Life Span: 7-16 years
Average Adult Length: 50-65 in.
Average Tail Length: 11-18 in.
Hind Foot: 8-10 in.
Average Weight: 45-100 lbs.
Color: Usually a shade of gray, but can be black,
white, brown, or any variance in
between. (www.discoverlife.org/.../Canidae/Canis/lupus/)

Canis lupus comes from the domain Eukarya, the kingdom
 Animalia, the phylum Chordata which includes
 all chordates.  Its class is of Mammalia, which houses
 all mammals.  The order of Carnivora, which pertains to mammals
 that eat other mammals like cats, and bears.  The
Gray wolf is in the family of Canidae which includes
 all wolves and foxes.  Finally to the genus of Canis, all dogs,
 and the species of Canis lupus the Gray
 wolf (www.discoverlife.org/.../Canidae/Canis/lupus/).

The Gray wolf originated in the Western
 Hemisphere about 15 million years ago
 (Origins pg. 3).  The Gray wolf is the largest
 of three species of wolves.
  There are five subspecies:  Alaskan wolves, Artic
 wolves, Easter Timber wolves, Great Plains
 wolves, and Mexican wolves.
  They are on the Endangered Species list with efforts
 to bring the population up (www.californiawolfcenter.org).

A pack can range from two wolves to 36 with the average of
 six wolves.  There is a set of "alpha" parents that are the main
breeding pair.  The rest of the pack is made up of the last two
 to three litters and other subordinate wolves.  Most
 activities are initiated by the alpha pair, but any of the
wolves in the pack can initiate
 an activity (Leadership Behavior in relation to dominance and
 reproductive status in gray wolves, Canis lupus).