what is a grey wolf scientific name

What are facts about gray wolf?

• Wolves develop close relationships and strong social bonds. ...
• A wolf which has been driven from the pack or has left of its own accord is called a lone wolf. ...
• The grey wolf has been the notorious villain of fables and fairy stories for centuries, yet this highly intelligent and sociable animal has done little to warrant its terrifying reputation.

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What is the genus of a gray wolf?

Gray Wolf, Canis lupus Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Carnivora Family: Canidae Genus: Canis Species: lupus Status The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lists the gray wolf species as endangered. The Mexican gray wolf sub-species population in Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas is considered “experimental” and is not included by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service when ...

What are good names for Wolves?

Here are some cute wolf names that you can use for inspiration:

• Twilight
• Ziva
• Coyote
• Monkey
• Turki
• Ginger
• Tanzania
• Denn
• Ivory
• Sirius

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What phylum is the gray wolf in?

Scientific Classification of Wolves

• Kingdom Animalia All animals
• Phylum Chordata Animals with a backbone
• Class Mammalia All mammals
• Order Carnivora Carnivorous mammals
• Family Canidae Dog-like mammals
• Genus Canis Dogs
• Species lupus (gray wolves) rufus (red wolves) lycaon (some scientists think is a subspecies of gray wolf – see below)

What classification is a GREY Wolf?

MammalWolf / ClassMammals are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia, characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding their young, a neocortex, fur or hair, and three middle ear bones. Wikipedia

What are common names for gray wolf?

Taxonomic History & NomenclatureGray or grey wolf.Tundra wolf.Arctic wolf.Mexican wolf.Plains wolf.Timber wolf.Common wolf.Loup (French)More items...•

Do GREY Wolf still exist?

Though people nearly hunted wolves to extinction in the lower 48 states, northern gray wolves have returned to the Great Lakes, the northern Rockies, California and the Pacific Northwest.

What is a badass wolf name?

Have a look at some badass wolf names you can consider: Yuma: Song of the Chief (Navajo) Waya: (Cherokee) Okhmhaka: Little Wolf (Cheyenne) Hemene: (Nez Perce)

What is the rarest wolf?

The Ethiopian wolf is the world's rarest canid, and a close relative of grey wolves and coyotes that colonised the Horn of Africa through land bridges. Ethiopian wolves are only found on the highlands of Ethiopia and are Africa's most threatened carnivore.

When was the last dire wolf killed?

Thanks to the hit television series Game of Thrones, the dire wolf has gained a near-mythical status. But it was a real animal that roamed the Americas for at least 250,000 years, until it became extinct towards the end of the last ice age around 13,000 years ago.

Which is the biggest wolf?

gray wolf, (Canis lupus), also called timber wolf, largest wild member of the dog family (Canidae). It inhabits vast areas of the Northern Hemisphere.

Are dire wolves real?

The dire wolf (Aenocyon dirus /iːˈnɒsaɪ. ɒn ˈdaɪrəs/) is an extinct canine. It is one of the most famous prehistoric carnivores in North America, along with its extinct competitor Smilodon.

What is a wolf's common name?

The wolf (Canis lupus; PL: wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America....Wolf.Wolf Temporal range: Middle Pleistocene – present (810,000–0 YBP)Genus:CanisSpecies:C. lupusBinomial nameCanis lupus Linnaeus, 175815 more rows

What are gray wolf babies called?

PUPSBABY WOLVES ARE CALLED PUPS. USUALLY 4 TO 6 PUPS ARE BORN TOGETHER. THIS IS CALLED A LITTER, AND THE PUPS IN A LITTER ARE CALLED LITTERMATES. PUPS ARE BORN INSIDE A DEN.

What do you name a GREY animal?

Gray name inspiration is all around us—even in nature!Silver.Carbon.Charcoal.Zinc.Nickel.Coal.Marble.Obsidian.More items...•

What is a good name for a GREY pet?

When it comes to silver or gray kittens, their smoke-colored fur gives rise to names like Ash, Moon, Gandalf, and Bluebell.

How big are gray wolves?

Physical description. Keen senses, large canine teeth, powerful jaws, and the ability to pursue prey at 60 km (37 miles) per hour equip the gray wolf well for a predatory way of life. A typical northern male may be about 2 metres (6.6 feet) long, including the bushy half-metre-long tail. Standing 76 cm (30 inches) tall at the shoulder, ...

What do gray wolves hunt?

Gray wolves move and hunt mostly at night, especially in areas populated by humans and during warm weather. The main prey are large herbivores such as deer, elk, moose, bison, bighorn sheep, caribou, and musk oxen, which they chase, seize, and pull to the ground.

How many gray wolves are there in the world?

Between 5 and 24 subspecies of gray wolves are recognized in North America and 7 to 12 are recognized in Eurasia, with 1 in Africa. Wolves were domesticated several thousand years ago, and selective breeding produced dogs.

How do wolves communicate with each other?

Wolves communicate with one another by visual signaling (facial expression, body position, tail position), vocalizations, and scent marking.

What diseases do wolves have?

Diseases and parasites that can affect wolves include canine parvovirus, distemper, rabies, blastomycosis, Lyme disease, lice, mange, and heartworm. In most areas of the world, humans are the leading cause of death for wolves.

What makes a wolf pack possible?

The ability of wolves to form strong social bonds with one another is what makes the wolf pack possible. A dominance hierarchy is established within the pack, which helps maintain order. The alpha male and alpha female continually assert themselves over their subordinates, and they guide the activities of the group.

What does marking territory with urine and feces do?

Along with howling, marking of territory with urine and feces lets neighbouring packs know they should not intrude. Intruders are often killed by resident packs, yet in some circumstances they are accepted. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. Subscribe Now.

What are the largest wild dogs?

1. Gray wolves are the largest living wild canine species.#N#2. Wolves are the wild ancestor of all our domesticated dogs, from poodles to bulldogs to greyhounds.#N#3. Wolf packs usually hunt within a territory, which can range from 50 square miles (129 square kilometers) to over a 1,000 square miles (2,590 square kilometers).#N#4. Wolves often travel at five miles (8 kilometers) an hour, but can reach speeds of 40 miles (64 kilometers) an hour.#N#5. Wolves howl to solidify pack bonds and warn other wolf packs to stay away—but despite popular belief, wolves don't howl at the moon.

How long does it take for a wolf to wean?

The wolf pups are usually born in a den. At birth, they cannot see or hear and weigh about one pound. The pups are weaned at about six weeks. Adult pack members swallow meat and bring it back to the den for their pups. After the adults regurgitate the food, the pups have a hearty meal.

How fast can a wolf travel?

Wolves often travel at five miles (8 kilometers) an hour, but can reach speeds of 40 miles (64 kilometers) an hour . 5. Wolves howl to solidify pack bonds and warn other wolf packs to stay away—but despite popular belief, wolves don't howl at the moon.

How many members does a wolf pack have?

Wolves live in packs. Most packs have four to nine members, but the size can range from as few as two wolves to as many as 15. Occasionally a pack can increase to 30 members, until some individuals break off to find new territory and form their own pack.

Why is the gray wolf important?

Today the wolf is making a successful comeback in some of its former habitat due to strong conservation efforts. The gray wolf plays a vital role in the health and proper functioning of ecosystems.

What do wolves eat?

Diet. Wolves are carnivores—they prefer to eat large hoofed mammals such as deer, elk, bison, and moose. They also hunt smaller mammals such as beavers, rodents, and hares. Adults can eat 20 pounds of meat in a single meal.

What is a gray wolf?

Gray wolves, or timber wolves, are canines with long bushy tails that are often black-tipped. Their coat color is typically a mix of gray and brown with buffy facial markings and undersides, but the color can vary from solid white to brown or black. Gray wolves look somewhat like a large German shepherd. Wolves vary in size depending on ...

How do gray wolves communicate?

Gray wolves have a variety of visual, olfactory and auditory means of communicating. Vocalizations include growls, barks and howls. Different individuals have different howls that can be heard by other wolves at distances of 6 to 7 miles (10 to 11 kilometers). Howling functions as a way to keep the pack back together, stimulate a hunt and as a long-distance form of territorial expression. Howling can also return a lost wolf to its pack.

What is a gray wolf?

Gray wolf. Also called the timber wolf, gray wolves are the largest members of the canine family. Devoted parents and families, they are also among the most social carnivores. Once possessed of the greatest range of any terrestrial mammals except humans, they are now restricted in North America mainly to Alaska, ...

How much does a wolf weigh?

The largest members of the canine family, male wolves weigh males between 65 and 175 pounds (30 to 80 kilograms) and females weigh between 50 and 120 pounds (23 to 55 kilograms).

How much do gray wolves eat?

Gray wolves eat around three to four pounds of food per day. At the Smithsonian's National Zoo, the wolves are fed a mixture of dry canine kibble, meat, fish, bones, frozen prey (mostly rabbits) and vegetables. The gray wolf is among the most social of carnivores.

How many wolves are in a pack?

The gray wolf is among the most social of carnivores. Wolf packs typically have five to eight wolves, but packs with as many as 36 wolves have been reported. The pack is essentially a family group consisting of an adult pair, called the dominant pair, and their offspring.

What does it mean when a wolf howls?

A "lonesome howl" is a shortened call that rises in pitch used by a wolf that is separated from its pack. If answered, the wolf switches to deep, even howls to inform the pack of its location and help it to be found. Howling increases during breeding season (January through April).

Why do gray wolves raise their hind legs?

They may also raise a hind leg to expose the groin area. Food/Eating Habits. High speeds help wolves catch up to their prey while a wolf's sharp teeth and claws finish the job. The gray wolf is a keystone predator and is integral to the ecosystem in which it is found.

What are gray wolves?

Wolves are legendary because of their spine-tingling howl, which they use to communicate. A lone wolf howls to attract the attention of his pack, while communal howls may send territorial messages from one pack to another. Some howls are confrontational. Much like barking domestic dogs, wolves may simply begin howling because a nearby wolf has already begun.

Why are wolves legendary?

Wolves are legendary because of their spine-tingling howl, which they use to communicate. A lone wolf howls to attract the attention of his pack, while communal howls may send territorial messages from one pack to another. Some howls are confrontational. Much like barking domestic dogs, wolves may simply begin howling because a nearby wolf has ...

What is a wolf 101?

Wolves 101. With their piercing looks and spine-tingling howls, wolves inspire both adoration and controversy around the world. Find out how many wolf species exist, the characteristics that make each wolf's howl unique, and how the wolf population in the continental United States nearly became extinct.

What do wolves eat?

A single animal can consume 20 pounds of meat at a sitting. Wolves also eat smaller mammals, birds, fish, lizards, snakes, and fruit. 2:53.

What is the hierarchy of wolfpacks?

Wolfpacks are established according to a strict hierarchy, with a dominant male at the top and his mate not far behind. Usually this male and female are the only animals of the pack to breed.

Do wolves attack humans?

But wolves and humans have a long adversarial history. Though they almost never attack humans, wolves are considered one of the animal world's most fearsome natural villains. They do attack domestic animals, and countless wolves have been shot, trapped, and poisoned because of this tendency.

Is Delta variant spreading?

The Delta variant is spreading fast, especially where vaccination rates are low. New cancer treatments may be on the horizon—thanks to mRNA vaccines. Science. New cancer treatments may be on the horizon—thanks to mRNA vaccines.

What is the gene flow between African wolves, golden jackals, and gray wolves?

In the distant past, there has been gene flow between African wolves, golden jackals, and gray wolves. The African wolf is a descendant of a genetically admixed canid of 72% wolf and 28% Ethiopian wolf ancestry. One African wolf from the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula shows admixture with Middle Eastern gray wolves and dogs. There is evidence of gene flow between golden jackals and Middle Eastern wolves, less so with European and Asian wolves, and least with North American wolves. This indicates the golden jackal ancestry found in North American wolves may have occurred before the divergence of the Eurasian and North American wolves.

How long do wolves stay in their packs?

Offspring typically stay in the pack for 10–54 months before dispersing. Triggers for dispersal include the onset of sexual maturity and competition within the pack for food. The distance travelled by dispersing wolves varies widely; some stay in the vicinity of the parental group, while other individuals may travel great distances of upwards of 206 km (128 mi), 390 km (240 mi), and 670 km (420 mi) from their natal (birth) packs. A new pack is usually founded by an unrelated dispersing male and female, travelling together in search of an area devoid of other hostile packs. Wolf packs rarely adopt other wolves into their fold and typically kill them. In the rare cases where other wolves are adopted, the adoptee is almost invariably an immature animal of one to three years old, and unlikely to compete for breeding rights with the mated pair. This usually occurs between the months of February and May. Adoptee males may mate with an available pack female and then form their own pack. In some cases, a lone wolf is adopted into a pack to replace a deceased breeder.

Why do wolves hunt?

Livestock depredation has been one of the primary reasons for hunting wolves and can pose a severe problem for wolf conservation. As well as causing economic losses, the threat of wolf predation causes great stress on livestock producers, and no foolproof solution of preventing such attacks short of exterminating wolves has been found. Some nations help offset economic losses to wolves through compensation programs or state insurance. Domesticated animals are easy prey for wolves, as they have been bred under constant human protection, and are thus unable to defend themselves very well. Wolves typically resort to attacking livestock when wild prey is depleted. In Eurasia, a large part of the diet of some wolf populations consists of livestock, while such incidents are rare in North America, where healthy populations of wild prey have been largely restored.

Why are wolves declining?

In the contiguous United States, wolf declines were caused by the expansion of agriculture, the decimation of the wolf's main prey species like the American bison, and extermination campaigns . Wolves were given protection under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973, and have since returned to parts of their former range thanks to both natural recolonizations and reintroductions in Yellowstone and Idaho. The repopulation of wolves in Midwestern United States has been concentrated in the Great Lakes states of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan where wolves number over 4,000 as of 2018. Wolves also occupy much of the northern Rocky Mountains region, with at least 1,704 wolves in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming as of 2015. They have also established populations in Washington and Oregon. In Mexico and parts of the southwestern United States, the Mexican and U.S. governments collaborated from 1977 to 1980 in capturing all Mexican wolves remaining in the wild to prevent their extinction and established captive breeding programs for reintroduction.

Why do wolves leave their packs?

Offspring may leave to form their own packs on the onset of sexual maturity and in response to competition for food within the pack. Wolves are also territorial and fights over territory are among the principal causes of wolf mortality.

What is the genetics of African golden wolves?

The African golden wolf is a descendant of a genetically admixed canid of 72% wolf and 28% Ethiopian wolf ancestry.

How big do wolves get?

Like all land mammals that are pack hunters, the wolf feeds predominantly on wild herbivorous hoofed mammals that can be divided into large size 240–650 kg (530–1,430 lb) and medium size 23–130 kg (51–287 lb), and have a body mass similar to that of the combined mass of the pack members.

How long do grey wolves breed?

Grey wolves breed from January to April. The female is responsible for digging a den, where she further gives birth and raises the pups. The gestation period last about 60-63 days, after which 1-14 pups are born with an average of 6-7. For the first 45 days, all members of the pack participate in feeding the pups through regurgitation. The mother stays with the young for the first 3 weeks, after which the pups continue living in the den, until they reach the age of 8-10 weeks. Females are sexually mature at 2 years old, and males - at 3 years old.

How do wolves live?

The alphas are the leaders of the pack, establishing the group's territory, selecting the den sites, tracking down and hunting prey.They live in close ties with the members of their pack, communicating with each other through a wide variety of calls, including barks, whine, howls and growls.They are most active at sunrise and sunset. As a matter of fact, Grey wolves do not actually howl at the moon: they simply tend to howl, when the night is lighter, which usually happens during the full moon.Throughout the year, these animals undergo a stationary and nomadic phases: stationary phase takes place in spring and summer months, when they grown up the young, while nomadic phase lasts from the autumn to winter. Grey wolves prefer moving at night, being able to travel up to 200 km per day.

What do grey wolves eat?

Diet and Nutrition. The Grey wolf is carnivore and scavenger. The usual diet of this animal primarily consists of ungulates such as elk, moose, deer and caribou. They also consume small species like rabbits or beavers. In addition, these wolves will scavenge on occasion. Diet Carnivore, Scavenger.

What is a grey wolf called?

The Grey wolf is sometimes called the "common wolf". Also, in North America, the species is referred to as "timber wolf" while in the Arctic, the animal is known as "white wolf".

What is the largest dog in the world?

Male wolves have a straight tail and narrow chest. The feet of males are large and the legs are long. The overall color of the Grey wolf's fur is typically grey with black markings and lighter underparts, though wolves can occasionally be black, brown, red or even pure white. Grey wolves have a very thick fur, consisting of the coarse outer coat, which covers the soft undercoat. Due to the acute sense of hearing as well as keen sense of smell, the animal is able to successfully track down prey. In addition, the long legs allow them to make long steps, promoting high speed during the chase.

Where do grey wolves live?

Grey wolves occur across North America and Eurasia, primarily found in remote areas and wilderness. Their range includes different habitats such as forest, arctic tundra, arid terrain and prairie.

Is a grey wolf a villain?

Over the centuries, the Grey wolf has always been pictured as villain, typically being a negative character in various fairy-tales and fables. However, despite this baseless and horrible reputation, Grey wolfs are very intelligent and sociable animals.

How are Idaho species catalogs created?

Species’ ranges included on the Idaho Species Catalog originate from a variety of sources. Some are created in house by intersecting verified or trusted observation s with a hydrologic unit boundary to depict range extent.

What is a species range?

A species’ range is an area where a species could be found during its lifetime and includes areas where the species may live, disperse, migrate, breed, and/or hibernate. A species may utilize the range during different times of the year or different stages of their lifecycle. A species’ depicted range can over-estimate the area occupied due to the inclusion of non-habitat areas. Species distribution models are created to identify suitable habitat within their range and are not displayed on this map.

What is a gray box?

The gray box is a tenth of degree latitude longitude and indicates the database houses one or more species observation within that area.

Can you have more than one person observe you?

It is possible for the same individual to be observed and reported by more than one person.

Appearance

See more on nationalzoo.si.edu

Habitat

Function

Behaviour

Characteristics

Diet

Reproduction

Breeding