You can listen to howling wolves all year round if you live near the woods.They stay active all year, don’t migrate to warmer places or hibernate in dens like most other animals. Wolves are tough animals that can easily tackle the cold.In winter, when most animals hibernate or migrate to warmer places, wolves howl and roam freely in search of prey. Wolves don’t fear cold or snow as they have wonderful features for retaining their body heat. Wolves live in packs and help each other in surviving harsh conditions. When wolves sleep, you will notice that they curl their body up like a ball. This is one way in which they keep their body warm. Moreover, when wolves sleep, they sleep near each other so that the whole clan can stay warm. In this article, we shall study in detail how wolves survive the cold, so keep reading!If you like reading this article, then also read our articles on whether wolves bark and whether wolves mate for life.Do wolves hibernate or migrate?Wolves neither hibernate nor migrate. Animals in colder regions hibernate during the winter season to escape the clutches of the cold, but wolves are definitely among these animals. Wolf species never migrate to warmer places during winter, but they sometimes go to lower elevations while searching for their prey.Wolves are among the animals that are specially made for places with lower temperatures. Animals commonly either migrate or hibernate during winter. Animals like bears, squirrels and bats go into hibernation during winter because, at that time, the climate conditions get worse and food scarcity emerges. In hibernation, animals sleep for a long time to escape the cold and rise again at the arrival of spring. The process of migration involves animals leaving their habitat and moving to different regions with warmer temperatures in order to escape the cold. Wolves fall in neither of these two categories. Wolves’ adaptive features are made in order to combat the cold. Wolf species have a thick fur coat that protects their bodies from the cold by preventing body heat loss. Wolves also live and hunt in packs, so they help each other to keep warm by huddling when they rest.Do Alaskan wolves hibernate?Alaskan wolves do not hibernate during winter. In fact, no wolf in this world hibernates during the winter. Wolves remain active all the time and guard their home territory. These animal species have amazing features that protect them from even the coldest nights.Wolves remain active during winter and keep searching for prey animals. Wolves have several features that help them travel through deep snow. The coolest feature that keeps these hunting animal species away from the cold is their double coat fur. A wolf’s fur has two layers, namely the lower layer (or the undercoat) and the upper layer (or the guard coat). The undercoat consists of small hairs that are so dense that they hardly let any heat escape, and the guard coat consists of long and hard hairs that keep moisture away from the undercoat and keep it dry. Over time, wolf species have developed tough feet that don’t freeze when walking or running on snow. Wolves don’t need to go into hibernation as they are made for cold regions. Instead, wolves suffer more when they visit warmer regions. Think for yourself, how would it feel to wear a thick jacket on a warm sunny day? This is the same thing that happens to wolves during the warmer months.When do wolves start to hibernate?Wolves never hibernate! Wolves remain active throughout the year and keep hunting on smaller animals. Wolves are clever predators who travel and hunt in packs. Hunting in packs makes it easier for them to find prey. Every pack has its territory.Wolves are social animals who live and roam in packs within their own territory. Each pack has an alpha male and female. They are like the bosses of the group. Wolf societies have strict rules that every member needs to follow. After hunting, the alpha male and female eat first, and after they are done, other members of the pack get permission to eat. During winter, wolves mostly hunt and eat elks, deer, bison and rabbits. Out of all the female wolves, only the luna wolf or the alpha female becomes pregnant. When she’s pregnant, other females in the group help and protect her.Do arctic wolves hibernate or migrate in cold weather?No wolf in this world hibernates during winter. Wolves can easily withstand low temperatures and do fine in colder regions. It is in colder regions where wolves feel relief, and they start to suffer when taken to warmer regions. Nature has given them a thick fur coat to conserve energy and keep them warm even in snow. However, Arctic wolves need to roam away from their habitat in order to find animals for hunting.Arctic wolves are also known as white wolves or polar wolves, and there are around 200,000 Arctic wolves present in this world. They are subspecies of the gray wolf, also known as the grey wolf, who are found across North America and Eurasia. They can be found sleeping in caves or open areas. During the winter season, Arctic wolves need to roam far from their territory in order to find food. Wolves never naturally migrate. It’s just that when all their prey move to different places, they need to follow them or else they won’t have anything to eat. This is the reason why Arctic wolves move to different places. Wolves are basically nocturnal and come out at night. They hunt mostly during the night and can be found sleeping during the day.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked reading about whether wolves hibernate, then why not take a look at these articles about small portable instruments or the smallest ocean?
You can listen to howling wolves all year round if you live near the woods.
