Wolf

A Euthoran wolf.

Appearance

Euthanize wolves closely resemble their namesakes found on Earth, but are considerably leaner and longer, and slightly taller. A fully grown male can reach up to ten feet in length, and nearly three and a half feet tall to the shoulder. Average weight tends to be around 100 to 1208 pounds, making it a large animal, though not as large as the Lupine. Wolves have vulpine tails and bright, though not luminous, eyes, and blunter snouts than those of their winged cousins. Their paws are large with non retractable nails that act as cleats in snowy or rocky areas, and their long legs and lean frame make for a powerful running build. Fur color generally ranges from white, to various shades of gray, to black, but rare individuals have been observed with brown or rust-red fur.

Evolution

The Euthoran wolf is believed to have been split off from early specimens of the Lupine, losing its wings and developing not only its pack tendency, but a build more suited to endurance running rather than the speed of the Lupine. To compensate for the decrease in size, the species began to form packs; to compensate for the resulting decrease in food supply, the species' intelligence was lowered to focus less on brain activity and more on suitability. Also resulting from this was its shorter lifespan and quicker maturation

Territory

Wolves have quite large territories to accommodate for pack life, though lone wolves usually live in the areas between established territories. These territories are larger than one would believe the pack needs to survive, but are usually away from human habitation. While living primarily in forests, wolves have been observed in grasslands, mountains, and even marshes.

Physiology

Euthoran wolves live for about 30 years and reach full maturity at 5 years old. They can run at a constant 10 miles per hour, and can run in short bursts (30 seconds to two minutes) at 45 miles per hour. Despite a lower intelligence, wolves are still very smart animals and have been known to reason past obstacles and coordinate with each other with a complex array of barks and other noises, in order to bring down more formidable prey. Average biting capacity has been observed to linger around 1,200 pounds per square inch.

Behavior

Wolves are pack hunters, eating exclusively meat. They live in packs of up to 20, though they may be found in packs as few as 5. They are highly intelligent, social animals, taking care of the alphas' pups as a collective whole. Due to their intelligence and tendency to bond as pups, humans living near wolves often capture young pups and raise them as hunters or guards. Perhaps in response to this, adult wolves in the wild carry a wary suspicion for humans. Lone wolves are common, despite the pack instinct, and only live a few years shorter than wolves in packs. This may have to do with not having to share food or fight for dominance until the lone wolf attempts to join an existing pack.

Wolves primarily associate with their own species, but have been known to interact with the Euthoran raven, shapeshifters, and on rare occasion the Lupynn. Wolves are built for a life on the move and as such travel long distances in search of prey. Unlike Terran wolves, Euthoran wolves may climb trees to escape their own predators or ambush prey.

Abilities

The Euthoran wolf has extremely keen senses of smell and hearing, is quite intelligent for a nonsapient animal, and can run for hours on end, but is not known to have any other abilities.

Trivia

• The Euthoran wolf is completely unrelated to the Terran wolf, despite their similar traits.