11/14/2010 1 Wolves WLF314 2010 What is a wolf? Killer Brother Menace Fool Symbol Demon Provider Friend Keystone Trickster Hero Bardeleden et al. 2005 African wild dog Dhole Golden jackal Dog Gray wolf Coyote Side-striped jackal Black-backed jackal African wild dog (Lycaon pictus) Dhole (Cuon alpinus)
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11/14/2010
1
Wolves
WLF314
2010
What is a wolf?
Killer
Brother
Menace
Fool
Symbol
Demon Provider
Friend
Keystone
Trickster
Hero
Bardeleden et al. 2005
African wild dog
Dhole
Golden jackal
Dog
Gray wolf
Coyote
Side-striped jackal
Black-backed jackal
African wild dog (Lycaon pictus)
Dhole (Cuon alpinus)
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2
• 8 species
– But possibly 10, or 11, maybe even 12
• Northern Hemisphere (exception-
dingo)
• Highly social- packs
• Predatory but occasionally omnivorous
• Hybridization
Genus Canis Hybridization
Gray wolf (Canis lupus) Red wolf (Canis rufus) Ethiopian wolf (Canis simensis)
Coyote (Canis latrans) Golden jackal (Canis aureus) Dog (Canis familiaris)
Dingo (Canis lupus dingo) Eastern wolf (Canis lycaon)
Indian wolf (Canis lupus indica) Himalayan wolf (Canis lupus
himalayensis)
Ethiopian wolf (Canis simensis)
Gray wolf (Canis lupus)
• Circumpolar distribution
• Largest canid (23-80 kg)
• Color variation (white – black)
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3
Gray Wolf
• territorial – aggressive defense by pack
• females sexually mature ~ 2 yr, males ~ 3 yr
• gestation ~ 2 mo.
• altricial pups born in den – 8 to 10 wks
Wolf communication
• Highly social
• Vocal
– Howling
• Olfactory
– Scent rolling
• Body language
Schenkel 1947
Zimen 1981
Social ecology
• Pack- social unit
• Breeders and offspring
• Dispersal
– Budding
• Variation in size
• Seasonal
• Models of pack structure
Vonholdt et
al. 2008
Why packs?
• Larger prey?
• More efficient?
Thurber and Peterson 1993
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Ecosystem effects
• Often cited as a „keystone‟ species
• Direct effects
– Prey populations
– Mesopredators
• Indirect effects
– Plant communities
– Scavengers
– Trophic cascades
•1973 -- lower 48 listed
“Endangered” (except
MN = “Threatened”)
•2009 -- 3 DPSs
Eastern- threatened
Western- delisted
Southwestern- non-
essential experimental
population
Mexican Gray Wolf
(Canis lupus baileyi)
• genetically distinct
subspecies
Size: < northern gray wolf (~
red wolf, 20-36 kg)
Habitat: Mountains of the
SW Diet: elk, deer, small mammals
• extinct in native habitat
by 1950s
• 1998: 11 wolves
reintroduced to AZ & NM
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Red wolf (Canis rufus)
• Medium-sized canid (27-37 kg)
• Reddish coat color
• Pack social structure
USFWS
Nowak 2002
Early History
• Massachusetts- first wolf bounty (1630)
• Virginia Bay Colony followed (1632)
• Court records
from 1768 to
1789 indicated
wolf bounties
paid in eastern
NC Hailer &
Leonard 2008
1960s
• McCarley 1962
– Compared red wolf and coyote skulls
– Suggested red wolves in eastern Texas
likely hybrids
– Only pure red wolves in SW Louisiana
1960s
• More and more morphological studies found few pure red wolves
• Coyote range expanded eastward
• 1967 red wolves listed under US Endangered Species Preservation Act
Paradiso 1968
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1970s
• Pure wolves only existed in
coastal plains of SE Texas
and SW Louisiana
(Paradiso and Nowak 1972)
• USFWS- only way to save
red wolf was to capture
remaining pure individuals
1973-1980
• 400 wild canids captured from
remaining red wolf range
• 43 determined „morphologically‟ pure
red wolves
• Captive breeding tests determined only
17 actually pure
1980
• Captive breeding program initiated
– Point Defiance Zoo in Tacoma, WA
• Red wolf officially declared extinct in
the wild
1980s
North Carolina
1987
• 4 red wolf pairs reintroduced into
Alligator National Wildlife Refuge
• Non-essential experimental population
status
• 1st species declared
extinct to later be
reintroduced
1990s- Crisis
• Coyotes quickly migrated into eastern
NC
• 1993 1st hybridization event between
reintroduced wolves and coyotes
detected
• Fears of hybrid swarm
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1999
• PHVA conducted for red wolf
• Concluded greatest threat to red wolf was hybridization
• Formation of Red Wolf Recovery Implementation Team (RWRIT)