I suspect the key difference here is that "What are wolves like?" is asking about broad features of wolves, whereas "What kind of wolves are they?" is asking what specific sub-type of wolf they are, within the greater thing that is wolves. You're asking for a different type/level of detail or information.

I would say your sentence would be translated as "Jací vlci oni jsou?"

If you mean how we would ask if wolves are animals or something else, then i would ask "Co jsou vlci zač?"

That is not correct English.

You could ask "How are the wolves?" if you want to ask if they are OK or if they are happy, but that is something completely different.

One is correct and the other one is not. This may not be the right course for you if you want to learn English as a German native.