A Puppy For Valentine's Day?

As much as I would love a puppy for Valentine's Day, my living situation doesn't allow for that right now.  So I'm going to do the next best thing, discuss their relatives.  Today we will get back to regular biomimicry posts with Wolves.  Wolf packs consist of an alpha mated pair, their offspring, and some occasional stray juveniles.  In low population areas the mated pair can be monogamous for life.  making it one of the few animal species that exhibit monogamy.

Wolves have five toes on front paws and four toes on rear paws.  Their legs are built with elbows pointed in and feet pointed out.  This is for optimal running and gripping on difficult terrain, while also allowing them to leap and grasp prey.  In cold climates wolves can the flow of blood close to their skin to conserve body heat.  This keeps warm blood close to internal organs and away form outside of their body where heat is loss.  Keeping warm is one of the body's most difficult tasks and burns lots of calories.  By cutting down on heat loss the wolf doesn't need to eat massive amounts of food.  It is the same reason why people in freezing temperatures have to eat more calories per day to maintain body weight. Their foot pads are regulated independently from the rest of their body.  their temperature is kept right about tissue freezing point.

Wolves howl to assemble the pack, alert the pack of danger, or locate each other during storms.  Wolves have superior hearing being able to hear up to 26kHz which is superior to all other members of the canine family.  Their sense of smell is considerably less powerful that many domestic dogs.  Their eyesight is also less powerful than many domestic dog breeds but they have better night vision.  Wolves will set up ambushes, with a single decoy wolf running ahead while the rest of the pack attacks from behind.  Wolves will eat the internal organs first, followed by the muscles second.  Wolves prefer larger prey but will eat fowls during mating season and even snakes and lizards if made available. 

Hope everybody has a Valentines  Day is filled with love and if you don't have that special someone kiss your puppy or cat, I know I have many years and never came away disappointed.

That's it for now,
Cass