B.C. Coastal Wolves: Pelt Colour Variation Due to Ecological Factors Introduction The Grey Wolf (Canis Lupus) is a widely distributed species throughout parts of the world, from the Arctic regions to dry deserts (Bohman. 2005). In British Columbia alone, the estimated population of this species is around 8,000 (Musiani. Paquet. 2004). Since the Grey wolf is such a widespread mammal, it is inevitable that you’d find diversity within a closely related species, which is a key concept of evolution. A variety in pelt melanin due to geographical factors is an example of a documented variation. When comparing British Columbian Coastal Wolves to mainland Grey Wolves, this theory is proved. Coastal wolves generally have grey pelts with a dark undercoat. In contrast, a white colour is predominantly present in Alaskan Grey Wolves. This suggests that colouration may play a vital role in the overall success of Coastal Wolves, as well as migration and maintaining genetic diversity. Method …show more content…
I tried my best to keep a bare minimum of 15-20. My strategy was to pick articles that emphasized on genetic variations in Grey Wolves. I found that the quickest way to sort through them all was to read the abstracts. Finding key works like Coastal Wolves, evolution, and genetic variation proved very useful. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to find studies that predominantly focused on fur melanin. However, cross-referring the articles led me to helpful reports. I also noticed that a lot of the papers used the same sources. After ordering them from most to least useful, I began to write my literature review. The most challenging part was probably locating the necessary information, without straying from the main focus. Overall, all of the papers I have chosen tie into my literature review in one way or
We looked first at the relationship between the wolf population and the moose population. From about 1960 to 1970, the wolf population remained fairly consistent at about 20 to 25 wolves. During this time, the moose population grew steadily from 500 to over 1200. The next 10 years saw a doubling of the wolf population to 50. This same 10 years saw a decrease of the moose population from over 1200 to over 800. Then in 1980 began a two year drastic decline in the moose population, which was brought down to 15. For the rest of the decade, the moose population remained quite low at numbers near 20. During the 1980s, the moose population doubled again from around 800 to
The witch wolf is a dangerous species and is very unique. It almost looks the same as a normal wolf, there is only some changes. Some differences from a normal wolf is how it catches prey, how it acts, where it lives, or what kind of powers it has. The witch wolf has grey fur and amber eyes. But, while they are on the prowl, all of their hair stands on end and their eyes turn black. A adult witch wolf is about 5.1 feet to 7.3 feet in length, which is larger than a normal wolf by a couple feet. These special types of wolves live in packs. Next, they have special powers because they are part witch. They can lure prey away from safety with spells, and they can go invisible for very short periods of time. When these packs find prey they strike
The gray wolf is one of the world’s most well known and well researched animals with more documentation on them than any other wildlife species. It is a canid whose main habitats are in the wilderness of remote areas in North America, Eurasia and North Africa. It is the largest member of the wolf family, usually weighing between 70 and 120 lbs, and closely resembles in general appearance and proportions to a modern day breed of dog known as the German Sheppard, although they typically have a larger head, narrower chest, longer legs, straighter tails and bigger paws. The narrow chest of the gray wolf allows for swift and efficient movement through the common elements of their environment such as snow, brush and other conditions. Their larger heads indicate their higher level of intelligence and their large paws, webbed with fur aid in movement across mud and snow. The colour of a gray wolf’s fur lives up to its name and is predominantly a mottled gray although the gray wolf can also have fur that is nearly pure white, mixes of red, brown, or black. Being very social animals, gray wolves do mostly everything in packs of 2 – 15 animals; living, traveling and hunting. They can hunt and feed off smaller game, yet with their large pack size, they can work collectively to bring down large game such as deer, moose or bison. There are 37 recognized subspecies of the gray wolf in total ranging across six continents with familiar names that one
There are approximately only 150,000 gray wolves left in the world today, but the numbers are steadily decreasing because of us humans. The gray wolf is a strong and very powerful animal seeing as it has large canine teeth, powerful jaws, keen senses, and they have the power to pursue their prey at up to 37 miles per hour. Contrary to their name the gray wolf comes in all colors from black, pure white, and also a brownish red which can cause confusion between between them and coyotes. You can tell the coyote and wolf apart because the gray wolf has round ears and a broad snout. The gray wolf can live up to more than twelve years while protected but while unprotected they can only live up to seven or eight.
Fact 1: The Mexican wolf is slender with long legs. Its coat is mostly gray with light brown hairs along the back. It is found in the mountains of southwestern United States. Numbers of this type of wolf have fallen,and it is now protected by law.
While researching the gray wolf, I found out that it is actually a very touchy subject in Michigan. The hunting of Gray Wolves has been a very controversial topic. Gray wolves are native to Michigan but were nearly wiped out in the 19th and early 20th centuries by hunting and state-sanctioned bounties. In 1973, when Congress created the federal endangered species list, only six wolves were known to still exist in the Michigan wild, and gray wolves were considered an endangered species. By 2007, the wolf population in the Upper Peninsula topped 500 -- far exceeding the recovery benchmark of 100 set by the federal government, making the Great Lakes gray wolf one of the most successful recovery stories in the history of the endangered species list. The gray wolf actually came off the endangered species list in 2012, but as of December 2014, has been relisted.
Have you ever wondered what the world’s most fearless animal is? You might think it’s a lion, or a tiger, or a bear. However, according to the “Guinness Book of World Records,” this title belongs to the honey badger. The honey badger’s name means “Honey Eater of the Cape.” Native to South Africa, Asia, and India, the honey badger can live up to 25 years. They weigh up to 25 pounds and reach 2½ feet in length. The honey badger has a gray, black and white pelt. Because they are omnivores, they will eat literally anything (especially honey.) They are nocturnal and apparently lazy because they have been known to sleep in old aardvark dens, fox tunnels, and mongoose tunnels. But if they need a quick getaway the honey badger can dig a hold in a matter
Throughout the 1970’s, the US Fish and Wildlife Service developed a criteria to help identify the red wolf from the other the canids in order to protect them. Between 1974 and 1980, the US Fish and Wildlife service used this to identify and discovered that there only 17 red wolves remaining in the
Review: In many small populations, inbreeding depression had created a major obstacle in the conservation of natural populations. To determine level of inbreeding in the Scandinavian wolf, Canis Lupus, DNA techniques were combined with the ecological field to construct the pedigree. This small population was founded by at least by two immigrated wolfs from a large Finnish/Russian source population. The field data was collected from the snow tracking and radio telemetry, and territorial pairs and packs were distinguished so that fitness can be measured using the number of pups per litter surviving. For genetic analysis, blood samples were taken from captive wolves, muscles tissues of dead and oestrus blood on snow and from scats. Samples were
Wolves are vital to our world. They improve the ecosystem, the economy, and they provide countless bits of information about their species. I have three claims supporting this statement that prove that North America needs wolves. Let’s talk about some of the ways we can learn to live alongside wolves, and some of the ways we can help them recover.
After years of selective breeding and taming, the hunters finally came across some wolves that were able to listen to commands and do what they were ordered to do. These wolves did not look like the first ones with which humans came into contact. Their size, coloring, senses and even the length of their coat or swimming ability reflected the environment in which they lived. These environments could have ranged from anything since hunters do not stay in one place for very long. These wolves probably did not reflect their gray ancestors much anymore. The color of their coat could have become brown, black, or even yellow depending on where they were taken. Their size could have been affected, too, depending on how the hunters had used them- they could have shrunken to the size
As the most widely of all land mammals, the gray wolf (Canis lupus), is also one of the most adaptable. People think wolves are evil or a monster to some from stories like “Little Red Riding Hood” where the wolf dresses up as grandmother to scare little red riding hood. Or “Werewolf” where human turns into a wolf at night. Wolves are not bad. The wolf is truly a special animal.
Wolves are an absolute beautiful species. Your post was very interesting on how this particular species hadn’t had interactions with other wolf species in over 800,000 years! That is almost unbelievable! During my research of this species, it looks as if during the 20th century, wolves were not even recorded on the southern slopes of the Himalayas in Nepal. It is interesting that originally it was thought to be a subspecies of the gray wolf, but due to the vast differences amongst the two species, they decided to give it its own name (National Geographic, 2016). I think it is crucially important to focus on conservation of these species. The wooly wolf was able to evolve in isolation without mixing from other wolf and domestic dog lineages and are quite a rare species to spot in the Himalayas and therefore protecting this species is quite important (National Geographic,
Dim wolves go in shading from grizzled dark or dark to all-white. As the predecessor of the local puppy, the dark wolf takes after German shepherds or malamutes. In spite of the fact that they once almost vanished from the bring down 48 states, today wolves have come back to the Great Lakes, northern Rockies and Southwestern United States.Wolves assume a key part in keeping biological systems solid. They help hold deer and elk populaces under wraps, which can advantage numerous other plant and creature species. The bodies of their prey additionally help to redistribute supplements and give sustenance to other natural life species, similar to wild bears and foragers. Researchers are simply starting to completely comprehend the positive gradually
A single pack may contain animals that are black, shades of gray-brown, and white. Wolves in the heavily forested areas of eastern North America are more uniform in color. They are often a grizzled gray-brown like some German shepherd dogs. This color variation is a good example of natural selection, which enables those animals best suited to a particular environment to survive. On the arctic islands, where much of the ground is snow-covered for at least nine months of the year, being white is a distinct advantage, so wolves in the Arctic may be nearly white. In the mottled grey, green, and brown world of the eastern forests the normal coat of the wolf is an effective camouflage. As a wolf moves stealthily, or rests, it blends into the background and is hardly seen. Wolves in the Arctic have extremely dense under-fur, which insulates them against rigorous winters. Another adaptation to environment is their habit of hunting in packs, or groups, which enables them to kill large animals.