What is special about wolves?

The gray wolf (Canis lupus) is the godfather the world's domestic dogs and its wolves. Though numerous wolves exist throughout the world, these animals constitute subspecies of the gray wolf, not unique species of animals. Similarly, all domestic dogs, from pugs to St. Bernards, originated in the gray wolf bloodline. Wild gray wolves possess a number of unique adaptations that help them survive under harsh conditions such as food scarcity, howling winds, deep snow and extreme cold.