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A unique hand crafted plaque depicting a Grey Wolf.

All our resin coated plaques are hand crafted in Scotland by skilled craftsmen using the finest quality materials. Most of our plaques are available in different sizes, wood colour and shapes. They all are finished to a very high standard and are unmistakable by their very high gloss appearance. The plaques are very easily cared for as they only require a damp cloth to keep their everlasting shine.

Please note these plaques are not intended for outdoor use but will last for many years. In the case of our personalised plaques this will give you a unique, lasting memory of that special event or loved one and will eventually become a treasured heirloom.

The Grey Wolf

The grey wolf (Canis lupus), also known as the timber wolf or wolf, is a mammal of the order Carnivora. The grey wolf is the largest wild member of the Canidae family and an ice age survivor originating during the Late Pleistocene around 300,000 years ago.
DNA sequencing and genetic drift studies indicate that the grey wolf shares a common ancestry with the domestic dog (Canis lupus familiaris) and might be its ancestor.
A number of other grey wolf subspecies have been identified, though the actual number of subspecies is still open to discussion.
Though once abundant over much of North America and Eurasia, the grey wolf inhabits a very small portion of its former range because of widespread destruction of its habitat, human encroachment of its habitat, and the resulting human-wolf encounters that sparked broad extirpation. Considered as a whole, however, the gray wolf is regarded as being of least concern for extinction according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. Today, wolves are protected in some areas, hunted for sport in others, or may be subject to extermination as perceived threats to livestock and pets.
Grey wolves play an important role as apex predators in the ecosystems they typically occupy. Grey wolves are highly adaptable and have thrived in temperate forests, deserts, mountains, tundra, taiga, and grasslands.
Wolves have been featured in the folklore and mythology of many cultures throughout history. Norse mythology tells the legend of the giant Fenrir. More sympathetic depictions include the suckling of Romulus and Remus in the Roman creation story. Wolves have also appeared in Western fairy tales such as Little Red Riding Hood and the Three Little Pigs, in which the wolf plays the role of the villain.
Physical Appearance and Characteristics: What color are grey wolves? If you said grey you're partly correct, they can also have white, red or black fur. Grey wolves can run 35 m.p.h. and can jump 12 feet.
Habits and Reproductive Cycle: Grey wolves live in packs with 8 to 35 members. The leader of the pack is the alpha.
Grey wolves, like maned and red wolves, mate for life. Usually only the alpha pair breeds. Pairs mate in the winter and about 9 weeks later 2 to 14 pups are born. Pups are born blind. Other females in the pack help take care of newborn pups. Within 3 to 5 months the young pups are able to travel with the pack.
Geographic Range: Presently the Gray Wolf inhabits Michigan's Upper Peninsula, northern Minnesota and Wisconsin and a large geographic range in Alaska, Canada, Europe, Middle East and Asia. The grey wolf once lived in diverse regions as Israel and Egypt.
Biomes:
These highly adaptive animals once inhabited a variety of biomes within North America including boreal forest, temperate deciduous forest and temperate grassland.
Habitat:
The forested areas of Northern Michigin, Minnesota and Wisconsin.
IUCN Status: Endangered There are approximately 2,500 grey wolves in the lower 48 states and about 10,000 in Alaska.
Threats to Survival:
People have changed their ideas and public policies about wolves many times. Earlier this century people worldwide believed wolves should be hunted and killed because wolves were killing cattle and deer. Wolf populations were the lowest in Eurasia between the 1930's and 1960's. In the 1950's wolf numbers were the lowest in North America.
Today much research is being conducted to determine the best habitat for wolves. Recently, 30 grey wolves were re-introduced to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. A thriving wolf population lives in northern Minnesota and there is an isolated population on Isle Royale National Park, Michigan. Worldwide, gray wolves are coming back due to research and public education efforts. Grey wolves now live in Rome (Italy), Spain, France, Poland, Germany, the former Soviet Union, Finland, Norway, and Sweden.
Diet:
These carnivores (meat eating) eat anything ranging from field mice to huge caribou. As predators, gray wolves help to maintain balance in the food web. The loss of wolves in ecosystems have lead to the overpopulation of other animal species.
Language:
Gray wolves communicate to each other through howling, body language and scent. Howling is used to assemble the pack, talk to other packs, assert territorial claims or as a source of pleasure. On a calm night, howls can be heard from as far as 120 miles away. Wolves use their faces and tails to indicate their emotion and status in the pack. A pack marks its territory by urine and feces.
Preservation:
Conserving the wolf is an aim that now crosses all borders. WWF, partner organisations and individual experts are pooling knowledge and experience to give the animal a better future. A research programme over nine years has started in the Carpathians to establish better understanding of wolf ecology, relationships between wolves and humans and the threats facing the animals. Damaged habitat must be restored and corridors established between pockets of wolf habitation so that they can move freely and avoid the threat of local extinction.
The perception of the wolf - always a core problem - must be improved by educating local people, involving them in land management plans to aid the wolf and where depredation of livestock takes place, protection schemes with dogs should be instituted together with compensation payments. Wolves are adaptable and can live alongside humans given the chance.
WWF and its partners in 17 European countries have launched a campaign to focus attention on conserving carnivores, including the Grey Wolf. Its purpose is to maintain and restore, in coexistence with people, viable populations of large carnivores as an integral part of ecosystems and landscapes across Europe.
The WWF Campaign for Europe's Carnivores aims to raise awareness of the problems facing carnivores and to challenge people's negative perceptions of wild predators. It builds on other WWF initiatives such as lobbying for better protection for wildlife, reforms of the Common Agricultural Policy in favour of agri-environment schemes and ensuring that the European Habitats and Species Directive is translated into practice. The challenge of conserving carnivores involves ecological, economic, institutional, political and cultural factors.