Arctic Wolves in Maryland

Q: Are Arctic wolves a separate species?

No. The Arctic wolf is a subspecies of the gray wolf, Canis lupus arctos, adapted to the High Arctic of Canada and Greenland.

Canis lupus arctos

Thunder and Luna, Plumpton Park Zoo's two Arctic wolves, standing together in their habitat in Rising Sun, Maryland

Two white wolves from the top of the world live in Rising Sun, Maryland. Thunder and Luna are Plumpton Park Zoo’s Arctic wolves, and on a cold morning, with their winter coats in, they look exactly like what they are: animals built for a place where winter never really ends.

The Arctic wolf is a subspecies of the gray wolf that lives in the Arctic regions of North America and Greenland. It is also called the polar wolf or white wolf. Its coat is adapted to extreme cold, and unlike most other gray wolves, it stays white all year round.

Range

Arctic islands of Canada and northern Greenland.

Habitat

High Arctic tundra above the tree line, where snow covers the ground for most of the year.

Diet

Carnivore: muskoxen, Arctic hares, caribou, lemmings and birds.

Fast Facts

Also called: Polar wolf, white wolf

Family: Canidae

Height: 2 to 2½ feet at the shoulder

Length: 3 to 6 feet

Weight: 75 to 150 lb

Lifespan: 7 to 10 years in the wild; longer in human care

Conservation Status

Least ConcernGray wolf, IUCN Red List

Discover more

Built for the cold

Everything that makes an Arctic wolf look different from the gray wolves of the Rockies or Minnesota is an answer to cold. The white coat is camouflage against snow for most of the year, and it is two coats in one: a dense, woolly underlayer that traps warm air against the skin, and long guard hairs on top that shed snow and wind. The ears are shorter and rounder than a southern wolf’s, the muzzle is a little shorter, and the legs are stockier, so there is less surface for heat to escape from. Fur grows between the pads of the feet.

Like all wolves, Arctic wolves have sharp teeth and powerful jaws, and they can travel enormous distances at a steady trot. In the High Arctic, where prey such as muskoxen and Arctic hares is spread thinly across the tundra, a pack may range over hundreds of square miles and cover many miles in a single day.

Arctic wolves are a northern subspecies of the gray wolf, Canis lupus. Exactly how gray-wolf populations should be divided into subspecies remains a subject of scientific debate.

Thunder and Luna, the Arctic wolves at Plumpton Park Zoo, standing together in the sun

The white coat, short rounded ears and stocky build that set the Arctic wolf apart.

Thunder and Luna, the Arctic wolves at Plumpton Park Zoo, on the grass in their habitat on a summer evening

Thunder and Luna on a summer evening. A pack of two is still a pack.

How an Arctic wolf pack works

A wolf pack is a family: a breeding pair and their offspring from the last year or two. The older idea of wolves constantly fighting for “alpha” rank came from studies of unrelated wolves thrown together in captivity. In a natural family the parents lead because they are the parents, and grown pups either stay to help raise their younger siblings or leave to find a mate and start a pack of their own.

Hunting is cooperative and patient. The pack tests a herd, looks for the weak or the young, and gives up far more often than it succeeds. Because so few people live where Arctic wolves do, they have had less contact with humans than most other wolves and are often less wary of them.

Wolves also shape the land they live on. After wolves were returned to Yellowstone in the 1990s, elk behavior changed, willows and aspens recovered along some rivers, and beavers came back. How much of that chain is down to the wolves alone is still debated by ecologists, but the return of a top predator clearly rippled through the whole system. The short film How Wolves Change Rivers tells that story in four minutes and is worth watching before your visit.

Meet Thunder and Luna

The two Arctic wolves who live at Plumpton Park Zoo in Rising Sun, Maryland.

ThunderLuna

Portrait of one of the Arctic wolves at Plumpton Park Zoo

Thunder and Luna are Plumpton Park Zoo’s two Arctic wolves. Like all of Plumpton’s animals, they are cared for daily by our animal-care and veterinary teams.

Visitors do not come to Plumpton to see “a wolf.” They come to see Thunder and Luna, and after a visit or two most people can tell them apart. Every animal is an individual, and our keepers get to know each of them through daily care and observation.

An Arctic wolf walking toward the camera in its habitat at Plumpton Park Zoo, with the giraffe yard behind

Coming over for a look. The wolf yard sits beside the giraffe yard.

Seeing them at Plumpton Park Zoo

Wolves are naturally most active around dawn and dusk, so early or late in the day is a good time to find Thunder and Luna up and moving. In the middle of a warm afternoon they do what wolves do and rest in the shade; in cold weather they are at their best, and a snowy day at the zoo is the best day of all to see them. Watch for the way they move together, the low-slung trot, and how much they communicate with ears, tail and posture without a sound.

Caring for wolves at Plumpton

Thunder and Luna are looked after by trained zookeepers, including keepers with four-year degrees, and an on-staff veterinarian.

Our animal-care team provides nutrition, veterinary oversight, enrichment and daily behavioral observation designed to support each wolf’s physical and behavioral well-being. Keepers monitor appetite, movement and behavior every day so subtle changes can be identified early. Enrichment gives the wolves choices and problems to solve, and gifts marked for enrichment go directly to that work; see our animals page for how it is spent.

Arctic wolves and conservation

The gray wolf as a species is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN, and the Arctic wolf is the least disturbed of all its subspecies, because almost nobody lives where it does. Its future is tied to the Arctic itself: a warming climate is changing the tundra its prey depends on, and industrial development is reaching further north each decade.

Elsewhere in North America the story is different. Wolves were hunted out of most of the lower 48 states by the 1930s, and their return, in the northern Rockies, the western Great Lakes and now the Pacific Northwest, is one of the great recoveries in American conservation and still one of its most argued-over. A zoo is one of the few places most people will ever see a wolf up close, and that first look changes minds.

Help Care for Thunder & Luna

Standing a few feet from an Arctic wolf is a memorable part of a visit to Plumpton Park Zoo. Caring for Thunder and Luna, and for every animal that calls Plumpton home, is a commitment we make every day of the year.

As a nonprofit zoo, Plumpton Park Zoo relies on admissions, memberships and the generosity of people who believe in what we do. Donations help support animal care, veterinary services, nutritious diets, enrichment and habitat improvements.

Support Our Animals

Join the pack. Become a monthly supporter of animal care at Plumpton Park Zoo: give monthly (choose “Monthly” on the form).

Plumpton Park Zoological Gardens, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Donations support the zoo’s charitable mission and are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.

Frequently asked questions about Arctic wolves

Are Arctic wolves a separate species?

No. The Arctic wolf is a subspecies of the gray wolf, Canis lupus arctos, adapted to the High Arctic of Canada and Greenland.

Why are Arctic wolves white?

Camouflage. Snow covers their range for most of the year, and unlike other gray wolves, whose coats can be gray, brown or black, the Arctic wolf’s coat stays white year-round.

How big is an Arctic wolf?

About 2 to 2½ feet tall at the shoulder, 3 to 6 feet long including the tail, and 75 to 150 pounds.

What do Arctic wolves eat?

In the wild, mainly muskoxen and Arctic hares, plus caribou, lemmings and birds. At Plumpton they receive a diet designed by our animal-care team.

Are wolves dangerous to people?

Wild wolves almost always avoid people; attacks are extremely rare. At the zoo, Thunder and Luna live behind secure fencing and are never in contact with visitors.

Where can I see Arctic wolves in Maryland?

At Plumpton Park Zoo in Rising Sun, Cecil County, Maryland, home to two Arctic wolves, Thunder and Luna. The zoo is open every day; see Hours and Tickets for times and admission.

See Thunder and Luna at Plumpton Park Zoo

Two Arctic wolves, a zoo small enough that you are never watching from across a crowd, and the rest of the animals a short walk away. All of it in Rising Sun, Maryland.

The zoo is in Cecil County, an easy drive from Delaware and southern Pennsylvania. While you are here, meet Kimba and Jaala, our white lions, Kazar, Jill and Asha, our giraffes, and the rest of our mammals.

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