Wolves are the largest among the canines and are known for their social structure called packs. At the top of the hierarchy are the only breeding pairs called alphas, an outdated term we will explain further below. The rest are adolescent wolves who will leave and start their own pack once they reach maturity.
Even if they look dangerous, wild wolves avoid humans at all costs. Domesticating or breeding them with dogs is far more complicated than wild wolves, as they can lose their fear of us and become dangerous to small children or pets.
Wolves have been studied by zoologists and referenced by storytellers throughout centuries. But, up until now, there are still a lot of misconceptions. Read our list of curated wolf quotes to rediscover the magnificence of these famous canines.
Related: Keen to read more about wolves? Click on to our wolf facts for all you need to know.
Quick links to our selection of wolf quotes:
Wolves are evolved to be tightly knit in a pack to strategically take down large ungulates - their favorite meal. Pups cannot hunt yet. Therefore older wolves carry meat for them in their stomachs. The little ones will devour the regurgitated food within seconds. Even if they're not the parent, they will bring food to the pups.
And contrary to popular belief, alpha males do not take the first bite of their catch. Instead, the pack usually lets the hungriest one eat first. No wonder corporations get a lot of leadership lessons from them.
Learn how to foster teamwork and confidence in the workplace as we launch this list with our best wolf quotes.
"Wolves don't lose sleep over the opinion of sheep."
"The wolf on the hill is not as hungry as the wolf climbing the hill."
"If you live among wolves you have to act like a wolf."
"Throw me to the wolves and I'll return leading the pack."
Have you read the caption of a popular internet post about the wolves' arrangement while traveling through deep snow? The old and sick are the first in the line to set the pace for the pack. At the other end, the alpha male observes everyone and controls the group's direction.
Although inspiring to read, this is debunked as false by the International Wolf Center. They travel in a line to conserve energy. Therefore, the first in line should be strong enough to cut the snow for the rest to pass through easily. With this logic, letting the old and sick lead is not wise.
Start to fact-check and recognize the actual behavior of wolf packs after reading these inspiring wolf quotes.
"For the strength of the Pack is the Wolf, and the strength of the Wolf is the Pack."
"I woke up one morning thinking about wolves and realized that wolf packs function as families. Everyone has a role, and if you act within the parameters of your role, the whole pack succeeds, and when that falls apart, so does the pack."
"Wolves are the ultimate team players, they know that working together benefits the whole pack."
There is something majestic, melancholy, and spine-shivering about a lone wolf howling in the wild lit by the moon. People think of a Lone wolf as someone who acts alone, yet wolves belong to tightly-knit communities.
As mentioned earlier, a wolf who reaches full maturity will separate from the pack. The lone wolf, called a disperser, will search for another lone wolf of the opposite sex to start a pack. Dispersers are vital in the wolf population because they allow different genes to mix instead of inbreeding, which results in stunted growth, among many other negative traits.
Do not be just a lone wolf; lead your team! Check out how they behave in the wild through the following wolf quotes.
You might also like our night quotes and moon quotes to further picture wolves in their elements.
"In real life, wolves will do anything to avoid contact with mankind."
"Wolves and people were not natural enemies. The humans' relationship with other animals established their rivalry with wolves."
"The wolf stands on its hind legs, places its forelegs on the scientist’s shoulders, and places its jaws around the scientist’s head. This is just the wolf’s way of being friendly. If you’re an animal who doesn’t know how to talk, a very clear signal is communicated: “See my teeth? Feel them? I could hurt you, I really could. But I won’t. I like you."
Originating from Aesop's famous fable, the story about the boy who cried wolf created an idiom we still use today. Unlike the fable, wolves are afraid of us, but if, for some reason, you face one in the wild, lower your head and avoid eye contact. If worse comes to worst, make yourself large by holding your arms up and shouting aggressively to chase them away. Also, you could climb a tree since wolves cannot climb - or light a fire.
Now you know how to deal with wolves in the wild, remember to avoid people who cry wolf after checking out these wolf quotes.
"Crying wolf is a real danger."
"Like crying wolf, if you keep looking for sympathy as a justification for your actions, you will someday be left standing alone when you really need help."
"Some people aren't who they say they are, be cautious of the company you keep, a wolf in sheep's clothing."
"Some girls are full of heartache and poetry and those are the kind of girls who try to save wolves instead of running away from them."
"A wolf eats sheep but now and then; Ten thousand are devour'd by men. An open foe may prove a curse, but a pretend friend is worse."
Hunting in groups is not the only advantage the wolves have while catching prey. They also have a whopping 42 teeth, including 2 two and a half inches of fangs they use to puncture and grip their prey. They also have a strong jaw that produces 1,500 pounds of pressure per square inch, which they use to bite through bones.
No wonder writers of the past are smitten by these ferocious canines. Peek into history through the following wolf quotes by poets and authors of the past.
"The Lord God had created all animals, and had chosen out the wolf to be his dog."
"Fierce as the proling wolves at close of day, and swift as eagles in pursuit of prey."
"The wolves prey upon the lambs in the darkness of the night, but the blood stains remain upon the stones in the valley until the dawn comes, and the sun reveals the crime to all."
"It is useless for the sheep to pass resolutions in favour of vegetarianism, while the wolf remains of a different opinion."
Even a wolf knows how to be polite when animalistic humans have no clue about politeness.
~ Munia Khan
The wolves in the woods have sharp teeth and long claws, but it's the wolf inside who will tear you apart.
~ Jennifer Donnelly
Fictional stories shaped our view of animals. And as researchers studied wolves further, these stories also evolved. This is what happened with wolves in modern literature. Since wolves are social creatures, it is hard not to see our similarities with them.
Thus, authors have been humanizing wolves in recent decades through fantasy werewolf stories. It might not be everyone's taste, but these stories have undoubtedly put wolves in a much more positive light than in the past.
When we empathize with creatures, even in stories, we are more inclined to make efforts to protect them. So here are some wolf quotes from modern authors you could start reading.
"A man might befriend a wolf, even break a wolf, but no man could truly tame a wolf."
"That night the wind was howling almost like a wolf and there were some real wolves off to the west giving it lessons."
"The Canis Lupus, both wolf, and man were meant to be a family with one another. We gain strength through our bond with each other."
"The black wolf's curse awakes every time that a full moon points in the middle of the sky."
"We both fell asleep wrapped up together with the wolves still lullaby-ing us in the background."
"We humans fear the beast within the wolf because we do not understand the beast within ourselves."
"She slept with wolves without fear, for the wolves knew a lion was among them."
"What's that supposed to mean? A wolf's head on a stick. Big wolf barbecue tonight? Bring your own wolf?"
"The wolves knew when it was time to stop looking for what they'd lost, to focus instead on what was yet to come."
The term alpha wolf is widely used, but it misleads the public from the truth about wolf behavior. Dr. Mech, the author of a famous study published in the 1970s that gave rise to the renowned concept, stated that it is outdated. Wolves don't fight with each other to grab alpha status. Instead, a wolf becomes alpha simply because it mated and produced pups that became members of the newly formed pack.
Essentially, "alpha wolves" are the father or mother figures of the group. Hence it is more appropriate to call the alphas breeding male or female, male or female parent, or dominant breeder.
Even if the following wolf proverbs are archaic, like the term alpha wolf, they can still teach us about life.
"Make yourself a sheep and the wolf will eat you."
"If the wolf had stayed in the wood, there would have been no hue and cry after him."
"It is madness for a sheep to talk of peace with a wolf."
"If the wolf would cease his running, the people would cease their shouting."
"Report makes the wolf bigger than he is."
"The wolf attacks with its fangs; the bull with its horns."
"As wolves love lambs so lovers love their loves."
Wolves converse with each other not only through sounds but also through scent and body language. Aside from a marked territory, they can also communicate if food is unavailable or if a female is ready to mate through the chemicals of their urine. You can spot the dominant pair when you see them standing tall with confidence compared to other wolves in the pack showing submissive behavior.
Learn more about how wolves communicate after reading the following metaphorical wolf quotes.
"Wolves go after a wounded deer, it is the nature of the beast."
"There are nights when the wolves are silent and only the moon howls."
"I am not a wolf in sheep's clothing, I'm a wolf in wolf's clothing."
"Democracy must be something more than two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner."
"Majority rule only works if you're also considering individual rights. Because you can't have five wolves and one sheep voting on what to have for supper."
"Wolves fail to hide their integrity just like the way men fail to hide their own animality."
We all know man's best friend evolved from wolves, most probably from friendlier wolves fed by kind humans. Throughout the years of evolution, wolves became closer to our ancestors and became their hunting companions. Their teeth grew smaller, muzzles became shorter, and overall size got shorter until they became the dogs we have today.
To finish off this list of wolf quotes, show your love for wolves as you do for dogs on social media using the short wolf captions below.
"Careless shepherd make excellent dinner for wolf."
"The wolf may fight the bear but the rabbit always loses."
"The gaze of the wolf reaches into our soul."
"Love will find a way through paths where wolves fear to prey."
"Liberty for wolves is death to the lambs."
"In the calm, deep waters of the mind, the wolf waits."
"A gentleman is simply a patient wolf."
"Man is to man either a god or a wolf."
"Wolves are the witches of the animal world."
quotes
