Wolf (<i>Canis lupus</i> L.): Territory or Habitat

Abstract

The organization of the living space of animal populations is diverse, but in the generalized variant it is characterized by two concepts – “territory” and “habitat area”. The first provides for the protection of the “territory” by single individuals, married couples, families, flocks using acoustic signals and olfactory labels to mark boundaries. The second does not provide for such strict habitat protection. It is generally recognized that wolf families are characterized by lifestyle according to the “territory” type. But long-term studies of the ecology and behavior of wolf families (1975–2022) in the Central Forest Biosphere Reserve do not confirm this opinion: reasoned doubts about the “territoriality” of wolves are presented. The nature of the change in the size of the “territories”, the features of the placement of labels, the absence of conflict situations suggest the organization of living space according to the type of “habitat”.