Three to five months later they are traveling with the pack and are soon hunting. The mortality of pups the first year is greater than 50 percent, usually caused by injury, predation, or disease. Sexual maturity comes within 22 months of age, although sometimes mates are chosen in the first year. The size of the Gray Wolf varies. Adult males weigh from 75 to 120 pounds, and measure from five to six and a half feet long, including the tail, and are about two and a half feet tall at the shoulder.
Female wolves are slightly smaller than the males.
The body shape looks a lot like a German Shepherd dog. But the wolf has longer legs, bigger feet, a wider head and a long bushy tail. The fur also varies in color from pure white in the Arctic plains to jet black in subarctic forests. Most wolves have gray fur. Wolves of the Arctic and northern areas contain thick coats that protect them from freezing temperatures.