Examples include Wulfhere ("Wolf Army"), Cynewulf ("Royal Wolf"), Cēnwulf ("Bold Wolf"), Wulfheard ("Wolf-hard"), Earnwulf ("Eagle Wolf"), Wulfstān ("Wolf Stone") Æðelwulf ("Noble Wolf"), Wolfhroc ("Wolf-Frock"), Wolfhetan ("Wolf Hide"), Scrutolf ("Garb Wolf"), Wolfgang ("Wolf Gait") and Wolfdregil ("Wolf Runner"). Since pre-Christian times, Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons took on wulf as a prefix or suffix in their names.
The name "gray wolf" refers to the grayish colour of the species. The Proto-Indo-European root * wĺ̥kʷos may also be the source of the Latin word for the animal lupus (* lúkʷos). The English "wolf" stems from the Old English wulf, which is itself thought to be derived from the Proto-Germanic * wulfaz. Wolf attacks on humans are rare because wolves are relatively few, live away from people, and have developed a fear of humans because of their experiences with hunters, farmers, ranchers, and shepherds. Although the fear of wolves exists in many human societies, the majority of recorded attacks on people have been attributed to animals suffering from rabies. Wolves have a long history of interactions with humans, having been despised and hunted in most pastoral communities because of their attacks on livestock, while conversely being respected in some agrarian and hunter-gatherer societies. The global wild wolf population was estimated to be 300,000 in 2003 and is considered to be of Least Concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Pathogens and parasites, notably the rabies virus, may infect wolves. Single wolves or mated pairs typically have higher success rates in hunting than do large packs. The wolf is mainly a carnivore and feeds on large wild hooved mammals as well as smaller animals, livestock, carrion, and garbage. Wolves are also territorial, and fights over territory are among the principal causes of mortality. Offspring may leave to form their own packs on the onset of sexual maturity and in response to competition for food within the pack. It travels in nuclear families consisting of a mated pair accompanied by their offspring. Of all members of the genus Canis, the wolf is most specialized for cooperative game hunting as demonstrated by its physical adaptations to tackling large prey, its more social nature, and its highly advanced expressive behaviour, including individual or group howling.
The wolf's fur is usually mottled white, brown, gray, and black, although subspecies in the arctic region may be nearly all white. The wolf is nonetheless related closely enough to smaller Canis species, such as the coyote and the golden jackal, to produce fertile hybrids with them. The wolf is the largest extant member of the family Canidae, and is further distinguished from other Canis species by its less pointed ears and muzzle, as well as a shorter torso and a longer tail. More than thirty subspecies of Canis lupus have been recognized, including the dog and dingo, though gray wolves, as popularly understood, only comprise naturally-occurring wild subspecies. The wolf ( Canis lupus PL: wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. Global wolf range based on IUCN's 2018 assessment.
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