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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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• 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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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)

• Adopted aggressive adaptive management plan

2009

40 red wolf pups

7 hybrid pups (2

litters)

# of known wild litters

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

1988

1990

1992

1994

1996

1998

2000

2002

2004

2006

2008

Year

#o

f li

tte

rs

Hybrid

Wolf

USFWS 2007

5-year review

Coyote

Gray wolf

Red wolf

Nowak 2002

Two Types of DNA

Nucleus

Mitochondrion

Animal Cell

MtDNA

nDNA

Maternal

Inheritance

Biparental

Inheritance

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Roy et al. 1996

Roy et al. 1996

Wilson et al. 2000

Wilson et al. 2000

Wheeldon and White 2008

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What is a wolf?