Respiration

The Mexican wolf respiration system works by the wolf breathing out carbon dioxide and inhaling oxygen with the help of its lungs.

Circulation

These mammals, like many others, have a closed circulatory system, meaning their blood is closed at all times within vessels of different size and wall thickness. With the heart pumping, blood continuously flows through arteries, arterioles, capillaries, venules, and veins.

Digestion

Food is swallowed down the esophagus, then the liver processes proteins and other nutrients in the food, then into the stomach where food is stored and it releases acids and enzymes for the chemical breakdown of food. Next the pancreas secretes insulin, which helps the cells in the body use glucose, which is their main fuel. The pancreas also secretes other digestive juices and enzymes. The kidneys then get rid of waste and excess body fluid, then the small intestine absorbs water and nutrients, while the colon starts the elimination of feces. The anus is were waste is pushed out and the urinary bladder is where urine is stored till release.

Nutrition

The Mexican wolf diet consists of mostly hoofed animals like elk, deer, as well as small animals like rabbits, squirrels, mice, and even javelinas, which are related to pigs.

Food Getting

Like any predator, these Mexican wolves hunt. The unique aspect about any wolf though is that to get food, wolves hunt in packs. This makes taken down prey efficient. Running at an average 45 mph, these creatures are no joke when it comes to getting their food.

Support

The Mexican gray wolf has many adaptations such as sharp canine teeth for puncturing and slashing the skin and ripping off the meat of their pray. Since they are vertebrates, this means there structure is supported by their bones, they have an endoskeleton, a.k.a bones are on the inside protected by layers of skin and tissue.

Protection

Feet/leg power - strong, can run up to 40 mph to get away from a threat, fleshy foot pads to grip slippery surfaces, feet can fan out like a snowshoe to help get through deep snow.

Jaw - force can clamp down with the force of 500 pounds to fight against an enemy.

Senses - can smell 100 times better than a human, therefore it can sense danger from miles away.

Coat - thick and wooly coat of fur to protect it in the winter from harsh weather conditions as well as thick skin to protect from aggressive combat.

Movement

These athletic creatures are able to move with their four legs, specifically its hind legs (back) and a forefront (front). The muscles are the main part of the wolf body that allows for the forceful movement, a decent majority of the wolf body is muscle (which is typically why they aren't seen as a good source of food, not much fat). When walking, the movement is like that of any other four legged creature where they alternate both front and back paws, but when it comes to running, these wolves put all of their force into their hind legs when sprinting, acting almost as springs, while their front legs pull extremely hard and fling their bodies forward to push off the ground.

Osmotic Regulation & Excretion

Osmoregulation is basically the balance of water in the body for Mexican wolves. Just like any other mammal, if the wolf takes in to much water, it urinates the excess out of its body. When they have too little water, they become dehydrated and can tell that their bodies need more by the weak feeling that occurs due to a lack of water. Basically, these wolves must actively take on, conserve, or excrete water or salts in order to maintain their internal water-mineral content. All wastes in the body of a wolf is any unneeded minerals and processed food that it turns into feces and releases.

Temperature Regulation

The Mexican wolf is endothermic meaning it is capable of an internal generation of heat. It regulates it's own body heat, the temperature of the body typically stays the same no matter the weather, but the body has to react certain ways to do this. Unlike us, in heat, wolves do not sweat, instead they pant or drool to cool themselves off. Although dogs do this as well, dogs are able to sweat through there paw pads, but again, wolves cannot. When its cold, the wolves coat sheds to grow a much thicker coat making winter easy to survive in.

Reproduction

Mexican wolves reproduce sexually, both a male and a female have to mate to later on have the female give birth to a litter of pups which on average there is 4 to 7 pups. Mating season is between mid February and mid March. The gestation is 63 days for the female wolf. By mating right after winter ends, when the pups are born, the weather is warm. This adaption of timing helps the pups so that when they are born they are put in conditions that wouldn't by as harsh as winter.