ANIMALIA VERTEBRATA MAMMALIA CARNIVORA CANIDAE CANIS LUPUS
AND
ANIMALIA VERTEBRATA MAMMALIA CARNIVORA CANIDAE CANIS NIGER
Introduction:
Any person who has been able to catch a glimpse of any
type of wolf is indeed a lucky man. The wolf is one of the
earth's most cowardly and fearful animals, and it is so sly and,
pardon the expression, foxy, that it is almost a waste of time
to try and catch him in any kind of trap.
Although he can be cowardly and fearful, he can also be
one the most vicious and blood-thirsty of all animals. Often,
they simply kill as much prey as is possible, regardless of
hunger and appetite. This is done by "hamstringing" their prey.
This leaves them helpless and unable to move. Then the wolf
pack can eat and tear him apart at their own will. Although
savage and bloodthirsty, wolves are among some of the world's
smartest and most perceptive mammals.
Where found:
Wolves are found all over the world, and on almost every
major continent of the earth. The following wolves are types of
Gray Wolves (Canis lupus).
In eastern Europe the European Wolf (Canis lupus lupus) can
be found even though it used to roam most of western Europe as
well. In Spain, two wolves have also been identified-Canis lupus
deitanus and Canis lupus signatus. While the first is similar to
many of the other European wolves, the latter may be more
closely related to the jackal (Canis aureus), than to a wolf.
The Caucasion Wolf (Canis lupus cubanensis) is found in many
parts of eastern Europe and western Asia. The large tundra
wolf of eastern Asia, the Tundra or Turukhan Wolf (Canis lupus
albus), is very close in relations to the wolves of northern
Alaska.
In the Arctic Islands and Greenland the Melville Island Wolf
(Canis lupus arctos), the Banks Island Wolf (Canis lupus bernardi),
the Baffin Island Wolf (Canis lupus manningi), and the Greenland
wolf (Canis lupus orion), are all found.
Wolves of the Continental Tundra and Newfoundland include
the Alaska Tundra Wolf (Canis lupus tundrarum), the Interior
Alaska Wolf (Canis lupus pambasileur), the Kenai Peninsula Wolf
(Canis lupus alces), the Mackenzie Tundra Wolf (Canis lupus
mackenzii), the Mackenzie Valley Wolf (Canis lupus occidentalis),
the Hudson Bay Wolf (Canis lupus hudsonicus), the Labrador Wolf
(Canis lupus labradorius), and the Newfoundland Wolf (Canis lupus
beothicus). However, the Newfoundland wolf has seemed to become
extinct. This is strange because there is no evidence of them
being intensely hunted by man, of extreme habitat changes, or of
lack of food and yet in the early 1900s they became extinct.
The wolves of the Western Mountains and Coast of North
America include the British Columbia Wolf (Canis lupus
colombianus), the Alexander Archipelago Wolf (Canis lupus ligoni),
the Vancouver Island Wolf (Canis lupus crassodon), the Cascade
Mountain Wolf (Canis lupus fuscus), the Northern Rocky Mountain
Wolf (Canis lupus irremotus), the Southern Rocky Mountain Wolf
(Canis lupus youngi), and the Mogollon Mountain Wolf (Canis lupus
mogollonensis). Of these wolves, the British Columbia Wolf is the
largest. The last two of these wolves have now been
exterminated due to the killings by man.
The Mexican Wolf (Canis lupus baileyi) is the smallest of
the subspecies of the wolves found in the Americas. They could
be found in the area of Northern Chihuahua and other parts of
Mexico and the southern United States, especially Texas. The
Texas Gray Wolf (Canis lupus monstrabilis) is obviously larger
than the Mexican Wolf and used to be commonly found in Texas.
Now, both of these subspecies have been exterminated in the
United States but still can be found in the Sierra Madre
Occidental and the mountains of western Coahuila and eastern
Chihuahua, in Mexico.
The Eastern of Timber Wolf (Canis lupus lycaon) and the
Great Plains or Buffalo Wolf (Canis lupus nubilus) could
originally be found on almost 25% of North America. Today,
however, due to competition with settlers, the Buffalo Wolves
were exterminated by the early 1900s. The Timber Wolf, for the
same reason, can no longer be found in the United States, but
still is common in Ontario and Quebec.
There are three main subspecies of Red Wolves (Canis
niger). They include the Florida Red Wolf (Canis niger niger), the
Mississippi Valley Red Wolf (Canis niger gregoryi), and the Texas
Red Wolf (Canis niger rufus). Gray wolves and red wolves can
usually be distinguished by size. In most cases the gray wolves
are larger than red wolves with the exception that some of the
larger red wolves may be bigger than the smaller of the gray
wolves. They can also be distinguished by identifying a knob,
"called cingulum, on the upper carnassials, or shearing teeth of
the red wolf." However, this method, also, is not altogether
full-proof. In some cases a timber wolf will have a cingulum and
an occasional red wolf will not have one at all. This method of
using the cingulum to distinguish the wolves can also be
decieving in that almost all coyotes have a cingulum just like
the red wolves.
Characteristics:
The Red Wolf and the Gray Wolf are both from the family
Canidae. This family includes the coyote, jackal, dingo, domestic
dog, fox, bush dog, hunting dog, dhole, and the wolf. The wolf
has long and powerful legs, as well as a mighty stamina, that
allow it to spend eight to ten hours a day on the move and in
search of food. The wolves usually travel during the night
times or in the cool temperatures during dawn and dusk. They
usually travel at an average speed close to five miler per hour,
but they can run up to 25 miles per hour. Wolves, like most
canids, are digitigrade with five toes on front feet and four on
hind feet. They are equipped with short, thick claws that give
them good traction for running.
Wolves are very well-equipped for the hunt. They have 42
teeth that are backed up by incredibly strong jaw muscles. They
usually can track their prey with their keen sense of smell
that, if downwind, can detect prey at up to around 300 yards.
An interesting aspect in the manner in which wolves is what is
known as the "conversation of death." Wolves often test large
prey, and in approaching whatever this might be, a moose,
caribou, elk, or bison, they engage their prey's gaze with a
sober stare. Man has no been able to translate this
"phenomenon" any more than he has been able to translate the
meaning and significance of howling. However, it has been
suggested that with this momentary, silent communication it is
decided whether the hunt will be stopped or if a chase will
follow.
Gray wolves (Canis lupus) generally have fairly heavey
coats that provide good insulation in cold weather. The first
layer is a fine underfur and the second layer is made up of long
guard hairs that shed moisture and keep underfur dry. Wolves
can live in temperature as cold as -40 degrees fahrenheit. The
coats of gray wolves vary in color from gray to black, and
sometimes from brownish gray to brownish white. Many of their
hairs can be black-tipped which results in irregular, wavy black
markings that are concentrated in the middle of the back. The
young of wolves are, throughout, grayer than the adults.
Red wolves (Canis niger) tend to be beautifully colored,
with some black and dark gray, brown, cinnamon, and buff. Their
tail are generally the same as the rest of the fur, but are
usually dark-tipped. The color of these wolves also tends to
vary withe the season and with the geographic location. Wolves
from Chihuahua tend to be "grizzled on the back and flanks,"
whereas "these parts are more tawny or brindled on wolves from
southern Durango." The fur of red wolves also tends to be more
thin than that of the grey wolves. This is because they tend
to live in areas with much warmer climates than the areas of
the grey wolves.
The size of wolves can vary somewhat, but most wolves are
relatively close in size. Wolves are sexually dimorphic: the
male wolves are measurably larger than the females. The
average length of male wolves is about 4.5-5.5 feet and the
average height, at the shoulders is approximately 27-33 inches.
Their tales are between 14 and 17 inches long, and they range in
weight from 70 to 100 pounds. The females are usually 4-5 feet
long, 25-30 inches in height at the shoulders, and have tails 12-
15 inches long. They usually weight between 50 and 80 pounds.
How it interacts with the environment:
For wolves, pack is the basic unit, which can vary from 2
to 15 or more wolves. They travel, hunt, feed, and rest
together.
In each pack there is a specific order of rank and a well
developed social system. The highest ranking male, the alpha
male, is dominant to all others and directs the pack's activities.
The alpha female is dominant over all other females. Each pack
may also include pups, juveniles, and older, more mature wolves.
The pack is very family oriented and there are stong bonds of
attachment within each pack. The socialization of pups begins
when they start to appear outside of the den. Here they
establish dominance relations among littermates through "play
fighting." Younger males, not pups, but not adults yet, prepare
for adulthood in many ways. One of these ways is by chasing
deer. However, they do not chase to kill, but rather to
practice, sharpen their hunting skills, and to train themselves.
In a pack it is important that the dominant wolves are
easily distinguished from the submissive ones. To avoid fighting
within the pack wolves have ritualized behaviours, postures, and
gestures that are used to show dominance. A dominant wolf will
assert himself by standing erect, ears and tail up, eyes open,
teeth bared, and body hairs erect. The subordinate wolf will
show his submission by slumping down, laying back his ears,
putting his tail between his legs, closing his mouth, and slightly
closing his eyes. The submissive wolf may, in some cases, lie
belly up to show his submission.
Wolves are very territorial and the mark out their
territories by chemical signals. Among these are urine, feces,
and secretions. Wolves usually have a regular pattern of
visiting and marking their territories every few weeks. Through
observation, it has been shown that, while on the move, an alpha
male will stop and mark every two minutes. Wolves also use
these scents to recognize which individuals have been to the
given area.
Wolves are well-known for hunting large animals. They will
hunt and kill large animals such as moose, deer, caribou,
mountain sheep, elk, bison, and musk-ox, but, seasonally, they
will also eat rodents, hares, birds, fish, insects, and even
carrion. While wolves must kill many animals for the pack to
survive, most chases do not end with a kill. Wolves react to
how the prey reacts first, and it has been shown that they seem
to need the stimulus of prey running away to start chasing
after him. In the case of kill, the wolf can consume up to 20
pounds and can then go for several days without eating.
Miscellaneous:
Wolves and humans have had a very inticate and close
relationships for thousands of years. They are also very
similar in many ways. The wolf and man are known as "apex
hunters," that is, they hunt at the top of their food chain and,
except for each other neither has to compete with any other
animal or enemy for their biological niche. Another similarity
between man and wolf is the pack. Hominid hunter-gatherer clans
stayed in groups of about 15 (even though they ranged from 5 to
50, or greater, this was the average size) and would travel over
a territory of 500 to 1000 square miles in search of food.
Wolves, in packs of about ten, cover approximately the same size
area. Few other animals would ever travel in such wide-ranging
parties made up of so few members.
Within the past two decades, Americans have developed a
longing and a want for wolves and dogs that have high
proportions of wolf blood. People fall in love with the wild
elegance of the animals and the affectionate interaction that
can take place between them and the animal, but wolves being
kept in the house almost inevitably become a fatal attraction-
usually for the wolf. While the wolves are still pups they
behave with a playful and rough affection that is cute while the
animal is young. But as the animal matures, its predisposed
nature of being a highly territorial predator emerges. This
leads to conflict between the wolf and the owner who has bought
it for its wild appeal, but then expects it to act as a
domesticated pet. Whether by biting people, urinating all over
the house, or by tearing up cabinets and furniture, the wolf will
exhaust its owner and the wolf will no longer be as cute as it
seemed it would be. Wolves are not monstrous killing machines,
but they are wild animals and the best advice that can be given
to anyone considering the purchase of a wolf or wolf hybrid is
not to.
Wolves have been in constant conflict with man. Sadly,
extermination of wolves has taken place in more than 95% of the
48 continuous United States, much of Mexico, parts of Canada,
most of Europe, and most of the Soviet Union. The status of
the wolf in the lower 48 states is endangered. Areas in
northern Minnesota and Isle Royale have been declared "Critical
Habitat" and have been protected from destruction or adverse
modification. In Alaska, hunting of the animal is permitted since
the wolf is not included on the Endangered Species List there.
In Norway, Sweden, Italy, Israel, India, and Mexico the wolf is
totally protected by law although protection is often minimally
enforced.
Man holds the future of the wolf in his hands; the wolf is
fully capable of surviving if man learns to understand it and
therefore learn to appreciate it and value it.
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