. Wolves are seen as dangerous by most humans, so they are hunted down mercilessly. Not only are they hunted, but often poisoned too. Humans are so afraid of these animals that they almost caused them to go extinct.
Wolves are apex predators.
Timberwolves are carnivores at the top of the food chain. Their favorite prey is large, hoofed mammals, such as deer, elk, bison, and moose. A wolf will also hunt smaller animals such as beavers, rodents, and hares.
And these wolves don’t eat small meals. A single wolf can eat up to 20 pounds of meat in a single meal. The ferocious appetites of these wolves are what makes humans fear them so much.
Cries of distress.
The howls of this adorable baby wolf can make you cringe with just how high-pitched they are. Could these howls be more than just practicing howling? This cub may have wandered further from the den than before because he was feeling wild and free.
Then, he may have realized he was lost and howling to get one of his parent’s attention. At the very end of the video, he seems to recognize something.
Check out this video to watch and listen to him!
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