Wolves
Although wolf packs once roamed from theArctic tundra to Mexico, loss of habitat and extermination programs led totheir demise throughout most of the United States by early in the 1900s. In1973, the US Fish and Wildlife Service listed the northern Rocky Mountain wolf(Canislupus) as an endangered species and designated Greater Yellowstone as oneof three recovery areas. From 1995 to 1997, 41 wild wolves from Canada andnorthwest Montana were released in Yellow stone National Park. Asexpected,wolves from the growing population dispersed to establish territoriesoutside the park where they are less protected from human-caused mortalities.The park helps ensure the species’long-term viability in Greater Yellowstone and has provided a place forresearch on how wolves may affect many aspects of the ecosystem.

狼
虽然狼群曾经游荡在墨西哥的北极苔原，栖息地和灭绝计划损失导致他们灭亡的大多数的美国在20世纪初。1973，美国鱼类和野生动物服务上市的北落基山狼（加拿大）为濒危物种和指定的大黄石之一三恢复区。从1995到1997, 41只从加拿大和蒙大纳西北部的野生狼被释放在黄石国家公园。正如预期的那样，从不断增长的人口的狼分散建立领土以外的公园，他们不受人类造成的死亡率。该公园有助于确保该物种在大黄石地区的长期生存能力，并为研究狼如何影响生态系统的许多方面提供了一个场所。

Description
Wolves are highly social animals and live inpacks.Worldwide, pack size will depend on the size and abundance of prey. InYellow stone, average pack size is 10 individuals. The pack is a complex socialfamily,with older members (often the alpha male and alpha female) andsubordinates, each having individual personality traits and roles within thepack. Packs defend their territory from other, invading packs by howling andscent marking with urine. Wolves consume a wide variety of prey, large andsmall. They efficiently hunt large prey that other
predators cannot usually kill. In Yellowstone, 90% of their winter prey is elk; 10–15%of their summer prey is deer. They also kill bison.Many other animals benefitfrom wolf kills. For example, when wolves kill an elk, ravens arrive almost
immediately. Coyotes arrive soon after,waiting nearby until the wolves are sated. Bears will attempt to chase thewolves away, and are usually successful. Many other animals—from magpies to invertebrates—consume theremains.

描述
狼是群居动物，群居生活。在世界范围内，狼群的大小取决于猎物的大小和数量。在黄石地区，平均一群规模是10个。这个组织是一个复杂的社会家庭，年长的成员（通常是阿尔法男性和阿尔法女性）和下属，每个都有各自的个性特征和角色。用自己的领地来保卫自己的领地，用嚎叫和尿做气味标记。
狼捕食各种各样的猎物，大而小。它们有效地捕食其他食肉动物通常无法杀死的大猎物。在黄石地区，90%的冬季猎物是麋鹿，它们夏季猎物的10 - 15%是鹿。他们也杀死野牛，许多其他动物都从狼的捕猎中受益。例如，当狼杀死一只麋鹿时，乌鸦几乎立刻到达。狼很快到达后，直到附近有狼了。熊会试图把狼赶出去，而且通常是成功的。许多其他动物，从喜鹊到无脊椎动物都会消耗这些残骸。

德尔塔包的成员，2013年11月

QuickFacts
Number
• An estimated 528 wolves resided in the Greater YellowstoneEcosystem as of 2015.
• As of December 2016, there were at least 108 wolves in thepark.Eleven packs were noted.
• In general, wolf numbers have fluctuated between 83 and 108 wolvesfrom 2009 to 2016.
近期的消息
数量
•截至2015年底，估计有528只狼居住在黄石大生态系统中。
•截至2016年12月，公园内至少有108只狼，平均一群有十一只狼。
•一般来说，狼的数量在83到108只狼之间波动，从2009到2016。

Whereto see
• They inhabit most of the park, peak activity is at dawn and dusk.
• The northern range of Yellowstone is one of the best places in theworld to watch wolves.
分布
他们居住在公园的大部分地区，山顶活动在黎明和黄昏。
•黄石山脉北部是世界上最适合观看狼的地方之一。
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•截至2015年底，估计有528只狼居住在黄石大生态系统中。
•截至2016年12月，公园内至少有108只狼，平均一群有十一只狼。
•一般来说，狼的数量在83到108只狼之间波动，从2009到2016。

Sizeand Behavior
• 26–36 inches tall at the shoulder,4–6 feet long from nose to tail tip;males weigh 100–130 pounds,females weigh 80–110 pounds.
• Home range within the park is 185–310square miles (300–500 km2); varies with packsize,food availability, and season.
• Average lifespan in the park is 4–5 years.Average lifespan outside is 2–3 years. The oldest knownwolf to live here was 12.5 years.
• Two main color variations exist in Yellow stone in approximatelyequal proportions: black and gray.
• Prey primarily on hoofed animals. In Yellow stone, 90% of winterdiet is elk;summer prey consist of more deer and smaller mammals.
• Mate in February; give birth to average of five pups in April aftera gestation period of 63 days; young emerge from den at 10–14 days;pack remains at the den for 3–10weeks unless disturbed.
• Leading cause of death for wolves within the park is death by otherwolves; leading cause of death for wolves outside the park is human caused
体型大小和行为
•26 - 36英寸高的肩膀，4 - 6英尺长，从鼻子到尾尖；男性体重100 - 130磅，女性体重80 - 110磅。
•公园内动物的活动范围是185–310平方英里（300–500 平方公里）；随群体规模、粮食供应和季节而变化。
•在公园平均寿命是4 - 5年。在外面平均寿命为2 - 3年。住在这里的最老的狼是12.5岁。
•黄石中的两种主要颜色变化以大致相等的比例存在：黑色和灰色。
•主要捕食有蹄动物。在黄石地区，90%的冬季食物是麋鹿；夏季猎物由更多的鹿和较小的哺乳动物组成。
•二月交配；在怀孕63天后，在四月产下五只幼崽；幼崽在10到14天内从巢穴中出来；除非受到干扰，它们将在巢穴里呆3到10周。
•公园内狼的主要死亡原因是其他狼的死亡；公园外狼的主要死亡原因是人为造成的。

Changesin Their Prey
From1995 to 2000, in early winter, elk calves comprised 50% of wolf prey and bullelk comprised 25%. That ratio reversed from 2001 to 2007, indicating changes inprey vulnerability and availability.The discovery of this change emphasizes theimportance of long-term monitoring to understand predator-prey dynamics.Changes in wolf predation patterns and impacts on prey species like elk areinextricably linked to other factors such as other predators, management of ungulates outsidethe park, and weather (e.g. drought, winter severity). Weather patternsinfluence forage quality and availability,ultimately impacting elk nutritionalcondition.Consequently, changes in prey selection and kill rates through timeresult from complex interactions among these factors. Current NPS researchfocusses on the relative factors driving wolf predation over the last twodecades.
猎物的变化
从1995到2000，在初冬，麋鹿牛犊占别狼捕食的猎物的50%，公牛麋鹿占25%。这个比例从2001逆转到2007，表明猎物的脆弱性和可用性的变化。发现这一变化强调了长期监测了解捕食者——猎物动态的重要性。在狼捕食模式的变化和对猎物物种的影响,麋鹿和其他食肉动物、公园外有蹄类动物的管理以及气候（如干旱，冬季的严重程度）等因素有着千丝万缕的联系。气候模式影响牧草的质量和可用性，最终影响麋鹿的健康状况，因此，这些因素之间复杂的相互作用引起了猎物的选择和时间的变化。目前的NPS研究在过去二十年集中于驱使狼捕食的相关因素

哇！让我学到了好多单词

Population
In the first years following wolf restoration, the population grew rapidly as the newly formed packs spread out to establish territories with sufficient prey.The wolves have expanded their population and range, and now are found throughout the Greater Yellow stone Ecosystem.Disease periodically kills a number of pups and old adults. Outbreaks of canine distemper have occurred in 2005, 2008 and 2009. In 2005, distemper killed twothirds of the pups within the park. Infectious canine hepatitis, canine parvovirus, and bordetella have also have been confirmed among Yellowstone wolves, but their effect on mortality is unknown. Sarcoptic mange, an infection caused by the mite(Sarcoptes scabiei), reached epidemic proportions among wolves on the northern range in 2009. The mite is primarily transmitted through direct contact and burrows into the wolf’s skin. This process can initiate an extreme allergic reaction and cause the wolf to scratch the infected areas, which often results in hair loss and secondary infections. By the end of 2011, the epidemic had mostly subsided; however,the infection is still currently present at lower prevalences throughout the park.Wolf packs are highly territorial and communicate with neighboring packs by scent-marking and howling.Occasionally packs encounter each other and these interactions are typically aggressive. Larger packs often defeat smaller groups, unless the small group has more old adult or adult male members.Sixty-five percent of collared wolves are ultimately killed by rival packs.
The park’s wolf population has declined substantially since 2007, when the count was 171. Most of the decrease has been in packs on the northern range, where it has been attributed primarily to the decline in the elk population and available territory. Canine distemper and sarcoptic mange have also been factors in the population decline. Each year, park researchers capture a small proportion
of wolves and fit them with radio tracking collars. These collars enable researchers to gather data on an individual, and also monitor the population as
a whole to see how wolves are affecting other animals and plants within the park. Typically, at the end of each year, only 20% of the population is collared. Wolves in the Northern Rocky Mountains have met the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s criteria for a recovered wolf population since 2002. As of December 2015, the US Fish & Wildlife Service estimated about 1,704 wolves and 95 breeding pairs
in the Northern Rocky Mountain Distinct Population Segment. The gray wolf was removed from the endangered species list in 2011 in Idaho and Montana but is currently protected as endangered species in the state of Wyoming. Wolves are hunted in Idaho and Montana under state hunting regulations.
种群
在狼恢复之后的最初几年里，由于新形成的狼群散布在有足够猎物的领土上，种群迅速增长，狼群扩大了它们的数量和范围，现在在黄石生态系统中被发现，疾病周期性地杀死一些幼崽和老狼。2005, 2008和2009发生了犬瘟热暴发。在2005年犬瘟热杀死幼崽的2/3在公园。犬传染性肝炎、犬细小病毒、波氏在黄石狼群中也已被证实，但其对死亡率的影响是未知的。兽疥癣，螨虫引起的感染（疥螨），在2009年，在北方范围内的狼之间达到了流行病的比例。螨虫主要通过直接接触传播，并钻入狼的皮肤。这个过程可以引发极端的过敏反应，使狼抓伤感染的区域，这往往导致脱发和继发感染。2011年底，疫情已经大部分消失；然而，感染仍然是目前存在的较低的流行率存在在整个公园。狼群具有高度的地域性，通过气味标记和嚎叫与邻近的包装进行通讯。偶尔集体相遇，这些相互作用通常是积极的。较大的集体经常打败的小集体，除非小集体有更多的中年狼或成年雄性成员，百分之六十五的头狼最终被竞争对手杀死。
该公园的狼数量自2007以来大幅度下降，当时统计数字为171。大部分的减少是在北部的范围内，在那里它主要是由于麋鹿种群和现有领土的减少而造成的。犬瘟热和疥螨也已在种群下降的因素。每年，公园人员捕获一小部分狼和适合他们的无线电追踪项圈。这些项圈使研究人员能够收集个人数据，并监测狼群。
整体来看狼是如何影响公园内其他动植物的。通常，在每年年底，只有20%的狼是带上项圈的。自2002年以来，洛基山脉北部的狼群已经满足了美国鱼类及野生动植物管理局的标准。截至2015年12月，美国鱼类及野生动植物管理局局估计有1704只狼和95对狼繁殖。
在洛基山脉北部独特的人口段。灰狼于2011在爱达荷州和蒙大纳被从濒危物种名单中移除，但目前在怀俄明州作为濒危物种被保护。根据国家狩猎条例，爱达荷州和蒙大纳能猎杀狼。