The skull of the wolf is large and long and tapers forward, averaging nine to eleven inches long and five to six inches wide. Massive jaws form the foundation to which the strong masseter, or chewing, muscles attach. Wolves survive by using their «legs» and their «teeth».
The wolf is a coursing predator, so its «eyes» are on the front of its skull. The «ears» are large to capture sounds and they can be moved to scan and focus on sounds from different directions. The jaws have canines, sharp carnassials for cutting meat, and molars for crushing bone with very strong jaw muscles.
All these characteristics are reflected in the skull.
