Editing Arctic wolf (section)

== Diet ==
In the wild, Arctic wolves primarily prey on [[muskox]]en and [[Arctic hare]]s. They have also been found to prey on [[lemming]]s, [[reindeer|caribou]], [[Arctic fox]]es, birds, and beetles. It has been also found that Arctic wolves scavenge through garbage. This sort of food source will not always be found in the Arctic wolf's diet because of regional and seasonal availability.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Marquard|first=Peterson|date=1998|title=Food Habits of Arctic Wolves in Greenland|journal=Journal of Mammalogy|volume=79|issue=1|pages=236–244|doi=10.2307/1382859|jstor=1382859|doi-access=free}}<!--|access-date = October 30, 2015--></ref> Sometimes there is debate whether the muskox or the Arctic hare is the primary prey for the hare-wolf-muskox predator-prey system. Studies provide evidence that the muskoxen are indeed their primary prey because wolf presence and reproduction seems to be higher when muskox is more available than higher hare availability.<ref>{{Cite journal|title = Decline and Recovery of a High Arctic Wolf-Prey System|last = Mech|first = David|date = September 1, 2005|journal = Arctic|doi = 10.14430/arctic432|volume = 58|issue = 3| page=305 |doi-access = free| bibcode=2005Arcti..58..305M }}</ref> More supporting evidence suggests that muskoxen provide long-term viability and other ungulates do not appear in the wolf's diet.<ref name=":3">{{cite journal |title=Decline and Extermination of an Arctic Wolf Population in East Greenland |last=Marquard-Petersen |first=Ulf |date=2012 |journal=Arctic |doi= 10.14430/arctic4197|volume=65|issue=2 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Evidence suggesting that Arctic wolves depend more on hares claims that the mature wolf population paralleled the increase of hares rather than muskoxen availability.<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal|title = Annual Arctic Wolf Pack Size Related to Arctic Hare Numbers|last = Mech|first = David|date = September 1, 2007|journal = Arctic|doi = 10.14430/arctic222|volume=60|issue = 3| page=309 |url = https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/usgsnpwrc/386|doi-access = free| bibcode=2007Arcti..60..309M }}</ref> The study goes on to say that degree of reliance between the two sources of food is uncertain and that the amount of consumption between the two species depends on the season and year.<ref name=":4" /> Debate continues when seasonal and diet of young wolves is discussed. According to one study, muskox calves serve as a primary food source because the needs of pups are greater<ref>{{Cite journal|title = Abundance, social organization, and population trend of the arctic wolf in north and east greenland during 1978–1998|last = Marquard|first = Peterson|journal = Canadian Journal of Zoology |date=October 2009 |issue=10 |doi = 10.1139/z09-078|volume=87|pages=895–901| bibcode=2009CaJZ...87..895M }}</ref> but another study suggests that "when hares were much more plentiful (Mech, 2000), wolves commonly fed them to their pups during summer."<ref name=":4" /> These differences may be attributed to location as well. [[Polar bear]]s are rarely encountered by wolves, though there are two records of wolf packs killing polar bear cubs.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=http://pubs.aina.ucalgary.ca/arctic/Arctic59-3-322.pdf|title=Wolf (Canis lupus) Predation of a Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus) Cub on the Sea Ice off Northwestern Banks Island, Northwest Territories, Canada|journal=Arctic|volume=59|issue=3|year=2006|pages=322–324|access-date=March 16, 2010|doi=10.14430/arctic318|last1=Richardson|first1=E.S|last2=Andriashek|first2=D|archive-date=August 8, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170808142212/http://pubs.aina.ucalgary.ca/arctic/Arctic59-3-322.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>