Title: Introduction
Course: Introduction to Wolf Ethology

Take a moment to define the term Ethology. Can you identify leading Ethologists that have influenced the study of wolves and dogs?

This course will cover 10 units defining ethology, the ethologists who shaped the profession, and behaviors that define the behavior of wolves. Throughout the course, topics will include web research, review of video, a study of an ethogram and as your skills increase, behavioral observation and recording of wolf behavior featured on the International Wolf Center Youtube channel. Let's start with a definition. Ethology is the study of behavior, but there are several ways to study behavior, but they all relate to the key skill of observations and can take on diverse study paths. There are three scientific ways of probing into the behavior of animals:

1. As a Naturalist that looks at the role of the species in the ecological niche
2. As a Psychologist that details the behavioral actions and development
3. As a Physiologist that looks at the internal mechanism of a species

In this Unit, there are 3 main Ethologist that deserve distinguished recognition, Charles Darwin , Ivan Pavlov and Konrad Lorenz. We will also reference Ethologists and Biologist that have contributed greatly to the study of wolf behavior. After you have reviewed the following four resources, open and complete the assignment shown at the bottom of the unit.