Prey of the Wolf

Moose

By far, the most impressive animal a wolf preys upon is the moose. The antlers of a moose weigh roughly 60 pounds, only 10 pounds less than the average wolf. The whole moose weighs 1,000 pounds, with the heaviest recorded being almost twice that weight at 1,800 pounds.

Moose are strong swimmers and often seek a body of water to escape from wolves. They can swim up to 15 mph. A moose has legs that are three feet long or more. Their powerful legs help them outrun a wolf. If cornered, those legs and hooves make impressive sharp-edged weapons to fight back.

Therefore, a wolf's best chance of killing a moose is to only attack old, very young or diseased members of the species. Although, wolves do gain a slight advantage in winter. If they can chase the moose onto ice, a moose's hooves may slip or slid, allowing a wolf the ability to lock its teeth into the animal.

Elk

Among the members of the deer family an elk (also called a wapiti) is second in size only to the moose. A bull (male wapiti) weighs an impressive six to 800 pounds. Although the males have impressive antlers, they are more likely to use their hooves in a fight against wolves. The edges of their hooves are sharp and their long legs can deliver a powerful, cutting blow.

Wolves eat all types of deer, as well as beavers, wild sheep, boars, goat antelopes and musk oxen.

Musk Oxen

A musk ox is a bulky, horned creature. When attacked by wolves, oxen will create a ring about their young. The adults face outwards forcing the wolves to chance attacking a circle of powerfully muscled creatures with deadly sharp hooves.

Hence, it's not any virtue of the wolf that they kill old and ill creatures. Wolves do this because it can be next to impossible to attack a herd of healthy, strong prey many times their size. Even alone, a healthy musk ox, elk or moose is a deadly to impossible enemy.

Smaller Prey

Wolves are opportunistic eaters. This means that if larger prey isn't available, they'll eat smaller creatures like mice, voles, rabbits and even June beetles. Lone wolves may eat only small prey, lacking the help they need to take on larger animals.

Humans?

The typical wolf reaction to humans is to evade and avoid. Humans are dangerous. Even if the wolf isn't acquainted with this fact, humans aren't nearly as tasty as a deer, elk or even a rabbit. Not to mention the typical human is going to smell of body wash, gasoline and other foreign smells to the wild.

However, since the wolf is opportunistic, if a hungry wolf were to come upon a lone or wounded human, he might very well decide there's lunch to be had, especially, if no other easier food source were near. The wolf would even be using a somewhat human form of logic. If a hungry human were stranded in the wild and came upon a wounded wolf, and there wasn't anything else to eat, that human may very well decide "mmm, wolf chops."

Sources and Other Reading:

Owen, Oliver S. Pup to Timber Wolf Abdo & Daughters Edina, Minnesota, 1996.

Greeley, Maureen Wolf Barnes & Nobel, Inc. 1997.

Ahlstrom, Mark E. The Elk Crestwood House: Mankato, MN 1985.