Gray wolf Facts for Kids

Canis lupus · KAY-nis LOO-pus

A wild cousin of the dog that lives and travels in a pack.

🏃 35 mph56 km/h1
⚖️ 90 to 110 lb41 to 50 kg1
📏 5.9 ft1.8 m1 long
🎂 4 to 5 years4 to 5 years1
🍽️ meat
Doing fine (Least Concern)

Wolves live in family groups called packs. They howl to talk to each other. Pet dogs came from wolves long ago.

A wolf pack is usually a family: a mother, a father and their pups from the last few years. They howl to call the pack together and to tell other packs where they are. Wolves can travel a long way in a day looking for food.

Gray wolves are the largest wild members of the dog family. In a pack, everyone helps raise the pups, bringing back food and babysitting. Wolves were brought back to Yellowstone National Park after many years away, and park scientists have studied how the whole park changed when they returned.

How big is a gray wolf?

🧒 our measuring child, 4 ft1.2 m🐺 Gray wolf, 6 ft1.8 m long

Gray wolf in numbers

Length	5.9 ft1.8 m1average
Height at the shoulder	30 to 32 in77 to 81 cm1average
Weight	90 to 110 lb41 to 50 kg1average
Top speed (running)	35 mph56 km/h1top speed on land, running
How long it lives	4 to 5 years4 to 5 years1average in Yellowstone
What it eats	deer, elk, moose and smaller animals like beavers
Where it lives	forests, mountains and tundra of North America, Europe and Asia
What kind	Mammals
Is it in danger?	Doing fine (Least Concern)2

A number we couldn’t find on a page we trust says so, instead of guessing.

Wow!

Every pet dog came from wolves, long, long ago.
A howl can carry a long way through the forest.
The whole pack helps look after the pups.

Compare the gray wolf

Friends and neighbours

Three questions

What does the gray wolf eat?

BugsTiny sea lifeMeat

The answer: Meat. It eats deer, elk, moose and smaller animals like beavers.

Where does the gray wolf live?

ForestOceanFarm

The answer: Forest. It lives in forests, mountains and tundra of North America, Europe and Asia.

Which is longer, the gray wolf or the lion?

The gray wolfThe lionThey're the same

The answer: The lion. Look at them side by side on the compare stage.

Books about the gray wolf, free at the library

Ask a grown-up to tap the button: it shows where to borrow a book about the gray wolf for free.

Where these numbers come from

National Park Service, Yellowstone (wolf facts), checked 30 October 2026.
Wikidata, from the IUCN Red List, checked 30 October 2026.
Wikidata, Gray wolf (Q18498), checked 30 October 2026.