A contribution My English teacher asked me to write a little contribution about a typical animal of my country. He has already checked my essay, but I'd like to have a second opinion. I've chosen to write about the wolf. THE WOLF A typical member of the Fauna of the Italian Apennines, the wolf has repeatedly crossed his history with humans. These predators are traditionally portrayed as the "big bad wolf", the evil character in folks, and because of competition with hunters and their raids towards herds, they have been persecuted for long. Nowadays, despite being classified as a threatened species, wolves' population is increasing and has spread also to the Alps. GENERAL INFORMATION Living in the Apennine woods, wolves are usually gregarious creatures, whose packs are constituted by the "alpha" breeding pair and their adult offspring: a typical pack comprises 6-11 animals, but it has been reported of the existence of larger groups, up to 40 individuals. However the minimal, basic unit provide for the animal the best functional organisation with respect to the hunting and to parental investment. As predators, they hunt as a team and this allows them to prey on ungulates, little rodents and occasionally even large-sized herbivorous. Nevertheless they could also live on a diet of fruit and mushrooms, especially in the case of solitary wolves or during famine. Pack's hierarchy is extremely strict and severe: wayward members are punished and forced to leave the pack; however this social structure is excellent in maintaning wolves' cohesion and in ensuring reproductive success, since different wolves, in turn, take care of the mate pair's offspring while the pack is hunting elsewhere so as not to leave the wolf cubs defenceless. After reaching sexual maturity, the adult offspring can choose whether to remain in the originary pack or to leave it and set up his own. OBSERVING WOLVES As the majority of wild creatures, wolves are secretive animals and owing to past persecution they tend to avoid humans. Despite that occasional sigh of them has been reported by tourists in the Apennines, it is not simple to observe and approach these creatures in the wild since their well-developed smell allows them to detect human presence ahead of time. In Italy, the best way to observe these skillful predators is to visit national parks. Ethologist however find it more easy and feasible to place hidden cameras in the woods to study these canines' habits.