Predation
Wolves are extraordinary predators that play an important part in healthy, thriving ecosystems. They are called apex predators, which means they are at the top of the food web. Other competing predators on the landscape are cougars, coyotes, bears, and humans. In nature, there is a place for both predator and prey. Although their relative numbers fluctuate, together they can maintain the balance necessary for their survival if given the opportunity to do so naturally.
Predator-Prey relationships
Wolves primarily hunt prey that are weak, sick, or elderly, which leaves the stronger and healthier animals on the landscape to survive and produce viable young. Hunting in this manner helps improve the overall health of the prey population and has succeeded for thousands of years.​
A predator’s life is not an easy one. Almost every time they are hungry, wolves must find and bring down prey larger than them. Each predator has its own tools and hunting strategies; wolves use their incredible sense of smell combined with their excellent hearing abilities to find their prey. Wolves chase and test their prey, looking for the animals they can kill most easily to decrease chances of injury. Large ungulates like deer, moose, elk, and caribou are usually the primary food sources for wolves, but they will also eat smaller animals like beavers, rabbits, mice, ground squirrels, fish, mussels, and other marine life.​​
hunters & scavengers
One strategy that a wolf family uses to hunt large game is separating out and surrounding their prey. Wolves typically bite the shoulders and flanks of their prey, and while some family members approach the prey from the rear, others seize the prey by the nose.
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Hunting can be dangerous for a wolf. The antlers and the hooves of a large animal like a bison, elk, or deer can injure or kill an attacking wolf. In general, wolves have a low success rate as hunters with only 1-in-10 hunting attempts usually being successful.
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Wolves are built for a feast or famine diet and can “wolf” down up to 20% of their body weight in one feeding. If wolves do not finish what they have killed, their leftovers will feed scavengers, such as foxes, coyotes, and ravens.​​​
