The majority of what is known about arctic wolves is the result of the observation of captive animals and a few, isolated projects carried out in the wild. Because of this, many details of this animal's life still remain virtually unknown. There are two main reasons for this, namely its habitat and its resulting elusive lifestyle, or habits.
The arctic wolf inhabits one of the harshest, most inhospitable terrains on the planet. Year round sub-zero temperatures rarely rise above -22 degrees F, or -30 degrees C. The ground remains permanently frozen even in April, the height of summer. The Arctic has only two seasons, summer and winter. The winter plunges the region into total darkness for around five months. Only a small selection of mammals can tolerate such harsh conditions. Even man, in spite all of the technology at their disposal, struggles to survive there.
The only time arctic wolf packs remain stationary is after mating during March. Pregnant females separate from the main pack to find dens, in which they give birth to their pups. They will stay there until the pups are ready to join the pack. In the meantime, other pack members provide their food. Arctic wolves will feed on anything, including lemmings and arctic hares. Their most substantial food sources, however, are caribou and musk oxen herds. As grazing plants are scarce to say the least, herds roam across huge areas in order to locate food. As a result, arctic wolves often cover as much as 800 sq miles while searching for prey; often following migrating herds south as temperatures plummet.
This makes study extremely difficult. One positive side-effect however, is that the arctic wolf can still be found over its entire original range, unlike other subspecies, which have been under continuous threat throughout history.
