Animal & Wolf Wallpapers & Backgrounds

Later that year, a study compared the DNA sequences using 127,000 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (mutations) of wolves and coyotes, but did not include red wolves and used Algonquin wolves as the representative eastern wolf, not wolves from the western Great Lakes states (usually referred to as Great Lakes wolves). The study indicated that Algonquin wolves were a distinct genomic cluster, even distinct from the Great Lakes states’ wolves, which it found were actually hybrids of the gray wolf and the Algonquin wolf. The study’s results did not exclude a possibility that the Great Lakes states’ wolf (the gray wolf x eastern wolf hybrid (C. l. lycaon)) historically inhabited southern Ontario, southern Quebec and the northeastern United States alongside the Algonquin wolf, as there is evidence to suggest both inhabited those areas. In 2016, a study of mDNA once again indicated the Eastern wolf as a coyote–wolf hybrid. In 2018, a study looked at the y-chromosome male lineage of canine

The species was first scientifically described in 1835 by Eduard Rüppell, who provided a skull for the British Museum. European writers traveling in Ethiopia during the mid-19th century (then called Abyssinia) wrote that the animal’s skin was never worn by natives, as it was popularly believed that the wearer would die should any wolf hairs enter an open wound, while Charles Darwin hypothesised that the species gave rise to greyhounds.[c] Since then, it was scarcely heard of in Europe up until the early 20th century, when several skins were shipped to England by Major Percy Horace Gordon Powell-Cotton during his travels in Abyssinia. The Ethiopian wolf was recognised as requiring protection in 1938, and received it in 1974. The first in-depth studies on the species occurred in the 1980s with the onset of the American-sponsored Bale Mountains Research Project. Ethiopian wolf populations in the Bale Mountains National Park were negatively affected by the political unrest of the Ethio

The Indian wolf was first described in 1831 by the British ornithologist William Henry Sykes under the binomial Canis pallipes. In 1941, Reginald Pocock subordinated it to Canis lupus under the trinomial Canis lupus pallipes. Admixture with other Canis species In 2018, whole genome sequencing was used to compare members of the genus Canis. The study found evidence of gene flow between African golden wolves, golden jackals, and grey wolves (from Saudi Arabia and Syria). One African golden wolf from the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula showed high admixture with the Middle Eastern grey wolves and dogs, highlighting the role of the land bridge between the African and Eurasian continents in canid evolution. The African golden wolf was found to be the descendant of a genetically admixed canid of 72% grey wolf and 28% Ethiopian wolf ancestry. , wolf , white wolf, wolf 4k wallpaper, wolf wallpaper live Wolf The phylogenetic descent of the extant wolf C. lupus from C. etruscus through C. mosb

The modern Italian wolf was first recognised as a distinct subspecies in 1921 by zoologist Giuseppe Altobello, who noted that its colour and skull differed from that of the common European wolf. He described the Italian population’s skull as being rounder in form than that of the typical European wolf, with smaller teeth closely approaching those of dogs and golden jackals in appearance. Altobello’s classification was later rejected by several authors, including Reginald Innes Pocock, who synonymised C. l. italicus with C. l. lupus. In 2002, the noted paleontologist R.M. Nowak reaffirmed the morphological distinctiveness of the Italian wolf in a study on grey wolf skulls from Italy, other Eurasian localities, and dog skulls. The results of this assessment showed no overlap in the skull morphology of Italian wolves and other grey wolves and dogs. Among the discovered characteristics distinguishing the Italian wolf were its relatively narrow palate between the first premolars, a broad

Using long-term data on red wolf individuals of known pedigree, it was found that inbreeding among first-degree relatives was rare. A likely mechanism for avoidance of inbreeding is independent dispersal trajectories from the natal pack. Many of the young wolves spend time alone or in small non-breeding packs composed of unrelated individuals. The union of two unrelated individuals in a new home range is the predominant pattern of breeding pair formation. Inbreeding is avoided because it results in progeny with reduced fitness (inbreeding depression) that is predominantly caused by the homozygous expression of recessive deleterious alleles. Prior to its extinction in the wild, the red wolf’s diet consisted of rabbits, rodents, and nutria (an introduced species). In contrast, the red wolves from the restored population rely on white-tailed deer, raccoon, nutria and rabbits. White-tailed deer were largely absent from the last wild refuge of red wolves on the Gulf Coast between Texas

In 2016, a whole-genome DNA study proposed, based on the assumptions made, that all of the North American wolves and coyotes diverged from a common ancestor less than 6,000–117,000 years ago, including the coyote diverging from Eurasian wolf about 51,000 years ago (which matches other studies indicating that the extant wolf came into being around this time), the red wolf diverging from the coyote between 55,000–117,000 years ago, and the eastern wolf (Great Lakes region and Algonquin) wolf diverging from the coyote 27,000-32,000 years ago, and asserts that these do not qualify as an ancient divergences that justify them being considered unique species. The study also indicated that all North America wolves have a significant amount of coyote ancestry and all coyotes some degree of wolf ancestry, and that the red wolf and eastern wolf are highly admixed with different proportions of gray wolf and coyote ancestry. The study found that coyote ancestry was highest in red wolves from th

The Mexican wolf was listed as endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species Act in 1976, with the Mexican Wolf Recovery Team being formed three years later by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The Recovery Team composed the Mexican Wolf Recovery Plan, which called for the reestablishment of at least 100 wolves in their historic range through a captive breeding program. Between 1977 and 1980, four males and a pregnant female were captured in Durango and Chihuahua in Mexico to act as founders of a new “certified lineage”. By 1999, with the addition of new lineages, the captive Mexican wolf population throughout the US and Mexico reached 178 individuals. These captive-bred animals were subsequently released into the Apache National Forest in eastern Arizona, and allowed to recolonize east-central Arizona and south-central New Mexico, areas which were collectively termed the Blue Range Wolf Recovery Area (BRWRA). The Recovery Plan called for the release of additional wolves i

Since 1987, red wolves have been released into northeastern North Carolina, where they roam 1.7 million acres. These lands span five counties (Dare, Hyde, Tyrrell, Washington, and Beaufort) and include three national wildlife refuges, a U.S. Air Force bombing range, and private land. The red wolf recovery program is unique for a large carnivore reintroduction in that more than half of the land used for reintroduction lies on private property. Approximately 680,000 acres (2,800 km2) are federal and state lands, and 1,002,000 acres (4,050 km2) are private lands. Beginning in 1991, red wolves were also released into the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in eastern Tennessee. However, due to exposure to environmental disease (parvovirus), parasites, and competition (with coyotes as well as intraspecific aggression), the red wolf was unable to successfully establish a wild population in the park. Low prey density was also a problem, forcing the wolves to leave the park boundaries in p

The Italian wolf was first sighted in southwestern France in 1992. In the two decades following its initial recolonisation, the wolf has expanded its range at the west of the Rhône, in the Massif Central, the eastern Pyrenees, and the Jura and Vosges Mountains. At least 13 transient Italian wolves (12 males and a female) were counted in Catalonia between 2000 and 2011, a century after the local Iberian wolf (C. l. signatus) was extirpated from the area. One of these was reported in the media to have been killed on the road and identified in Baix Empordà, Catalonia in 2018. Technicians and veterinarians of the Torreferrussa Wildlife Center identified the body as being of the subspecies Canis lupus italicus. The first evidence of grey wolf expansion into Switzerland occurred in 1995–1996 in the southern Canton of Valais, where around 100 sheep were killed. In 1998–1999, 40 sheep were killed and two wolves were found dead from poaching and car collisions. Italian, French and Swiss wol

By late 2012, it was estimated that there were at least 75 wolves and four breeding pairs living in the recovery areas, with 27% of the population consisting of pups. Since 1998, 92 wolf deaths were recorded, with four occurring in 2012; these four were all due to illegal shootings. Releases have also been conducted in Mexico, and the first birth of a wild wolf litter in Mexico was reported in 2014. A study released by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in February 2015 shows a minimum population of 109 wolves in 2014 in southwest New Mexico and southeast Arizona, a 31 percent increase from 2013. According to a survey done on the population of the Mexican wolf in Alpine, Arizona, the recovery of the species is being negatively impacted due to poaching. In an effort to fight the slowing recovery, GPS monitoring devices are being used to monitor the wolves. In 2016, 14 Mexican wolves were killed, making it the highest death count of any year since they were reintroduced into the w

Gestation lasts 60 to 65 days and a litter may have from two to six pups. One litter of seven has been recorded. Birthing has been observed in May in the Canastra Mountains, but data from captive animals suggest that births are concentrated between June and September. The maned wolf reproduces with difficulty in the wild, with a high rate of infant mortality. Females can go up to two years without breeding. Breeding in captivity is even more difficult, especially in temperate parts of the Northern Hemisphere. Pups are born weighing between 340 and 430 grams. They begin their lives with black fur, becoming red after ten weeks. The eyes open at about 9 days of age. They are breastfed up to 4 months. Afterwards, they are fed by their parents via regurgitation, starting on the 3rd week of age and lasting up to 10 months. Three-month-old pups begin to accompany their mother while she forages. Males and females both engage in parental care, but it is primarily done by the females. Data o

The eastern wolf (Canis lupus lycaon), also known as the timber wolf, Algonquin wolf or eastern timber wolf, is a type of wolf native to the Great Lakes region and southeastern Canada, considered to be either a unique subspecies of gray wolf or a separate species from the gray wolf. Many studies have found the eastern wolf to be the product of ancient and recent genetic admixture between the gray wolf and the coyote, while other studies have found some or all populations of the eastern wolf, as well as coyotes, originally separated from a common ancestor with the wolf over 1 million years ago and that these populations of the eastern wolf may be the same species as or a closely related species to the red wolf of the Southeastern United States. Regardless of its status, it is regarded as unique and therefore worthy of conservation with Canada citing the population in eastern Canada (also known as the “Algonquin wolf”) as being the eastern wolf population subject to protection. There

The dire wolf was about the same size as the largest modern gray wolves (Canis lupus): the Yukon wolf and the northwestern wolf. C. d. guildayi weighed on average 60 kilograms (132 lb) and C. d. dirus was on average 68 kg (150 lb). Its skull and dentition matched those of C. lupus, but its teeth were larger with greater shearing ability, and its bite force at the canine tooth was the strongest of any known Canis species. These characteristics are thought to be adaptations for preying on Late Pleistocene megaherbivores, and in North America its prey are known to have included horses, ground sloths, mastodons, bison, and camels. As with other large Canis hypercarnivores today, the dire wolf is thought to have been a pack hunter. Its extinction occurred during the Quaternary extinction event along with most of the American megafauna of the time, including a number of other carnivores,[note 1] that occurred soon after the appearance of humans in the New World. Its reliance on megaherbiv

In 2016, a study of mitochondrial DNA sequences of both modern and ancient wolves generated a phylogenetic tree which indicated that the two most basal North American haplotypes included the Mexican wolf and the Vancouver Island wolf. In 2018, a study looked at the limb morphology of modern and fossil North American wolves. The major limb bones of the dire wolf, Beringian wolf, and most modern North American gray wolves can be clearly distinguished from one another. Late Pleistocene wolves on both sides of the Laurentide Ice Sheet — Cordilleran Ice Sheet possessed shorter legs when compared with most modern wolves. The Late Pleistocene wolves from the Natural Trap Cave, Wyoming and Rancho La Brea, southern California were similar in limb morphology to the Beringian wolves of Alaska. Modern wolves in the Midwestern USA and northwestern North America possess longer legs that evolved during the Holocene, possibly driven by the loss of slower prey. However, shorter legs survived well i

The Ethiopian wolf is similar in size and build to North America’s coyote; it is larger than the golden, black-backed, and side-striped jackals, and has comparatively longer legs. Its skull is very flat, with a long facial region accounting for 58% of the skull’s total length. The ears are broad, pointed, and directed forward. The teeth, particularly the premolars, are small and widely spaced. The canine teeth measure 14–22 mm in length, while the carnassials are relatively small. The Ethiopian wolf has eight mammae, of which only six are functional. The front paws have five toes, including a dewclaw, while the hind paws have four. As is typical in the genus Canis, males are larger than females, having 20% greater body mass. Adults measure 841–1,012 mm (33.1–39.8 in) in body length, and 530–620 mm (21–24 in) in height. Adult males weigh 14.2–19.3 kg (31–43 lb), while females weigh 11.2–14.15 kg (24.7–31.2 lb). , wolf backgrounds , wolf wallpaper live, wolf background wallpaper, wo

Indian wolves are nocturnal and hunt from dusk to dawn, using different strategies for their various prey animals. These wolves are said to be exceptional in speed and endurance. An Indian wolf pack will spread themselves out when hunting Indian hares and various rodents, in contrast to coordinating when their target is the swift blackbuck antelope. The blackbuck is the major prey animal for wolves in Nannaj and Blackbuck National Park and constitute up to 88% of Indian wolf biomass consumption. Because the antelope is faster, Indian wolves will usually chase it toward ravines, bushes or hollows, where more wolves wait in ambush. In addition to leading antelopes into an ambush, Indian wolves can chase blackbucks down hills for a short-term burst in speed. Indian wolves may also select a sick or injured animal and separate it from the herd, pursuing it to exhaustion. This strategy is commonly seen in grey wolves, and often proves successful. Finally, when they close the distance and

Interbreeding with the coyote has been recognized as a threat affecting the restoration of red wolves. Currently, adaptive management efforts are making progress in reducing the threat of coyotes to the red wolf population in northeastern North Carolina. Other threats, such as habitat fragmentation, disease, and human-caused mortality, are of concern in the restoration of red wolves. Efforts to reduce the threats are presently being explored. By 1999, introgression of coyote genes was recognized as the single greatest threat to wild red wolf recovery and an adaptive management plan which included coyote sterilization has been successful, with coyote genes being reduced by 2015 to < 4% of the wild red wolf population. Since the 2014 programmatic review, the USFWS ceased implementing the red wolf adaptive management plan that was responsible for preventing red wolf hybridization with coyotes and allowed the release of captive-born red wolves into the wild population. Since then,

Cave wolf populations are known from three caves separated by a few kilometers from each other that are located on the Franconia Karst along the Wiesent and Ahorn River vallies in the Upper Franconia region of the state of Bavaria, Germany. Sophie’s Cave sits on the northwest slope of the Ailsbach Valley near Rabenstein Castle in the Ahorntal municipality. Große Teufels Cave (Big Devil’s Cave) and the Zoolithen Cave are located nearby. They are also known from Hermann’s Cave in the village of Rübeland near the town of Wernigerode, in the district of Harz, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Its bone proportions are close to those of the Canadian Arctic-boreal mountain-adapted timber wolf and a little larger than those of the modern European wolf. Some postcranial bones have similarly large proportions to those from the Sophie’s and Große Teufels Caves, where the bone sizes are closer to those of Scandinavian Arctic and Canadian Columbian wolf subspecies than to those of the smaller European wol

Gestation lasts 60 to 65 days and a litter may have from two to six pups. One litter of seven has been recorded. Birthing has been observed in May in the Canastra Mountains, but data from captive animals suggest that births are concentrated between June and September. The maned wolf reproduces with difficulty in the wild, with a high rate of infant mortality. Females can go up to two years without breeding. Breeding in captivity is even more difficult, especially in temperate parts of the Northern Hemisphere. Pups are born weighing between 340 and 430 grams. They begin their lives with black fur, becoming red after ten weeks. The eyes open at about 9 days of age. They are breastfed up to 4 months. Afterwards, they are fed by their parents via regurgitation, starting on the 3rd week of age and lasting up to 10 months. Three-month-old pups begin to accompany their mother while she forages. Males and females both engage in parental care, but it is primarily done by the females. Data o

The taxonomic status of the red wolf is debated. It has been described as either a species with a distinct lineage, a recent hybrid of the gray wolf and the coyote, an ancient hybrid of the gray wolf and the coyote which warrants species status, or a distinct species that has undergone recent hybridization with the coyote. The naturalists John James Audubon and John Bachman were the first to suggest that the wolves of the southern United States were different from wolves in its other regions. In 1851 they recorded the “Black American Wolf” as C. l. var. arer that existed in Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Kentucky, southern Indiana, southern Missouri, Louisiana, and northern Texas. They also recorded the “Red Texan Wolf” as C. l. var. rufus that existed from northern Arkansas, through Texas, and into Mexico. In 1912 the zoologist Gerrit Smith Miller Jr. noted that the designation arer was unavailable and recorded these wolves as C. l. floridanus. , wolf , wolf images, wo

The Indian wolf (Canis lupus pallipes) is a subspecies of grey wolf that ranges from Southwest Asia to the Indian Subcontinent. It is intermediate in size between the Himalayan wolf and the Arabian wolf, and lacks the former’s luxuriant winter coat due to it living in warmer conditions. Within this subspecies, the “Indian plains wolf” is genetically basal to all other extant Canis lupus apart from the older-lineage Himalayan wolf, with both proposed as separate species. The Indian wolf travels in smaller packs and is less vocal than other variants of the grey wolf, and has a reputation for being cunning. , wolf wallpaper , alpha wolf, alpha wolf, wolf images Wolf 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

Unlike eastern wolves and red wolves, the gray wolf species rarely interbreeds with coyotes in the wild. Direct hybridizations between coyotes and gray wolves was never explicitly observed. Nevertheless, in a study that analyzed the molecular genetics of the coyotes as well as samples of historical red wolves and Mexican wolves from Texas, a few coyote genetic markers have been found in the historical samples of some isolated individual Mexican wolves. Likewise, gray wolf Y-chromosomes have also been found in a few individual male Texan coyotes. This study suggested that although the Mexican gray wolf is generally less prone to hybridizations with coyotes compared to the red wolf, there may have been exceptional genetic exchanges with the Texan coyotes among a few individual gray wolves from historical remnants before the population was completely extirpated in Texas. However, the same study also countered that theory with an alternative possibility that it may have been the red wol