What is the classification of a wolf?
lupus (gray wolves) rufus (red wolves) lycaon (some scientists think is a subspecies of gray wolf – see below) Classification, or taxonomy, is the system of categorizing all living things. Living things are separated into different categories based on similarities and/or common ancestry.
What is the scientific name of a gray wolf?
Therefore, the gray wolf’s scientific name is Canis lupus. This naming system is referred to as binary nomenclature and is the same all around the world, which helps people who speak different languages talk about the same species without question.
What are some examples of common names?
For example, a gray wolf living in a forested area might be called a “timber wolf” while a gray wolf living on the tundra might be called a tundra wolf.
What are the subspecies of gray wolves?
Subspecies of gray wolves in North America include the Arctic wolf (Canis lupus arctos), northwestern wolf (Canis lupus occidentalis), Great Plains wolf (Canis lupus nubilus), Mexican wolf (Canis lupus baileyi) and the eastern timber wolf (Canis lupus lycaon), which is debated by some as a distinct species, the eastern wolf (Canis lycaon).
Is a coyote a wolf?
Coyotes, however, are not wolves. Coyotes and wolves are in the same family (Canidae) and genus (Canis), but are separate species, just as foxes and wolves are separate species. Like wolves, coyotes have been persecuted because of their predatory nature. They are still trapped and killed in predator control programs throughout North America ...
How big is a wolf?
Keen senses, large canine teeth, powerful jaws, and the ability to pursue prey at 60 km (37 miles) per hour equip the 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, it weighs about 45 kg (100 pounds), ...
How much does a wolf weigh?
Standing 76 cm (30 inches) tall at the shoulder, it weighs about 45 kg (100 pounds), but weight ranges from 14 to 65 kg (31 to 143 pounds), depending on the geographic area. Females average about 20 percent smaller than males. The largest wolves are found in west-central Canada, Alaska, and across northern Asia.
When did gray wolves become endangered?
In the late 20th century, greater tolerance, legal protection, and other factors allowed their range to expand in portions of North America and Europe. In 1974 gray wolves were classified as an endangered species by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service under the Endangered Species Act.
What is the Gray Wolf?
Early human societies that hunted for survival admired the wolf and tried to imitate its habits, but in recent centuries the wolf has been widely viewed as an evil creature, a danger to humans (especially in Eurasia), a competitor for big game animals, and a threat to livestock.
When were wolves released from Yellowstone National Park?
In 1995 wolves from Canada were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park and Idaho, and captive-reared Mexican wolves (a subspecies) were released to their former range in eastern Arizona beginning in 1998. At the beginning of the 21st century, an estimated 65,000–78,000 wolves inhabited North America.
What is a pack of wolves?
A pack is basically a family group consisting of an adult breeding pair (the alpha male and alpha female) and their offspring of various ages. Each individual has its own distinct personality. The ability of wolves to form strong social bonds with one another is what makes the wolf pack possible.
How many wolves are there in the world?
Worldwide, there are between 200,000 and 250,000 wolves, and they still occupy about two-thirds of their former range. Although often thought of as wilderness animals, wolves can and do thrive close to people when they are not excessively persecuted and food is available. Mexican gray wolf.
What color are wolves?
Colors vary from light to dark gray with black and white interspersed, to some individuals being solid black and solid white.
Where are gray wolves found?
Found in the U.S. except southeastern quarter, highlands of Mexico, Canada, Greenland, Libya, Egypt, and Eurasia with the exception of the southeastern corner. Habitat.
Why are wolves important to conservation?
Ecology and Conservation. Wolves are predators and as such help control the populations of prey species; however they have been blamed for also taking livestock species. Studies have shown that these incidences are rare. Wolves have been hunted and trapped for sport, for their fur and for extermination.
Why are wolves hunted?
Wolves have been hunted and trapped for sport, for their fur and for extermination. Many wolf populations have been eliminated from their historic ranges. Modern wolves are also at risk from canine parvovirus, parasitic heartworms and hybridization of the gene pool with coyotes and domestic dogs.
What is the diet of a carnivore?
Diet. Carnivorous; primarily prey on large mammals such as deer, wapiti, moose, caribou, bison, muskox, and mountain sheep. Smallest prey taken consistently is beaver. An adult can consume as much as 9 kg (20 lbs.) in one feeding. Incubation.
How fast do wolves run?
They travel at speeds of about 8 kph (4.9 mph) but can reach running speeds of up to 55 to 70 kph (34 to 43.5 mph).
How do gray wolves communicate?
Gray wolves communicate using vocalizations, scent marking, and body language. Howling is used to communicate territorial cues over long distances and helps to bring the pack back together when they are dispersed. Each wolf has a distinct howl.
Overview
The wolf (Canis lupus ), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of Canis lupus have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly understood, comprise wild subspecies. The wolf is the largest extant member of the family Canidae. It is also distinguished from other Canisspecies by its less pointed ears and muzzl…
Etymology
The English "wolf" stems from the Old English wulf, which is itself thought to be derived from the Proto-Germanic *wulfaz. The Proto-Indo-European root *wĺ̥kʷos may also be the source of the Latin word for the animal lupus (*lúkʷos). The name "gray wolf" refers to the grayish colour of the species.
Since pre-Christian times, Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons took on wulf as a prefix or s…
Taxonomy
In 1758, the Swedish botanist and zoologist Carl Linnaeus published in his Systema Naturae the binomial nomenclature. Canis is the Latin word meaning "dog", and under this genus he listed the doglike carnivores including domestic dogs, wolves, and jackals. He classified the domestic dog as Canis familiaris, and the wolf as Canis lupus. Linnaeus considered the dog to be a separate spe…
Description
The wolf is the largest extant member of the Canidae family, and is further distinguished from coyotes and jackals by a broader snout, shorter ears, a shorter torso and a longer tail. It is slender and powerfully built, with a large, deeply descending rib cage, a sloping back, and a heavily muscled neck. The wolf's legs are moderately longer than those of other canids, which enables th…
Ecology
Wolves occur across Eurasia and North America. However, deliberate human persecution because of livestock predation and fear of attacks on humans has reduced the wolf's range to about one-third of its historic range; the wolf is now extirpated(locally extinct) from much of its range in Western Europe, the United States and Mexico, and completely in Ireland, the United Kingdom, and Japan. …
Behaviour
The wolf is a social animal. Its populations consist of packs and lone wolves, most lone wolves being temporarily alone while they disperse from packs to form their own or join another one. The wolf's basic social unit is the nuclear family consisting of a mated pairaccompanied by their offspring. The average pack size in North America is eight wolves and in Europe 5.5 wolves. The aver…
Infections
Viral diseases carried by wolves include: rabies, canine distemper, canine parvovirus, infectious canine hepatitis, papillomatosis, and canine coronavirus. Wolves are a major host for rabies in Russia, Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq and India. In wolves, the incubation periodis eight to 21 days, and results in the host becoming agitated, deserting its pack, and travelling up to 80 km (50 mi) a day…
Status and conservation
The global wild wolf population in 2003 was estimated at 300,000. Wolf population declines have been arrested since the 1970s. This has fostered recolonization and reintroduction in parts of its former range as a result of legal protection, changes in land use, and rural human population shifts to cities. Competition with humans for livestock and game species, concerns over the d…
Wildlife
Definition
- Classification, or taxonomy, is the system of categorizing all living things. Living things are separated into different categories based on similarities and/or common ancestry.
Nomenclature
- Every living thing on earth has a unique scientific name consisting of two words in Latin, which are always italicized. The first letter of the first part of the name, the genus, is always capitalized in writing, while that of the second part, the species, is not. Therefore, the gray wolfs scientific name is Canis lupus. This naming system is referred to as binary nomenclature and is the same all aro…
Naming
- Unlike scientific names, common names are not always unique and vary by culture and geographic region. For example, a gray wolf living in a forested area might be called a timber wolf while a gray wolf living on the tundra might be called a tundra wolf.
Taxonomy
- The canid family consists of thirty-five living species. Eight of these species inhabit North America. These North American species include gray wolves, red wolves, coyotes, red foxes, gray foxes, kit foxes, swift foxes and arctic foxes. The eight species may be organized in three general categories: wolves, coyotes and foxes.
Habitat
- Wolves are the largest members of the canid family. This is the species from which our pet dogs were domesticated. Wolves were once the most widely distributed, wild terrestrial mammals. They inhabited most of the available land in the northern hemisphere. Due to the destruction of their habitat and persecution by humans, they now occupy only about two-thirds of their former r…
Subspecies
- However, these different types are so subjective that over the years scientists have disagreed as to whether in North America alone there are 24 such subspecies or only four. Current workers generally accept five, but a recent article lumped those into four. Subspecies of gray wolves in North America include the Arctic wolf (Canis lupus arctos), northwestern wolf (Canis lupus occi…
Geographic range
- Red wolves are only found in a small area of coastal North Carolina. They are a North American species of wolf not found elsewhere. Their social and predatory behaviors are the same as gray wolves.
Description
- Coyotes (Canis latrans) are smaller than most mature wolves. Resilient animals, they have higher population numbers and inhabit a much larger range than do wolves. Coyotes are able to
Conservation
- Like wolves, coyotes have been persecuted because of their predatory nature. They are still trapped and killed in predator control programs throughout North America but continue to thrive.
Setting
- Foxes match the coyotes ability to cope with civilization. Foxes are in the same family as wolves and coyotes (Canidae) but not the same genus. Gray(Urocyon cinereoargenteus) and red (Vulpes vulpes) foxes inhabit about three-quarters of the United States. Swift (Vulpes velox) and kit (Vulpes macrotis)foxes inhabit only small portions of the western United States. Arctic foxes …