A lot of people write to Wolf Park asking about white wolves, and black wolves, and how they are different from "ordinary" gray wolves. I just want to point out that wolf fur color is just like human hair color -- we may be different on the outside but inside we're all the same. In fact, our fur color may not stay the same all our lives!
Here is a picture of me (and my gray brother, Seneca) as a puppy! Cute, yes? Look how black I am! All baby wolves are born black, but only some of us are lucky enough to stay black. Most wolves turn that boring old shade of brown that Seneca already is in that picture. Poor Seneca!
Well here is a picture of me today! Now I am beautiful and dignified! Black wolves aren't any different than gray wolves (except for our beautiful color), but we are luckier! While Seneca is busy turning boring old white I am busy turning a gorgeous silvery gray. Not all black wolves turn this pretty color -- some of them turn just plain gray, or sort of speckly gray, or even kind of blueish.
See, we wolves get lighter as we get older. We don't all turn white, and we don't all do it at the same rate (Marion, for example, and her mother, Karin, are both almost the same color they were when they were born). We do get lighter and lighter, though.
Here are nine photos of the same wolf (Orca) as he goes from yearling to eleven years old:
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There are some funny looking wolves who are naturally white (they aren't wolves who were Seneca's color and turned white). These are called Arctic wolves. They are born black but their first adult fur comes in white and they stay white their entire lives. They are white to blend in with the ice and snow where they live. Arctic wolves are a subspecies, or kind, of gray wolf. They are a little bigger than wolves like me, with smaller ears and eyes that are very slanted, kind of diamond shaped. Gray wolves who have turned white with age and Arctic wolves are two different things. So when you see a white wolf, now you know!