WOLVES, JACKALS, COYOTE, DHOLE, AFRICAN DOG AND DOMESTIC DOG
RECOGNITION Wolf-like Canids form a widely distributed group that includes species in the genus Canis (Wolves, Eurasian Jackal, Coyote, Dog), Lycaon (African Wild Dog), Cuon (Dhole), and Lupulella (Side-Striped and Black-Backed Jackals). All Wolf-like Canids have a similar basic form: a graceful body with relatively long legs, adapted for chasing prey. The tails are bushy and the length and quality of the pelage varies with the season. The muzzle portion of the skull is much more elongated than that of Felidae. With the exception of the four-toed African Wild Dog, there are five toes on the forefeet but the pollex (known as dewclaw) is reduced and does not reach the ground. On the hind feet, there are four toes, but in some Domestic Dogs, a fifth vestigial toe may be present. They exhibit the typical Canid dental formula, I 3/3, C 1/1, P 4/4, M 2/3 = 42, except Dholes, which have 40 teeth. Chromosome number of all Wolf-like Canids is 2n=78. Canis species can hybridize to produce fertile offspring.
PHYLOGENY The first recognized member of the Caninae subfamily, the Fox-sized Leptocyon, lived in North America in the early Oligocene (32-30 Ma). Later, in the medial Miocene (12-10 Ma), a Jackal-sized species of the Wolf-like clade began to appear in the form of the taxon Eucyon. It colonized Europe by the end of the Miocene (6-5 Ma), and was present in Asia in the early Pliocene (ca. 4 Ma). The genera Canis and Lycaon are first recorded around the boundary between the Miocene and the Pliocene (6-5 Ma) in the North American continent. While expanding their range into Eurasia and Africa, these Canids went through an extensive radiation, resulting in a series of closely related species with a predominant circumarctic distribution, enduring range expansions and contractions according to the warmer/colder climate cycles. The exact order of events then becomes very hard to follow because of the huge areas potentially covered by various species and the possibility of them crossing to and fro between Eurasia and America. The situation is made even more complex because significant climate changes often caused expansions, as well as reductions or extinctions, affecting a range of species. Coyote represents the only surviving endemic species in the New World, originating from the extinct Canis lepophagus 2.5-1 Ma. In contrast, Canis species diverged in the Old World during the late Plio-Pleistocene (2-1.5 Ma), colonizing Europe, Asia and Africa, and the radiation gave rise to Canid forms such as Wolves, Dholes and Wild Dogs. The Eurasian Canis etruscus and the further descendant form C. mosbachensis are regarded as the ancestors of Gray Wolves, Dholes and African Wild Dogs. This large radiation took place in Eurasia and Africa. Wolves emerged by 800,000 years ago and extended their habitat to North America by crossing the Bering Strait 100,000 years ago.
BEHAVIOR The sociality is variable between species, populations and individuals, but they all live in small families and display a range of feeding behaviors from scavenging and solitary hunting to organized attacks by a group of subadults and adults. Reproduction is generally monopolized by dominant females, and non-breeding individuals of both sexes may act as helpers. In contrast to Foxes, where young normally leave within 6-10 months after birth, Wolf-like Canids stay usually at least until the next breeding season or, more frequently, for the next 1-2 years.
DISTRIBUTION Wolf-like Canids occupy every continent except Antarctica, and most species are highly adaptive to a wide range of ecological conditions. They occupy almost every habitat except permanent ice and they are rare in tropical rain forests. Domestic Dogs have traveled with humans to every corner of the planet. Gray Wolves occur in Canada, Alaska and the northern USA, Europe and Asia. African Wolves occur in North and West Africa, while Ethiopian Wolves occur only in a few isolated pockets in Ethiopia. Coyotes, originally restricted to the open and arid plains of the western United States, are now one of the most widely distributed carnivores in North America. Side-Striped Jackals occur from northern South Africa to Ethiopia. Black-Backed Jackals are most typical in East Africa. Golden Jackals can be found in eastern and southern Europe, and parts of Asia. Dholes were historically found in East and South Asia, but their current range has been seriously reduced. African Wild Dogs remain in southern Africa and East Africa.
CONSERVATION The Ethiopian Wolf, with about 500 survivors, is the most vulnerable species; this animal lives only on rodents above 3,000 m on Ethiopian mountains, and its range is now reduced to seven small populations largely isolated from one another on the tops of different massifs. The Red Wolf was extinct in the wild by 1980, and now exists only in a reintroduced population in North Carolina (USA), with less than 150 survivors. The Gray Wolf, the most widely distributed mammal, has become extinct in much of western Europe, in Mexico and much of the USA, and its present distribution is more restricted. The African Wild Dog population may be as low as 6,000, and perversely it does not flourish in the rich game reserves as it is competitively inferior to lions and spotted hyenas. The fate of the Dhole is largely unknown but it has certainly suffered a huge contraction of its range.
CANIS RUFUS
(PROVISIONAL/SPECIES UNCERTAIN)
BL: 104-125 cm (♂), 90-120 cm (♀). TL: 33-46 cm. H: 61-66 cm. W: 22-41 kg (♂), 20-30 kg (♀). SL: 21.9 cm. SW: 11.7 cm. DF: 42. CN: 78. A large-sized Canid, intermediate between the Coyote and Gray Wolf, slender, long legged with proportionately large ears. Dorsal pelage is variable in coloration and generally is brownish or cinnamon, with gray and black shading on the back and tail. Melanism is uncommon. Tail is bushy and tipped with black. Belly, nose and throat are whitish buff. Muzzle, ears, nape and outer surfaces of the legs are tawny to cinnamon buff. Ears are proportionately larger than those of the Coyote and Gray Wolf. Females slightly smaller than males.
OTHER NAMES Florida Wolf, Mississippi Valley Wolf. French: Loup rouge. German: Rotwolf, Sumpfwolf. Spanish: Lobo rojo. Italian: Lupo rosso. Russian: Рыжий волк.
TAXONOMY Its validity as a distinct species is questioned, being considered an hybrid with Gray Wolf and Coyote, or a subspecies of the Gray Wolf. Three subspecies were recognized: C. rufus floridanus † (Florida Red Wolf), C. rufus rufus † (Texas Red Wolf) and C. rufus gregoryi, which is the only surviving subspecies, and the subspecies used for its reintroduction.
SIMILAR SPECIES Coyote is smaller with a more shallow profile and narrower head. Gray Wolf has a more prominent ruff and is larger overall.
REPRODUCTION Gestation: 61-63 days. Young per birth: 1-8. Weaning: Probably 50 days. Sexual maturity: 2-3 years. Life span: 5-14 years. Breeding season: February and March. Peak whelping dates occur from mid-April to mid-May. Monogamous, with both parents participating in the rearing of young. Pregnant ♀ may establish several dens; denning sites include hollow tree trunks, along stream banks and the abandoned earths of other animals. Dispersal typically occurs before individuals reach 2 years of age.
BEHAVIOR Social behavior: Extended family units from 1 to 12 individuals, including a dominant, breeding pair and offspring from previous years. Diet: Opportunistic predator and will take prey items that are available, mainly small mammals (white-tailed deer, raccoon, nutria and rabbits), but also birds, frogs and turtles. Primarily nocturnal, with crepuscular peaks of activity. More sociable than Coyote, but less so than the Gray Wolf. They may forage individually or hunt in groups of pack members. Territorial, they scent mark boundaries to exclude non-group members. Home ranges from 46 to 226 km2. Well adapted to the hot, humid climate of SE United States, with relatively large ears for heat dissipation and molting once a year to replace their cold-season pelage. Vocalizations include the characteristic howl, along with a series of barks, growling and yaps.
DISTRIBUTION Reintroduced: United States (North Carolina). Historical range extended throughout E United States from the Atlantic Ocean to central Texas, and in the N from S Ontario (Canada) and N Pennsylvania, S to the Gulf of Mexico. Current range includes reintroduced populations in NE North Carolina, between the Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds. They have also been released on Bull’s Island (South Carolina), St. Vincent Island (Florida), and Horn Island (Mississippi), and in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, but breeding and survival have been limited.
HABITAT These habitat generalists can thrive in most settings where prey populations are adequate and persecution by humans is slight. Extensive bottomland river forests and swamps, treeless agricultural lands, pocosins.
CONSERVATION STATUS Critically Endangered. CITES: Not listed. It was Extinct in the Wild by 1980, and reintroduced into North Carolina. Total population within the reintroduction area is 70. Abundance outside the reintroduction area is unknown. Approximately 200 are in captivity throughout the United States and Canada. Hybridization with Coyotes is the primary threat.
PHOTO CREDITS B. Bartel/USFWS, Bethany Weeks and Aimee Steeley, Point Defiance Zoo (USA).
CANIS LYCAON
(PROVISIONAL/SPECIES UNCERTAIN)
BL: 105-125 cm. TL: 39-48 cm. H: 60-70 cm. W: 19.5-36.7 kg (♂), 17-32 kg (♀). SL: 24.9 cm. SW: 13.1 cm. DF: 42. CN: 78. A large-sized, lightly-built Canid, intermediate in size between Coyote and Gray Wolf. Coat from black to white, but typically consists of a grizzled grayish brown, mixed with cinnamon, rufous or creamy along the sides and beneath the chest, and salt-and-pepper black and gray guard hairs along the nape, shoulder and tail region. Black coats are relatively rare. Head is relatively large, with broad cheeks. Erect ears rounded at tip, relatively smaller, back of the ears is reddish. Light-colored slanted eyes. Elongated snout, with black nose and large inward-curved canine teeth. Straight bushy tail, relatively short, black tipped. Long legs with large front feet and smaller back feet.
OTHER NAMES Algonquin Wolf, Great Lakes Wolf, Eastern Timber Wolf. French: Loup de l’Est. German: Timberwolf. Spanish: Lobo rojo canadiense, lobo americano oriental. Russian: Восточный североамериканский лесной волк.
TAXONOMY Its validity as a distinct species has been questioned, being considered the result of hybridization among Gray Wolf and Coyote, or a Gray Wolf subspecies (C. lupus lycaon). There is general consensus that the historical and continued sympatric distributions of C. lycaon, C. lupus and C. latrans have led to widespread hybridization, backcrossing, advanced-generation hybridization, and introgression among these three taxa in E North America.
REPRODUCTION Gestation: 63 days. Young per birth: 3-7. Weaning: 42-56 days. Sexual maturity: 22 months. Life span: 4-15 years. Breeding season: February, with most births in April and early May. Only the dominant breeding pair mate; however, when prey in winter is abundant, a wolf pack may have multiple litters. Den sites typically found in conifer dominated forests close to a permanent water source. Suitable soil to construct a den, such as sand, is necessary for excavation. At 6-8 weeks pups are moved from the natal den to an initial rendezvous site within their territory. At 18 weeks, young are large enough to travel and hunt with the pack. They reach adult size by 6-8 months of age, and disperse up to 800 km.
BEHAVIOR Social behavior: Family groups of 3-6 animals, consisting of a pair of breeding adults and their young of 1-2 years old; packs usually smaller than in Gray Wolf. Diet: Primarily prey on white-tailed deer, but moose and beaver are very important secondary food sources. Main predators: Black bear on pups, other Wolves. Year-round residents of Algonquin Provincial Park, but they may travel long distances to find food. Summer home ranges are between 18 and 70 km2, while winter territories are much larger, ranging from 104 to 311 km2. The pack has a complex social hierarchy maintained through a variety of vocalizations, body postures and scent marking. They howl singly, to keep in contact with other members of the pack, or in groups, to defend a pack’s territory from possible intruders.
DISTRIBUTION Native: Canada. Current range is centered in E-central Ontario in the vicinity of Algonquin Provincial Park, extending W toward the vicinity of Georgian Bay in Lake Huron, and E into Quebec. To the N and NW they come in contact with Gray Wolves and admix with them, but rarely if ever breed with Coyotes. To the S and SE, they contact Coyotes and admix with these. They are considered extirpated throughout the NE United States, but they may disperse occasionally from Canada to NE New York, and Maine.
HABITAT Deciduous and mixed forest landscapes with low human density. It is most prevalent in areas with abundant prey, such as beaver, white-tailed deer and moose.
CONSERVATION STATUS Not evaluated by IUCN. CITES: Not listed. Regional status: Threatened (Canada). Population is considered stable or increasing, estimated at 1,000 to 4,400 wolves in the W Great Lakes (considered an admixture of Gray and Eastern Wolf), 590 in Quebec, and 500 in Ontario. Main threats include destruction of habitat and range, hybridization with Coyotes, and hunting and trapping, which do not distinguish between Gray and Eastern Wolves.
PHOTO CREDITS Nancy Barrett, Scott Martin, Steve Dunford, Algonquin Provincial Park (Canada).
CANIS LUPUS ARCTOS
BL: 60-140 cm. TL: 30-50 cm. H: 63-79 cm. W: 35-50 kg (♂), 36-38 kg (♀). SL: 24 cm. SW: 14.5 cm. DF: 42. CN: 78. A large Wolf. Long, thick, thoroughly insulated fur. Coat is white year-round, but may be mottled with gray, brown and black. No black phase individuals. Slightly shorter muzzle, more rounded ears and shorter legs, as an adaptation to reduce heat loss. Hair between the pads of the feet. Nails are taupe color. Tail covered with a bushy white fur. Dark spot of fur covering the supracaudal scent gland, about 10 cm from the base of the tail. Slanted almond-shaped eyes, amber to brown or gold, with heavy dark black eye lining. Nose and lips are black. Females are smaller than males, with 5 pairs of mammae. Young are born with a brownish-gray coat and blue eyes.
OTHER NAMES American Arctic Wolf, Melville Island Wolf, White Wolf, Polar Wolf. French: Loup arctique. German: Arktischer Wolf. Spanish: Lobo polar, lobo blanco. Russian: Арктический (полярный) островной волк.
TAXONOMY Considered a subspecies of Gray Wolf (C. lupus). Until recently, 24 subspecies of Gray Wolf were recognized for North America, but most authors now propose only 4 subspecies (Nowak and Federoff, 2002): C. l. arctos (Arctic Wolf), C. l. nubilus (Plains Wolf), C. l. occidentalis (Northwestern Wolf), and C. l. baileyi (Mexican Wolf). Wolf migration and extensive range obscure possible distinct subspecies through significant interbreeding. Variation within the same subspecies can be quite significant in terms of size and color. Includes arctos (found in Northwest Territories, Melville Peninsula and Nunavut, Sverdrup and Ellesmere Islands, and neighboring islands), bernardi (found at Banks and Victoria Islands of the Canadian Arctic), and orion (Greenland Wolf, found in N Greenland).
SIMILAR SPECIES Distinguished from C. l. occidentalis by its smaller size, whiter coloration, narrower braincase, and larger carnassials. Since 1930, there has been a progressive reduction in size in Arctic Wolf skulls, which may be the result of Wolf-Dog hybridization.
REPRODUCTION Gestation: 63 days. Young per birth: 2-3. Weaning: 42-56 days. Sexual maturity: 2 years. Life span: 7-9 years, 17 years in captivity. Breeding season: Once a year, in late March and early April. Births occur in late May to early June, about a month later than southern subspecies. Due to the permafrost they cannot dig dens so instead use rocky outcrops, caves or shallow depressions in the unyielding tundra soil. Young stay in the den for 2 weeks but remain near it for at least a month. Both parents care for and feed the litter, as do yearling and older sibling helpers. After 3 months the offspring officially join the pack.
BEHAVIOR Social behavior: Packs from 2 to 20 individuals, depending on food availability. Diet: Preys primarily on musk oxen, Arctic hare, caribou and seals; like other subspecies they opportunistically eat all other types of vertebrates available. In contrast to other subspecies, they will prey on anything and eat the entire carcass, including fur and bones. Main predators: Polar bear, rarely other Wolves. They can survive in subzero temperatures, in absolute darkness for 5 months per year, and without food for weeks. Like other wolves, they live and hunt in packs, have a social hierarchy and hold territories. They roam large areas due to the low density of prey, with territories of well over 2,500 km2, much larger than their southern relatives. They mark their territory with urine and their own scent, as do other subspecies. They rarely come in contact with humans and have not suffered the same persecution and near extermination as other subspecies.
DISTRIBUTION Native: Canada, Greenland. Found above 67° N latitude. Still found in its original range.
HABITAT Taiga, tundra and barren grounds.
CONSERVATION STATUS Least Concern. CITES: Appendix II. Population status is stable. Hunted and trapped primarily by Inuit and other native people, but not threatened. A decline in Arctic prey can severely damage Arctic Wolf populations.
PHOTO CREDITS Sergey Chichagov, Klaipeda Zoo (Lithuania); Josef Pittner, Parc Omega (Canada).
CANIS LUPUS BAILEYI
BL: 103-157 cm. TL: 35-42 cm. H: 60.9-81.2 cm. W: 30-41 kg (♂), 21-30 kg (♀). SL: 25.6 cm. SW: 14.7 cm. DF: 42. CN: 78. A small Wolf, the smallest subspecies of North America, with long legs and sleek body. Coat is dark yellowish-gray buff, gray or rust, heavily clouded with black over the back and tail, becoming pale buffy along flanks and outer sides of limbs. Solid black or white does not occur. Underparts pale, buffy whitish, varying to pale, grizzled grayish across throat. Feet dull white. Tail grizzled brownish gray above, and light buffy below, becoming black interspersed with a few gray hairs all around near tip. Nose and lips are black. Large head with a short thick muzzle. Top of head, ears and muzzle near ochraceous tawny. Slanted almond-shaped eyes, amber to brown or gold. Tail relatively large, covered with thin long fur. Nails are dark. Females are smaller than males, with 5 pairs of mammae.
OTHER NAMES French: Loup du Mexique, loup gris mexicain. German: Mexikanischer Wolf. Spanish: Lobo mexicano. Italian: Lupo messicano. Russian: Мексиканский волк. Náhuatl: Cuetlachtli, cuitlachcóyotl.
TAXONOMY Considered a subspecies of North American Gray Wolf (C. lupus). Includes mogollonensis (Mogollon Mountain Wolf †), and monstrabilis (Texas Gray Wolf †, found in central and S Texas).
SIMILAR SPECIES C. l. nubilus has a larger, wider skull, with a lighter pelt color. Coyotes weigh 2–3 times less, have smaller rounder heads, a smaller nose pad, more pointed ears, feet smaller in proportion to the body, and hold their tail downward whereas baileyi holds its tail straight out. It looks like a shaggy German Shepherd Dog but has predominantly longer forefeet and legs. Red Wolf (C. rufus) is smaller, with a comparatively delicate, narrow, flattened, Coyote-like skull, with relatively larger molars.
REPRODUCTION Gestation: 63 days. Young per birth: 4-7. Weaning: 42-56 days. Sexual maturity: 2 years. Life span: 15 years in captivity. Breeding season: Once a year from mid-February to mid-March. Dens are made under rock ledges, off the slopes of canyon walls or hills, with good visibility of the surrounding area. All members of the pack share in the care and feeding of pups.
BEHAVIOR Social behavior: Pack of 4-7 individuals, smaller than in northern subspecies, due to their preference for smaller prey. Diet: Prey primarily on elk, white-tailed deer and mule deer; they are also known to eat smaller mammals like javelinas, rabbits, ground squirrels and mice; they have been known to occasionally take cattle. In populated areas they are nocturnal, but otherwise diurnal. Like other subspecies, they are highly social, living in packs, led by a dominant pair. They are highly mobile predators and need room to roam as they have dispersal distances of several hundred km and recorded movements of around 1,000 km. They hunt along runways and hunting beats that follow stream beds, washes, old game trails, and old roads. Vocalizations include barks, howls, growls, whines and whimpers.
DISTRIBUTION Native: Mexico, USA. Once numbered in the thousands throughout SE Arizona, S New Mexico, W Texas and N Mexico. Reintroduced in Arizona, New Mexico and Mexico.
HABITAT Mountain forests, chaparral desert scrub, grassland valleys and wooded areas. They avoid desert scrub and semi-desert grasslands since they provide little cover or water. Between 900 and 3,660 m, or lower if they are in transit.
CONSERVATION STATUS Least Concern. CITES: Appendix II. Regional status: Endangered (USA); being the most endangered subspecies in North America, extirpated in the wild by the 1970s. In 1998, 11 Mexican Wolves were released back into the wild in Arizona (Apache National Forest) and New Mexico (Gila National Forest) in order to recolonize their former historical range. Recently, they have also begun to be reintroduced in Mexico. Estimated populations of 300 individuals in captivity and 100 in the wild in 2015. Major threats are habitat loss and degradation, and persecution for pest control.
PHOTO CREDITS Glenn Nagel, Chad Horwedel and Craig Salvas, Brookfield Zoo (USA); Mark Dumont, Columbus Zoo (USA); Carol Urban, Phoenix Zoo (USA).
CANIS LUPUS OCCIDENTALIS
BL: 112-170 cm. TL: 35-50 cm. H: 68-91 cm. W: 45-66 kg (♂), 36-59 kg (♀). SL: 23-30.5 cm. DF: 42. CN: 78. The largest Canid, and the largest subspecies of Wolf, more robust build than European subspecies, with a larger, rounder head, a thicker, more obtuse muzzle, shorter ears and bushier fur. Coat color ranges from black to nearly white, with every shade of gray and tan in between, with lighter fur on its legs and underparts. Gray or black wolves are most common. Short and thick neck, covered with a bushy fur. Slanted almond-shaped eyes, amber to brown or gold. Long, powerful legs, with broad feet and thick toes. Tail is long and bushy. Females are smaller than males, with 5 pairs of mammae.
OTHER NAMES British Columbia Wolf, Mackenzie Valley Wolf, Canadian Timber Wolf, Northern Timber Wolf, Alaskan Timber Wolf. French: Loup du Canada, loup de la vallée de Mackenzie. German: Mackenzie-Waldwolf. Spanish: Lobo del Mackenzie. Russian: Северозападный американский волк. Nunamiut: Amaguk.
TAXONOMY Considered a subspecies of North American Gray Wolf (C. lupus). Includes alces (Kenai Peninsula Wolf †), columbianus (British Columbia Wolf, found in British Columbia and SW Alberta), griseoalbus (Manitoba Wolf, found in N Manitoba and Saskatchewan, NE Alberta, and Northwest Territories), mackenzii (Mackenzie River Wolf, found in N Northwest Territories and Yukon), pambasileus (Yukon Wolf, found in interior Alaska), sticte, and tundrarum (Alaska Tundra or Barren-Ground Wolf, found in tundra region and Arctic coast of Alaska, Yukon and Northwest Territories).
REPRODUCTION Gestation: 63 days. Young per birth: 4-6. Weaning: 42-56 days. Sexual maturity: 2-3 years. Life span: 6-9 years, 17 years in captivity. Breeding season: Early January through late February. The alpha ♀ usually bears the only litter in a pack, and the proportion of ♀ breeding and the size of the litter strongly depend on nutrition. Births occur from April to May. Dens are located in a rock crevice or holes dug by the parents or even a tree stump. Pups are born deaf and blind, but can hear within 12 to 14 days, leave the den in 3 to 6 weeks, and by fall, they are large enough to travel and hunt with the pack. They become full-grown in 6 to 8 months.
BEHAVIOR Social behavior: Packs of 6-12 wolves, with some packs as large as 20-30. Diet: Bison, elk, caribou, musk ox, moose, Dall sheep, Sitka black-tailed deer, mountain goat, beaver, ground squirrel, vole, snowshoe hare, lemmings and salmon. Highly social, living and hunting in packs, with a strong dominance hierarchy. They carry their tails high and stand tall to communicate dominance. Packs often travel 15-50 or more km in a day during winter. They usually trot between 12 and 16 kmph, but they may run at speeds up to 70 kmph. Highly territorial, will defend their territories against intruders. Territory size from 900 km2 in Yellowstone National Park to 1,500 km2 in Alaska. Where prey are migratory, they generally track the migrations and can establish separate territories in the different seasonal ranges of their prey. They have keen senses of sight, hearing and smell.
DISTRIBUTION Native: Canada, USA. It inhabits parts of the W United States, W Canada, and Alaska, including Unimak Island of the Aleutians. Reintroduced into Yellowstone National Park and central Idaho in 1995; it has since spread into Washington, Oregon and Utah. Its distribution is known only in a general sense, and the boundaries between subspecies are not discrete.
HABITAT Nearly any habitat that supports sufficient prey, mountains, woodlands, and tundra (arid grassland).
CONSERVATION STATUS Least Concern. CITES: Appendix II. Estimated population between 7,000 and 10,000 in Alaska in 2006, and 1,200 in N Rocky Mountains (Greater Yellowstone Area, NW Montana, and Idaho).
PHOTO CREDITS Dennis Matheson, Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center, MT (USA); Ramiro Márquez; Graham Dickinson, Cotswold Wildlife Park (UK); Leo Keeler, Kim Reese and NK Sanford, Denali National Park, AK (USA).
CANIS LUPUS NUBILUS
BL: 117-160 cm. TL: 47 cm. H: 65-80 cm. W: 45-68 kg (♂), 36-41 kg (♀). SL: 23.7 cm. SW: 14 cm. DF: 42. CN: 78. A large-sized subspecies. Long, thick, coarse fur, very variable in color, from gray to black, brown, buff or red, with most specimens being light colored. Lighter fur on its legs and underparts. Black individuals may occur. Short and thick neck, covered with a bushy fur. Slightly rounded ears. Slanted almond-shaped eyes, amber to brown or gold. Long, powerful legs, with broad feet and thick toes. Tail is long and bushy. Females are smaller than males, with 5 pairs of mammae.
OTHER NAMES Great Plains Wolf, Buffalo Wolf, Dusky Wolf. French: Loup des plaines, loup des bisons. German: Nebraska-Wolf. Spanish: Lobo de las grandes llanuras, lobo de Buffalo. Russian: Северовосточный равнинный волк.
TAXONOMY Considered a subspecies of North American Gray Wolf (C. lupus). Includes hudsonicus (Hudson Wolf), labradorius (Labrador Wolf), manningi (Baffin Island Wolf) and variabilis (North Dakota Wolf). This is the most difficult North American subspecies to evaluate, as it has a long history of being in contact and interbreeding with other Wolf populations (C. l. baileyi and C. l. occidentalis), Eastern Wolf, and Red Wolf and also hybridizing with Eastern/Red Wolf-Coyote hybrids.
SIMILAR SPECIES Coyote is much smaller, with narrower muzzle and black-tipped tail that is held down during running, in contrast to Wolf tail which is held more erect.
REPRODUCTION Gestation: 63 days. Young per birth: 4-6. Weaning: 42-56 days. Sexual maturity: 2-3 years. Life span: 13 years, 16 years in captivity. Breeding season: From early January through early March; however, the higher the latitude, the later the breeding. Usually only the dominant pair breeds. Births occur in late April or early May. Pups are moved from the den to rendezvous sites at 6-8 weeks of age. Various rendezvous sites may be used by a pack throughout the course of the summer. Pups remain at or near these sites while the adults hunt and bring back food. Young become fully grown in 6 to 8 months, and reach adult body weight and length toward the end of their second year.
BEHAVIOR Social behavior: Packs of 4-8 wolves. Diet: Caribou, white-tailed deer, moose, snowshoe hare, small birds, and rodents such as beaver. Highly social, living and hunting in packs, with a strong dominance hierarchy. Highly territorial, will defend their territories against intruders. Territories are separated on the landscape, and boundaries are marked with urine and feces. Territory size from 60 to 150 km2 in W Great Lakes. They usually disperse 80 to 160 km from their natal pack. At any one time 5-20% of the Wolf population may be dispersing individuals. Usually a Wolf disperses to find an individual of the opposite sex, find a territory, and start a new pack. Some dispersers join packs that are already formed.
DISTRIBUTION Native: Canada, USA. Found in W Great Lakes region, Northwest Territories and Nunavut, N Manitoba, N Ontario, Quebec, N of Quebec city and St. Lawrence River, Labrador and Minnesota. It has been extirpated from Newfoundland. Its distribution is known only in a general sense, and the boundaries between subspecies are not discrete. The subspecific status of Wolves in S Alaska, the Pacific Northwest, and W and coastal regions of British Columbia is not well known.
HABITAT Nearly any habitat that supports sufficient prey, mountains, woodlands and tundra (arid grassland).
CONSERVATION STATUS Least Concern. CITES: Appendix II. Along with C. l. occidentalis, with which it shares a long and complex border, it is the most widespread North American Gray Wolf. Although relatively abundant, exact numbers are unknown.
PHOTO CREDITS North Woods Photo, International Wolf Center, MN (USA); Tammy, Artis Zoo (Netherlands); Maxime Frechette, Parc Omega (Canada).
CANIS LUPUS LIGONI
BL: 110 cm. TL: Unknown. H: 61 cm. W: 22.7-51.7 kg (♂), 20.9-43.1 kg (♀). SL: Unknown. SW: Unknown. DF: 42. CN: 78. A dark and small subspecies of North American Gray Wolf, with coarser and shorter hair compared to continental Gray Wolves. Fur coloration varies considerably from pure white to uniform black, with most individuals having a brindled mix of gray or tan with brown, rust and ocher, black, or white. Black color morph is common, while pure white color morph is rare. Slightly rounded ears. Slanted almond-shaped eyes, amber to brown or gold. Long, powerful legs, with broad feet and thick toes. Front legs may show dark stripes. Tail is relatively short, with a black tip. Females are smaller than males, with 5 pairs of mammae.
OTHER NAMES Alexander Archipelago Wolf, Islands Wolf. French: Loup de l’Archipel Alexandre. German: Alexander-Archipel-Wolf. Spanish: Lobo del archipiélago Alexander. Russian: Волк Александровского Архипелага.
TAXONOMY Considered by some authors to be a synonym of C. l. nubilus. Genetic analyses suggest this subspecies has undergone a distinct evolutionary history, being isolated from continental Wolf populations, with two distinct genetic clusters: the Prince of Wales Island complex, which appears quite isolated, and Wolves in the rest of the Southeast. It has been proposed that all three coastal Wolves, C. l. ligoni, C. l. columbianus (British Columbia Wolf), and C. l. crassodon (Vancouver Island Wolf) should be recognized as a single subspecies, as they are phylogenetically related.
REPRODUCTION Gestation: 63 days. Young per birth: 1-8, averaging 4.1. Weaning: 42-56 days. Sexual maturity: 22-34 months. Life span: 6-8 years. Breeding season: February. They use dens from mid-April through early July with peak activity between early May and June. After early July, most dens are abandoned and pups are located to rendezvous sites typically less than 1 km from the natal den where they remain until October. Dens and rendezvous sites are generally located at lower elevations near fresh water. Dens are usually under the roots of trees and often associated with beaver activity. At this time, the pups typically are full size, although they weigh less than a yearling or adult, and begin traveling with the pack; most disperse the following spring as yearlings.
BEHAVIOR Social behavior: Packs of 2 to 12 Wolves, contain a pair of breeding adults plus other adults that may or may not breed. Diet: Opportunistic predators, eating a variety of prey species: Sitka black-tailed deer (which may comprise the majority of its diet in some areas), but also North American beaver, salmon, mountain goat, moose, elk, harbor seals and small mammals. Home range size is correlated with pack size, which is positively correlated with the area of winter deer habitat, ranging from 80 km2 to 450 km2 in size. They do not often disperse between islands.
DISTRIBUTION Native: Canada, USA. It occurs along the mainland of SE Alaska and coastal British Columbia, W of the Coast Mountains and on larger islands except Admiralty, Baranof, and Chichagof Islands and all of the Haida Gwaii, or Queen Charlotte Islands. The N, E and S boundaries of its range are not defined with certainty. A large portion reside within Alaska’s Tongass National Forest.
HABITAT Closed-canopy and open-canopy old growth (particularly at low elevations and on S exposures) are the preferred habitats, generally at lower elevations (<100 m) throughout the year and seldom spend time above 400 m. They usually avoid clearcuts, second-growth forests, and roads (which they use most commonly at night).
CONSERVATION STATUS Least Concern. CITES: Appendix II. Estimated population of about 850–2,700 individuals, with approximately 62% of the rangewide population occurring in coastal British Columbia and 38% inhabiting SE Alaska. Prince of Wales Island and surrounding islands are estimated to support 50 to 159 wolves. There is growing concern that expanding road access, particularly on Prince of Wales Island, may increase mortality of Wolves there beyond sustainable levels. Not protected.
PHOTO CREDITS Design Pics Inc., Tongass National Forest, AK (USA); Max Waugh, Vancouver Island, BC (Canada); Jack Chapman, Great Bear Rainforest, BC (Canada).
CANIS LUPUS LUPUS
BL: 105-160 cm. TL: 51-64 cm. H: 72-85 cm. W: 32-80 kg. SL: 25.6 cm. SW: 15.3 cm. DF: 42. CN: 78. The largest Eurasian subspecies, with animals in Russia and Scandinavia being larger and bulkier than those from western Europe. Fur is relatively short and coarse. Coat color is gray to fawn, occasionally showing a tint of red, with white on the throat that barely extends to the cheeks. Back and front paws may show dark stripes. Winter fur is dense and fluffy with short underfur and long, quite coarse guard hair. Black or white morphs are rare, and mostly the result of Wolf-Dog hybridization. Strong trunk with sloping back. Limbs are long and strong. Black claws. Head is large, heavy, with strong jaws, a long but not pointed muzzle, and broad forehead. Eyes yellow or greenish. Ears relatively small, triangular, with pointed tip, directed forward and widely separated. Tail fairly large, fluffy, hanging down to the tarsal joint. Females are slightly smaller than males, with 5 pairs of mammae.
OTHER NAMES Common Gray Wolf, Middle Russian Forest Wolf. French: Loup gris, loup commun. German: Eurasischer Wolf, Europäischer Wolf, Gewöhnlicher Wolf. Spanish: Lobo euroasiático, lobo europeo. Russian: Евразийский волк.
TAXONOMY Considered a subspecies of Gray Wolf (C. lupus). Includes cubanensis, campestris, arundinaceus, altaicus, canus, desertorum, communis, orientalis, kurjak, and variabilis.
SIMILAR SPECIES North American subspecies have shorter ears, broader forehead, and thicker muzzle, with bushy hair behind the cheek, and its howl is louder, less melodious and protracted, with a stronger emphasis on the first syllable.
REPRODUCTION Gestation: 63 days. Young per birth: 5-6. Weaning: 56-70 days. Sexual maturity: 2-3 years. Life span: 6 years, 15 years in captivity. Breeding season: In January-February, and young are born in the end of April-May.
BEHAVIOR Social behavior: Large packs are non-existent in Europe as Wolf populations are significantly impacted by hunting. Packs consist of family members: parents, pups and 1- to 2-year-old animals. Diet: Opportunistic predator, preferring the most accessible and most abundant prey, depending on the season: red deer, roe deer, wild boar, elk, mouflon, chamois, saiga, livestock, hares, mice, voles, marmots, muskrats. Given the chance, they eat carcasses, fish, amphibians, reptiles, insects and berries and fruit. They have very quick digestion and under favorable conditions they can eat twice a day. Each pack inhabits its own territory which is marked and protected from neighbors. Home range size varies from 100 to 300 km2. The home range is bigger in winter and in the N of the species distribution range. It can develop a speed of 40-50 kmph, and for shorter distances up to 65 kmph. Very cautious animal, therefore, direct observations are very unlikely. When persecuted intensively, Wolves are active mainly at night or at dawn and dusk.
DISTRIBUTION Native: Albania, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Kingdom. In the 1980s, Wolf distribution range in Europe reached its minimum. However, in recent years there has been an increasing trend both for the range and population size.
HABITAT Forest, steppe zone, peat bogs. They also occur in farmlands provided that they are interspersed with forest patches and other suitable hideaways. In such places, synanthrope Wolf packs can form; they depend on humans for food and feed on livestock and their carcasses as well as at dump sites.
CONSERVATION STATUS Least Concern. CITES: Appendix II. Regional status: Endangered or Vulnerable (Sweden, Norway, Germany, France, Poland). Estimated total population in Europe is likely to exceed 10,000, and 40,000 in Russia. Protected by law in most European Union countries. Legally hunted in Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Macedonia and Albania. Limited legal hunting is also carried out in Finland, Norway, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Bulgaria, Romania and Slovakia.
PHOTO CREDITS Kjetil Kolbjornsrud (Norway); Emmanuel Keller, Steinerberg (Switzerland); Vilmos Vincze, Veresegyház (Hungary), Erik Bundgaard, Thomas Krüger, Altenfelden (Austria).
CANIS LUPUS ALBUS
BL: 112-146 cm. TL: 41-52 cm. H: 75 cm. W: 40 kg (♂), 36.6 kg (♀). SL: 25.5 cm. SW: 14.6 cm. DF: 42. CN: 78. One of the largest subspecies of Wolf, slightly smaller than the Eurasian Wolf. Pelage is very long, dense, fluffy and soft. Coat color is very light, whitish to light gray with a reddish shade. Flanks, chest, paws and belly vividly white. Older animals are lighter in color, while juveniles have bluish-gray shades. Winter coat is darker, very luxuriant. Narrow belt of blackish hair along the back. Melanism is rare. A strong trunk with sloping back, with high shoulders and a lower, but strong and wide croup. Head large, heavy, with strong jaws, long but not pointed muzzle, and broad forehead. Eyes are yellow, widely separated and small. Ears relatively small, triangular in form with pointed tip, directed forward and widely separated. Limbs are long and strong, claws black. Tail fairly large, fluffy, hanging down to the tarsal joint. Females are slightly smaller than males.
OTHER NAMES Eurasian Arctic Wolf, Turukhan Wolf. French: Loup de Sibérie. German: Polarwolf. Spanish: Lobo de tundra. Italian: Lupo della tundra. Russian: Тундровый волк.
SUBSPECIES Considered a subspecies of Gray Wolf (C. lupus). Includes turuchanensis (Turuchan Wolf), kamtschaticus (Kamchatka Wolf) and dybowskii (Southwest Kamchatka Wolf).
REPRODUCTION Gestation: 63 days. Young per birth: 2-6. Weaning: 45 days. Sexual maturity: 24 months. Life span: 16 years in captivity. Breeding season: Due to the high latitude of their environment, they breed much later in the year than most other Wolves, usually in late March through April. Heat lasts approximately 2 weeks. Parturition takes place in the warm months, when food stocks increase and become varied.
BEHAVIOR Social behavior: In summer, in the time of parturition and rearing the pups, adult Wolves live in pairs, while yearlings live singly or in small groups, not far from the parents. In winter, the yearlings join the adults with this year’s young, forming a pack. Strange animals, born to other parents, are not admitted into the pack and are regarded as enemies. The average size of a pack is 5-10 individuals. Diet: They primarily prey on large mammals such as deer, wapiti, moose, caribou, bison, musk ox and mountain sheep. Their smallest prey taken consistently is beaver. They may also eat berries and fruits. Cannibalism is not rare; in times of hunger in winter, the pack often attacks weak or injured animals. Hungry Wolves fight fiercely for food, and frequently kill the weaker ones, which are afterward almost always consumed. They lead a nomadic way of life for most of the year, not adhering to stable hunting regions, and move great distances. Twice yearly they accomplish large meridional migrations connected with the driving of the deer herds. A small population of Wolves remains on the tundra in winter. They move out to the seacoast and near fishery stations, where only small herds of reindeer belonging to hunters engaged in the Arctic Fox harvest remain; the Wolves feed on fish and other animal waste. Places of diurnal rest, where dens are also located during the reproductive season, are usually especially well protected and are characteristically near watering places. The hunting territories of Wolves are various, and are restricted only by the possibilities of capturing food. Territories are distinguished by scent marks, where Wolves urinate.
DISTRIBUTION Native: Russia. Found in the tundra zone and the forest tundra of the European and Asian parts of Russia and in Kamchatka. Although they were eliminated from some of the Arctic islands N of Siberia, they have been recently seen on Wrangel Island. Outside the boundaries of Russia, they are perhaps in the extreme N of the Scandinavian peninsula, in Finland.
HABITAT Arctic and boreal regions of Russia roughly between 65 and 71° latitude. Wolves prefer to remain in the forest tundra and mossy bogs with less deep and more firm snow cover.
CONSERVATION STATUS Least Concern. CITES: Appendix II. Regional status: Not protected (Russia); its hunting is possible all year-round, being incentivized in some areas. They are especially vulnerable to the fur trade, as their pelages are more luxuriant than those of Eurasian Wolves.
PHOTO CREDITS Pascale Delalandre, Wolf Park, Gevaudan (France); fStop Images GmbH, Kurile Lake, Kamchatka Peninsula (Russia); Alex Kantorovich, Moscow Zoo (Russia); Sergey Chichagov, Yakutia (Russia).
CANIS LUPUS SIGNATUS
BL: 100-130 cm. TL: 35-40 cm. H: 70-80 cm. W: 35-40 kg (♂), 25-30 kg (♀). SL: 23.2 cm. SW: 13.8 cm. DF: 42. CN: 78. A medium-sized Wolf, smaller, with a thinner build than European and North American subspecies, but bigger than North African subspecies. Coat color varies from a lighter gray or ocher in the summer to a darker reddish brown during the winter. Pelage variation is not as extreme as in their North American counterparts. Underbelly and legs are fawn. Distinctive dark vertical marks on the front legs. Dark mark along the saddle and tail. White marks on the upper lips, cheek (masseteric spot) and throat. Russet markings behind the ears. Eyes are generally pale yellow or amber. Dark marks on the tail and front legs. Females are slightly smaller than males, and have smaller heads. Young individuals have generally gray tones in winter, while in summer they present a characteristic dark brown color.
OTHER NAMES French: Loup ibérique. German: Iberischer Wolf. Spanish: Lobo ibérico. Portuguese: Lobo. Italian: Lupo iberico. Russian: Иберийский волк.
TAXONOMY Considered a subspecies of Gray Wolf (C. lupus). Although this subspecies is not commonly recognized, morphometric analysis and molecular markers have shown a notable differentiation between Iberian Wolves and those found elsewhere in Eurasia. Includes deitanus (Murcia Wolf †, from SE Spain). Considered by some authors synonymous with C. l. lupus.
SIMILAR SPECIES This subspecies is distinguished by the black marks along its tail, back, jowls and front legs (signatus meaning marked).
REPRODUCTION Gestation: 63 days. Young per birth: 5-6. Weaning: 45-50 days. Sexual maturity: 22 months. Life span: 8 years, 16 years in captivity. Breeding season: At the end of winter (January to March). Only the dominant breeding pair mate. Births occur between May and June, normally in the early morning. The den is always very close to a reliable water source. Cubs are born blind and deaf, and they stay inside the den for 3 to 4 weeks. Once weaned, young rely on other members of the pack to feed them.
BEHAVIOR Social behavior: Small packs, up to 10, sometimes only a couple with a subadult. Diet: Roe deer, wild boar, sheep, rabbits and hares; in many regions of the Iberian Peninsula, wild ungulates have disappeared and Wolves depend on garbage dumps and domestic livestock, most of which are taken as carrion; with the European Union’s banning of leaving dead animals in the field, Wolves are killing more live sheep and cows. Galician Wolves feed off the remains of chickens, pig farms, and foals, Cantabrian Wolves take red deer, roe deer, and wild boar, and Castilian Wolves partly feed off rabbits. Main predators: Eagle owl, golden eagle (young).
DISTRIBUTION Native: Portugal, Spain. They were once present throughout the Iberian Peninsula, but are now confined to the NE of Spain (N Castilla y León, Galicia and Asturias), N of Portugal, and a few residual populations in the Sierra Morena (Jaén and Córdoba). Recently, they have managed to cross back over the river Duero and have begun to spread southward and eastward: two packs have been detected around Guadalajara and Madrid, and have started to move into Teruel in S Aragon. There is no confirmed presence of its existence in E Spain, although it is possible that some groups persist in the Pyrenees and in Basque Country (C. l. italicus).
HABITAT Habitats with low human population density (less than 10 inhabitants/km2), up to 2,000 m, with protective cover against man, and a high density of prey species such as roe deer and boar.
CONSERVATION STATUS Near Threatened. CITES: Appendix II. Regional status: Vulnerable (Spain), but not protected N of the Duero River, and limited legal hunting is permitted. Protected in Portugal. Its population is slowly recovering from its 400-500 individuals in 1970 to as many as 2,000 in Spain, and 400 in Portugal in 2007. Population is expanding toward S and E. The small population of Sierra Morena is far from the main population in the N and is classified as Critically Endangered. The Extremaduran populations are believed to be extinct.
PHOTO CREDITS Ulrike Joerres and Gea Strucks, Gaia Park (Netherlands); Andoni Canela, Picos de Europa (Spain); José R. Castelló, Barcelona Zoo (Spain).
CANIS LUPUS ITALICUS
BL: 95-115 cm. TL: 31 cm. H: 65 cm. W: 25-45 kg (♂), 22-38 kg (♀). SL: 23.4 cm. SW: 13.6 cm. DF: 42. CN: 78. A medium-sized subspecies of Wolf, smaller than the Eurasian Wolf, similar in size to the Iberian Wolf. Coat is generally of a gray-fulvous color, shorter and dark reddish in summer. Black morphs have been reported. Underparts and cheeks are more lightly colored. Dark bands are present on the back, tail tip and occasionally along the forelimbs. Red shades on the head. Eyes are yellow and small. Ears relatively small, triangular in form with pointed tip, directed forward and widely separated. Tail is bushy, with a black tip. Females are slightly smaller than males.
OTHER NAMES Apennine Wolf. French: Loup d’Italie, loup des Abruzzes, loup des Apennins. German: Italienischer Wolf. Spanish: Lobo italiano, lobo de los Apeninos. Italian: Lupo appenninico. Russian: Апеннинский волк.
TAXONOMY Considered a subspecies of Gray Wolf (C. lupus). Although this subspecies is not commonly recognized, morphometric skull analysis and genetic analyses have shown differences between Italian Wolves and those found elsewhere in Eurasia. Considered by some authors to be synonymous with C. l. lupus.
SIMILAR SPECIES Its skull is rounder in form than that of the typical European Wolf, with a relatively narrow palate between the first premolars, a broad frontal shield and shallow jugal, and smaller teeth closely approaching those of Dogs and Golden Jackals in appearance.
REPRODUCTION Gestation: 63 days. Young per birth: 2-8. Weaning: 35-45 days. Sexual maturity: 1-5 years. Life span: 16 years. Breeding season: Mid-March. Pups weigh 250-350 g at birth and open their eyes at the age of 11-12 days.
BEHAVIOR Social behavior: Due to a scarcity of large prey in Italy, packs tend to be smaller than average, and usually limited to a nuclear family composed of a reproducing alpha pair and young subadults that remain with their birth family until they are old enough to disperse and produce pups. In areas where large herbivores such as deer have been reintroduced, such as the Abruzzo National Park, packs consisting of 6-7 individuals can be found. Diet: Medium-sized animals such as chamois, roe deer, red deer and wild boar. Its diet will also include small animals such as hares and rabbits. It will occasionally consume berries and herbs for roughage. In suburban areas, wolves will feed on garbage and livestock, especially sheep when they are not well protected by the farmer, and other domestic animals too. Nocturnal hunter. They can travel more than 30 km each night while feeding.
DISTRIBUTION Native: France, Italy, Switzerland. It was widespread on the Italian Peninsula, including Sicily, until the mid 1800s. It was largely extirpated in the Alps during the 1920s, and disappeared from Sicily in the 1940s. They occur now in the whole Apennines range from Liguria to Calabria and extend into N Lazio and central W Tuscany (provinces of Siena, Grosseto and Pisa). In recent years, they have also established in S France, particularly in the Parc National du Mercantour, in the Massif Central, the E Pyrenees, and the Jura and Vosges Mountains. It may also have expanded into Switzerland, in the S canton of Valais.
HABITAT Mountains and surrounding forested areas with lower human densities and less extensive agricultural utilization.
CONSERVATION STATUS Vulnerable. CITES: Appendix II. Population is estimated to be 500-800 individuals distributed along the Apennines. The population has limited exchanges with the population of the W Alps and recent genetic evidence indicates a flux of genes only in the direction toward the Alps. It is vulnerable to local extermination from human pressures. Hybridization with Dogs may also pose a problem. Protected in France, Italy and Switzerland.
PHOTO CREDITS Arco Images and Saverio Gatto, Civitella Alfedena, Abruzzo (Italy); Antonio Iannibelli (Italy).
CANIS LUPUS CHANCO
BL: 100-125 cm. TL: 30-40 cm. H: 58-85 cm. W: 22-45 kg. SL: 22.9 cm. SW: 12.6 cm. DF: 42. CN: 78. A long-furred subspecies of Wolf, slightly smaller than the Eurasian Wolf, with shorter legs, and longer thinner muzzle, larger than the Indian Wolf. Coat is long and woolly, which seasonally varies in color, usually buff brown, light brown or gray brown, with an admixture of darker black tones on the upper part of the body. Winter fur is soft, long, quite luxuriant, with a well-developed undercoat. Throat, chest, belly and inside of the legs are white to yellowish. Black and white saddle running from the shoulders to the loins. Head is wide, with a long rostrum, pale gray brown, and the forehead grizzled with short black and gray hairs. Muzzle is pale chestnut, or ochraceous, slightly mixed with gray. Ears are drabby gray or rich ochraceous. Occasionally, a dark stripe of varying intensity may be present on the forelegs. Tail is densely furred with long hairs, black tipped.
OTHER NAMES Mongolian Wolf, Chinese Wolf, Korean Gray Wolf, Woolly Wolf. French: Loup de Mongolie, Loup de l’Himalaya. German: Tibetwolf, Tibet-Wollwolf. Spanish: Lobo tibetano, lobo del Himalaya. Russian: Тибетский волк, гималайский волк. Tibetan: Shanku, chanko. Kashmiri: Rame hoon.
TAXONOMY Considered a subspecies of Gray Wolf (C. lupus), but some authors suggest it to be a synonym of subspecies C. l. lupus. Includes argunensis, coreanus, dorogostaiskii, niger, filchneri, karanorensis, laniger and tschilensis. Tibetan Wolf and Himalayan Wolf are considered synonyms, but recent genetic studies suggest the Himalayan Wolf may be a distinct subspecies (C. l. laniger) or a full species (C. himalayensis), being one of the most basal lineages within C. lupus.
REPRODUCTION Gestation: 63 days. Young per birth: 4-6. Weaning: 35-45 days. Sexual maturity: 2-3 years. Life span: 6-10 years, 20 years in captivity. Breeding season: Between December and April; the higher the latitude, the later it occurs, with most births occurring in the spring or early summer. A pack usually produces a single litter unless the breeding ♂ mates with one or more subordinate ♀. The breeding pair prevents other Wolves from mating with one another. They prefer denning sites away from human habitation in afflicted regions. At 3 to 4 weeks, young leave the den. They are nurtured by their mother for 2 to 3 months, after which they begin to tag along with their parents hunting.
BEHAVIOR Social behavior: Solitary or small packs of 2-3 individuals, rarely more. Diet: Deer, blue sheep, saiga, horse, livestock (yak, dzo cow, goat and sheep); when food becomes scarce, it will feed on smaller animals like marmots, hares, ground squirrels, pikas and mice. The recent decline of wild ungulate populations in this area has increased conflicts between people and Wolves. They are diurnal, but rest during the heat of the day. They are well adapted to the cold environment. They are very shy and secretive and run away in human presence. Caves, crevices in rocks, and burrows in sand are used as shelter. They descend down to valleys in winter and ascend to the snowline in summer, migrating with the game. They are usually seen singly but are sometimes encountered in packs. They move over a large territory and the territory is marked by the pack by urine and feces at prominent spots. The whole pack feeds together on the prey.
DISTRIBUTION Native: Afghanistan, China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Turkestan, Uzbekistan. Boundaries with the Indian Wolf to the S, and with other subspecies to the N and W are unclear.
HABITAT A wide range of habitats, including mountainous regions, tundra, forests, plains, deserts, alpine zone and agricultural areas. It prefers bare and open areas. It is abundant on the Tibetan Plateau and found at very high elevations. Not found in rain forests. They tend to wander around villages.
CONSERVATION STATUS Least Concern. CITES: Appendix I. Regional status: Near Threatened in Mongolia (estimated population over 10,000), Vulnerable in China (estimated population of 6,000), Critically Endangered in India (estimated population of 350 animals, captive breeding population of around 20), not protected in Tibet, and in Pakistan there are around 300-500. Trade of carcasses, pelts, bones, paws, teeth and trophies is important in China and Mongolia. Other threats include habitat loss, and persecution due to depredation on livestock.
PHOTO CREDITS Emmanuel Keller, Puch Corinne, Zürich Zoo (Switzerland); Nayer Youakim, Beijing Zoo (China).
CANIS LUPUS PALLIPES
BL: 76-120 cm. TL: 29-43 cm. H: 40-71 cm. W: 14-32 kg. SL: 21.5 cm. SW: 12.5 cm. DF: 42. CN: 78. A small to medium-sized subspecies of Wolf, smaller than the Eurasian Wolf, more slightly built, with dense and thin fur and little to no underfur, and whiter lower limbs. Coat varies greatly, from grayish brown to reddish white with gray tones, intermingled with black, especially on the dorsal crest, forehead and tip of the tail, with hair on the back longer. Coat is longer and thicker in winter, redder and shorter in summer, as the longer black and gray fur is shed. Melanism is rare, but almost white individuals have been recorded. Underparts are buff or creamish in color, almost white. Muzzle, cheek and upper throat are white, with ruff-like hair around the cheeks and neck. Pointed muzzle. Eyes yellowish brown. Ears narrow, light rufous on the back. Limbs are paler than the body. Ears are large and narrow. Tail is relatively short and thin, with a black tip. Young are born dark brown, with a white patch on the chest that fades with age. Females slightly smaller than males.
OTHER NAMES Iranian Wolf. French: Loup iranien, loup des Indes. German: Persischer Wolf, Indischer Wolf, Südwolf. Spanish: Lobo persa, lobo indio. Russian: Иранский (персидский) волк, Индийский волк. Urdu: Bhaghyar. Hebrew: Ze’ev. Arabic: Theeb. Hindi: Bheriya, nekra, bghana, hundar. Tamil: Onai. Begali: Hendol. Marathi: Landga. Telugu: Thodelu. Kannada: Tholla. Gujarati: Naar. Kutchhi: Bhagad.
TAXONOMY Considered a subspecies of Gray Wolf (C. lupus). Recent genetic research suggests that Wolves from India may represent a distinct species (C. indica).
SIMILAR SPECIES Arabian Wolf (C. l. arabs) has a lighter fur, is smaller in size and has a larger head. Tibetan Wolf (C. l. chanco) has much more underfur and is heavier set, has a longer muzzle, and a longer crest of black hair on its back.
REPRODUCTION Gestation: 63 days. Young per birth: 3-13. Weaning: 56-70 days. Sexual maturity: 22-46 months, occasionally 10 months. Life span: 13 years, 16 in captivity. Breeding season: In Pakistan from January to April; in India from mid-October to late November, after the rains, with most births in December. The dominant pair breeds, with subdominant ♀ under behaviorally induced reproductive suppression. ♂ help feeding the pups.
BEHAVIOR Social behavior: Small packs, rarely exceeding 5-12 individuals; long-term pairs are common; may be solitary in disturbed populated areas. Diet: Antelopes (blackbuck), livestock (sheep and goat), feral Dogs, rodents and hares. Almost nothing is known about the ecology, behavior and status of these Wolves. Mostly nocturnal. It usually hunts in pairs when targeting antelopes, with one Wolf acting as a decoy while the other attacks from behind. There have been some reported attacks on humans. Its territories range from 250 to 380 km2. They dig deep burrows for daytime shelter, but where food is scarce they may become more nomadic, taking temporary shelter in disused porcupine burrows and natural caves, and they are known to follow prey species during certain seasons and are considered to be migrants. Usually silent, it rarely howls, but sometimes barks.
DISTRIBUTION Native: Afghanistan, India, Israel, Lebanon, Kuwait, Syria, Turkey, Pakistan.
HABITAT Shrublands, grasslands, semi-arid pastoral environments and open rocky hills, but not dense forests. Occasionally in open forests. There is also one confirmed record in the Sundarbans mangroves.
CONSERVATION STATUS Least Concern. CITES: Appendix II, Appendix I for populations in Pakistan and India. Regional status: Endangered (India), with an estimated population of 2,000-3,000. In Turkey they have no legal protection, with an estimated population of 7,000. Israel’s conservation policies and effective law enforcement maintain a moderately sized Wolf population. In Afghanistan it is protected. In Pakistan, due to constant persecution it has become very rare, and may became extinct in the E of the country if hunting is not stopped and it is not protected. Threats include killing by local sheepherders, and habitat loss due to intensive agriculture, development and industry. In Iran, hybridization with Dogs is sporadic and can be a threat to Wolf populations if human perturbations increase.
PHOTO CREDITS Mostafa Ghasemi Nejad (Iran); John T. L. (India); Viacheslav Belyaev (India); Indraneel Dani, Nagpur (India); Milind Raut, Pune (India); Devvratsinh Mori, Wadhwan (India).
CANIS LUPUS ARABS
BL: 70-80 cm. TL: 30-34 cm. H: 40-65 cm. W: 18-20 kg. SL: 19.2 cm. SW: 10.9 cm. DF: 42. CN: 78. One of the smallest subspecies of Wolf, with a very lean build and rather long legs. Coat is thin, short, wiry and light in color, varying from light brown through to a grayish yellow, with the underparts being paler or white, with a well developed spinal crest that runs from the start of the cervical region to the base of the tail. Cheeks are usually white. Hair on the back remains long, which is thought to be an adaptation against solar radiation. In winter, coat is thicker and longer, but not as long as in its northern subspecies. Ears are large compared to other subspecies, as an adaptation to dissipate heat. Their middle 2 toes are fused. Eyes are yellow, but may be brown, thought to be an indication of interbreeding with feral Dogs. Tail is long, with a black tip.
OTHER NAMES Desert Wolf. French: Loup d’Arabie. German: Arabischer Wolf. Spanish: Lobo árabe. Russian: Аравийский волк. Hebrew: Ze’ev Aravi. Arabic: Theeb.
SUBSPECIES Considered a subspecies of Eurasian Gray Wolf (C. lupus). Its genetic diversity justifies the subspecific status, but it is not clear the degree to which genetic introgression from Domestic Dogs has influenced its composition and integrity.
SIMILAR SPECIES Persian Wolf (C. l. pallipes), which also occurs in the Middle East, N of the distribution of Arabian Wolf, is larger, with thicker, more luxuriant coats. It is not known if the two subspecies interbreed. Neither is information available to indicate whether the two populations share the same habitat, or whether they are spatially or temporally separated. Persian Golden Jackal (C. aureus aureus) is considerably smaller than Arabian Wolf, with shorter legs and less robust conformation.
REPRODUCTION Gestation: 63-65 days. Young per birth: 2-3. Weaning: 42-56 days. Sexual maturity: 24 months. Life span: Probably 10 years. Breeding season: Starts in October and runs through to December, unlike in N subspecies.
BEHAVIOR Social behavior: Small groups mainly due to lack of prey, tending to congregate together only during the mating season; they hunt alone, in pairs or occasionally in small groups of 3 to 4 Wolves; larger packs if food is less scarce. Diet: Small to medium animals including Cape hares, dorcas gazelles, Foxes, small birds, reptiles, rodents and insects, but also feed on carrion, and may eat fruit and plants. Opportunistic feeders, hunting alone, mainly at night, and may prey on domestic animals up to the size of a goat. Active mostly at sunset and night. During the day, they stay under cover, including bushes, boulders and shallow caves. This subspecies rarely howls, perhaps due to the fact that it is usually solitary. The only time it is known to be territorial is when its pups are born. They have large home ranges, from 11 to 33 km2, which they patrol constantly. They escape the heat by digging deep dens and burrows, but as they cannot survive without water, they do not wander far into the great sand deserts.
DISTRIBUTION Native: Egypt, Israel, Kuwait, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Yemen. Extinct: United Arab Emirates (UAE). It was once found living throughout the entire Arabian Peninsula, but now can only be found in small clusters in S Israel (Arava Valley and Negev Desert, where it may intergrade with C. l. pallipes), S Palestine, Oman, Yemen, S Jordan, Saudi Arabia and possibly in parts of the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt. It has not been seen in the wild in the UAE since the 1980s.
HABITAT Desert mountains and gravel plains, in arid and semi-arid open areas of the Middle East, not far from water.
CONSERVATION STATUS Critically Endangered. CITES: Appendix II. Regional status: Not protected, except in Oman and Israel, but rarely enforced. In Oman, its population has increased since hunting was banned. In Israel, there are between 100 and 150 in the Negev and the Ha’arava. In Syria, it has an estimated population of 200, 50 in Lebanon, 200 in Jordan, and between 300 and 600 in Saudi Arabia. Main threats include interbreeding with feral Dogs, systematic shooting, trapping and poisoning. In Oman they have also contracted rabies.
PHOTO CREDITS Duha Alhadhimi, Jeddah (Saudi Arabia); Alex Kantorovich, Abu Kabir University Zoo (Israel); Zachi Evenor, Tel Aviv Zoological Gardens (Israel); Jonas Livet, Sharjah Desert Park (UAE), The I. Meier Segals Garden (Israel).
CANIS LUPUS FAMILIARIS
BL: 72-111 cm. TL: 21-36 cm. H: 54.6–60.5 cm. W: 8.6-21.5 kg (♂), 8.3-17.0 kg (♀). SL: 17.6 cm. SW: 10.2 cm. DF: 42. CN: 78. A large-sized Canid, strong to medium build, with long, thin legs. Coat is short, dense and soft, and varies in thickness depending on the climate, sandy to reddish brown, but may be white, sandy yellow, black, or tan and black. Melanism is uncommon. White markings on the chest, muzzle tag, legs and paws. Shoulders may have small, distinctive, dark stripes. Square and narrow muzzle. Ears are large and pointed and lack fur lining the insides. Eyes are almond shaped, amber brown in color. No dewclaws on their back feet. Tail is long and tapered, covered with slightly bushier hair than the rest of the body. Males are larger and heavier than females.
OTHER NAMES Australian Wolf. French: Dingo. German: Austalischer Dingo. Spanish: Dingo. Russian: Динго (вторично одичавшая домашняя собака). Local names: Joogong, mirigung, noggum, boolomo, papa-inura, wantibirri, maliki, kal, dwer-da, kurpany.
TAXONOMY There is currently debate about the correct taxonomy of Dingoes and other wild Dogs. Considered a feral Dog of ancient origins (Jackson et al., 2017), a subspecies of Gray Wolf (C. lupus dingo), or a full species (C. dingo) by some authors. Two recognized races, based on skull morphology, breeding pattern and pelage coloration: Australian Dingo and Thai Dingo. Includes tenggerana.
SIMILAR SPECIES Domestic Dogs and hybrids have smaller canines and carnassial teeth, differences in skull bones, curved foreheads and rounder jawlines. Domestic Dogs also show no seasonal pattern of breeding whereas Dingoes breed only once a year. Dingoes from N Australia are larger than S populations. Australian Dingoes are heavier than Asian ones.
REPRODUCTION Gestation: 63 days. Young per birth: 2-9. Weaning: 3-4 months. Sexual maturity: 2 years. Life span: 5-15 years. Breeding season: April to June, once a year. Pups are raised by the pack in a secluded den, such as a wombat burrow or cave. Subordinate animals may copulate and give birth, but their pups are killed and sometimes eaten by the dominant ♀ and other pack members.
BEHAVIOR Social behavior: Solitary, but occasionally form small hunting packs. Diet: Mainly mammals, but also birds, reptiles, insects, vegetation and other matter. In pastoral areas, they will attack and kill sheep and cattle. They do not bark, but can growl, howl and whimper. Often live in a stable pack with a communal territory and strict hierarchy enforced by a dominant alpha pair. Pack members frequently live alone, but come together to cooperatively hunt large prey or raise pups. Scent marking with urine, feces or gland extracts is ubiquitous, and may signal territory boundaries, use of shared resources such as water points or hunting areas, or reproductive status. Territory size is dependent upon prey availability and habitat, usually from 25 to 67 km2.
DISTRIBUTION Native: Australia, China, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand. It is common in Australia in N, NW and central regions, rare in S and NE regions, and probably extinct in the SE and SW regions. It is not found in Tasmania. It is also common in Sulawesi, N and central regions of Thailand. Based on external phenotypic characters, they may also occur in Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, Philippines and Vietnam. Fossil evidence suggests that they arrived in Australia about 5,000 years ago; due to the origin of Dingoes in Southeast Asia, it is theorized that Dingoes were introduced to Australia by Asian seafarers.
HABITAT Habitats generalists, including tropical alpine moorlands, forested snow-clad peaks, arid hot deserts, and tropical wetlands and forests.
CONSERVATION STATUS Vulnerable. CITES: Not listed. Estimating its abundance is difficult because the external phenotypic characters of many hybrids are indistinguishable from pure individuals. Pure Dingoes are declining through hybridization with Domestic Dogs.
PHOTO CREDITS Sylvie Lebchek (Australia); Craig Dingle (Australia); myself62, Fraser Island (Australia).
CANIS LUPUS FAMILIARIS
BL: 78-91 cm (♂), 71-89 cm (♀). TL: 22-28 cm. H: 31.8-45.7 cm (♂), 32-42 cm (♀). W: 9.3-14.4 kg (♂), 8.6-12.5 kg (♀). SL: 16.3 cm. SW: 10.1 cm. DF: 42. CN: 78. A medium-sized Canid, relatively short legged and large headed. Coat is very variable, from pale brown, ginger, to black with tan, lighter on belly, inner surfaces of legs, and ventral brush of tail. Sides of neck golden. Black or very dark brown guard hairs on backs of ears and dorsal surface of tail above white tip. White on underside of chin, paws, chest and tail tip. May have white on muzzle, face and neck. Wide cheekbones, narrow muzzles, slightly forward leaning, triangular pricked ears, and triangular obliquely set eyes give their faces a distinctive appearance. Rear dewclaws not present. Tail creamy and bushy on underside. Young are dark chocolate showing gold flecks and reddish tinges.
OTHER NAMES New Guinea Dingo, Hallstrom Dog, Bush Dingo, New Guinea Highland Wild Dog. French: Chien chanteur de Nouvelle-Guinée, dingo de Nouvelle-Guinée. German: Neuguinea-Dingo, Urwalddingo. Spanish: Perro cantor de Nueva Guinea. Russian: Новогвинейский динго. Indonesian: Anging Penyani.
TAXONOMY Considered a feral derivative of ancient breeds of Domestic Dogs carried to New Guinea during prehistoric times by humans. Some authors suggest it is a Dingo, a distict subspecies (C. l. hallstromi), or even a full species (C. hallstromi), but there is no firm basis from which to assign a unique Linnaean name to these Dogs. All that is known has been gleaned from the captive population originating from individuals taken from the wild in the 1950s and 1970s. Virtually nothing is known about their natural history.
SIMILAR SPECIES Dingo is larger, with proportionately longer legs and narrower head.
REPRODUCTION Gestation: 63 days. Young per birth: 4-6. Sexual maturity: 2 years. Life span: 15-20 years. Breeding season: August in New Guinea, once a year. If a ♀ does not become pregnant, she will come into estrus again in 8-12 weeks, a pattern not recorded in other Canids. At the copulatory tie, the ♀ emits a distinctive repetitive sequence of loud, high-pitched yelping screams for several minutes, which has a strong arousal effect. About 3 minutes into the tie, ♀ begins a series of rhythmic abdominal contractions, in which the skin of the flanks and lumbar area is drawn forward. They have a strong tendency to target the genitals for both playful and aggressive bites; a cheek rub may be a marking behavior. Both parents participate in raising young.
BEHAVIOR Social behavior: Solitary and small groups of 3-5 individuals with ♂ and ♀. Diet: Small mammals, small reptiles, and birds. Little is known about Singing Dogs in the wild. Very shy and elusive. They probably hunt alone and do not live in packs, defending a territory in mated pairs. Although their group numbers may be small, there are social rules and a dominant Dog. Adapted to hunting in very steep, thickly vegetated terrain, with joints and spine extremely flexible for a Canid; they may climb and jump like a cat. They have several unique vocalizations: the howl is similar to a Wolf howl with overtones of whale song. When in a group, one animal starts and then others join on different pitches, each with its own unique voice. Some vocalizations resemble birdcalls. They also whine, yelp, bark and scream. They have a distinctive head toss in which the head sweeps to one side and the nose is rotated through a 90° arc to the midline, then rapidly returned to the starting position.
DISTRIBUTION Native: Indonesia (Papua Province), Papua New Guinea. Restricted to the upper mountains, at higher altitudes across the entire central mountain spine of the entire island of New Guinea.
HABITAT Mountains of New Guinea, from 2,500 to 4,700 m. Above the tree line, in the rocky barrens devoid of vegetation apart from lichens and mosses.
CONSERVATION STATUS Vulnerable. CITES: Not listed. A recent expedition has documented a healthy population above 4,500 m near Puncak Jaya (Papua Province). Estimated population in the wild is unknown.
PHOTO CREDITS Matt Randle, Exmoor Zoo (UK); Keith Conover, Los Angeles Zoo (USA); Heather Paul, Miller Park Zoo (USA).
CANIS LUPUS FAMILIARIS
BL: 9.5-200 cm. TL: 3-50 cm. H: 6.3-106.7 cm. W: 2.3-90 kg. SL: 12.2-21.1 cm. SW: 8-13.4 cm. DF: 42. CN: 78. A small to very large-sized Canid, with great variation in size, shape and appearance. Coat can be short or long, coarse-haired to wool-like, straight, curly or smooth, and is generally made up of a coarse guard hair and a soft undercoat. Color varies from white through grays to black, and browns from light to dark in a wide variation of patterns, and may display remnants of countershading, with dark coloring on the upper surfaces and light coloring below. Most breeds shed their coat. Head shape may be brachycephalic (broad-based skull and a short muzzle), mesaticephalic or dolichocephalic (narrow skull base with a long, narrow muzzle). Tail is variable in shape and length: straight, straight up, sickled, curled or corkscrewed, and may be absent in some breeds. Some breeds may have a fifth additional claw on the rear feet. Females have 5 pairs of mammary glands and are usually smaller than males.
OTHER NAMES Domestic Dog. French: Chien. German: Haushund. Spanish: Perro doméstico. Russian: Домашняя собака.
TAXONOMY Considered a subspecies of Gray Wolf (C. lupus familiaris). Considered a full species (C. familiaris) by some authors, based on differences in morphology, physiology and behavior between Dog and Wolf, as well as data indicating that the split between the two taxa occurred prior to domestication. Two general races are recognized: Western Dogs (familiaris) and Pariah Dogs (indica). Western Dogs probably originated from domestication events in Europe and adjacent areas, and include most Domestic Dogs of the Holarctic, and most domestic breeds. Dogs in the N parts of Asia and North America are heavily influenced by hybridization with Gray Wolf, while in Asia there is a broad zone of introgression with Pariah Dogs. Feral Western Dogs do not reverse to Dingo-like appearance over time. While all Dogs are genetically similar, selective breeding has reinforced certain characteristics, giving rise to breeds. Modern Dog breeds are non-scientific classifications of Dogs kept by modern kennel clubs. Although breeds are genetically distinguishable, systematic analyses of the Dog genome have revealed only four major types of Dogs: Old World Dogs (Malamute, Shar Pei), Mastiff-type (English Mastiff), herding-type (Border Collie), and hunting-type.
REPRODUCTION Gestation: 58-68 days. Young per birth: 3-9. Weaning: 6-10 weeks. Sexual maturity: 6-12 months (later in large breeds). Life span: 12 years, to 24 years in captivity. Breeding season: Throughout the year, estrous twice a year, lasts 12 days. May be monogamous. Feral ♂ tend to compete for access to receptive ♀. Some feral populations may have a single ♂ and ♀ alpha pair, which dominate mating in a small family group, or pack. ♀ nurse and care for their young until they are weaned; ♂ seem to play no role in raising the young, which is unusual among Canids. In feral Domestic Dog packs, young are cared for by all members of the pack.
BEHAVIOR Social behavior: Groups of 2-6, or solitary. Diet: Omnivores, with a wide-ranging diet, including vegetables and grains, not being dependent on meat-specific protein; feral Dogs are primarily scavengers. Main predators: Wolf, Jackal, Coyote, leopard, spotted hyena, tiger. Feral Dogs are mainly nocturnal and crepuscular. It is the most vocal Canid, although barking appears to have little communication function; body and facial movements, odors, whines, yelps and growls are the main sources of communication. For long-range communication only barking and howling are employed.
DISTRIBUTION Worldwide. There are many commensal and feral populations, but the only ones known for sure to be secondarily wild are those on four islands in the Galapagos.
HABITAT In association with humans, in a wide variety of habitats.
CONSERVATION STATUS Domesticated. CITES: Not listed. Feral Dogs impact ecosystems primarily through predation on native wildlife, often resulting in severe population declines, especially of island endemic species. Many abandoned Dogs die from disease, starvation, and exposure, or become road casualties, but some join feral packs and run down the easiest prey available, which is often domestic livestock.
PHOTO CREDITS Isselee and Pfluegler (German Shepherd breed).
CANIS LUPUS FAMILIARIS
BL: 53-83 cm. TL: 20-32 cm. H: 40-63 cm. W: 9.5-20 kg. SL: 18.2 cm. SW: 11.3 cm. DF: 42. CN: 78. A medium-sized Dog of square to slightly rectangular build and short coat. Outer coat is dense, harsh, short to medium in length, usually dark brown to reddish brown, with or without white markings, in some cases pied. Shaded coats, brindles, solid white and dalmatian-type spotting are never seen. White facial markings along the sides of the cheeks and muzzle are not uncommon. Head is medium sized, wedge shaped. Muzzle is pointed, of equal or slightly greater length than the head. Forequarters are erect. Hindquarters are minimally angled. Eyes are almond shaped, dark brown. Ears are held erect, pointed or rounded at the tips, with a broad base, set low on the head. Tail is curled and held high when excited. Males usually larger than females.
OTHER NAMES Aborignal Dog, Feral Dog. French: Chien paria. German: Pariahund. Spanish: Perro paria. Russian: Аборигенные породы (домашних) собак.
TAXONOMY Considered a subspecies of of Gray Wolf (C. lupus familiaris). Pre-Columbian American breeds, Canaan breed of the Middle East, and some native African and East Asian breeds also belong to this type of Dog. It could conceivably represent a relict population of primarily wild C. lupus familiaris.
REPRODUCTION Gestation: 63 days. Young per birth: 3-9. Weaning: 8 weeks. Sexual maturity: 6-9 months. Life span: 12-15 years. Breeding season: In India, ♀ come into season around July to October, and most births occur in winter, from October to December. Unlike Western Dog breeds, Pariah Dogs breed only once a year. During the mating season the estrous ♀ may mate with several ♂.
BEHAVIOR Social behavior: Domesticated or feral. Pariah Dogs have a generalized typical appearance and share common characteristics not found in Western Dogs. They are extremely alert, very social and more active during mornings and evenings. They are very territorial and defensive and need good socializing. Breeds that are considered Pariah Dogs include: Indian Pariah, Canaan Dog, Basenji and Carolina Dog. Indian Pariah Dog is an ancient breed that is found all over the Indian subcontinent. They were hunting partners and companion animals and are still found with the aboriginal communities who live in forested areas in India. Canaan Dog is an ancient breed originated from the region encompassing Lebanon, Jordan and Israel. This breed was developed from redomesticated Pariah Dog stock captured from the Negev Desert and Zebulon Coastal Plain. Bedouins still use them for guarding their camps and sheep and for herding their flocks. Basenji Dog is an ancient African breed, first described by Europeans in 1895 in the Congo. They have lived with humans for thousands of years, originally kept for hunting small game by tracking and driving the game into nets. Both Dingoes and Basenji lack a distinctive odor, and are prone to howls, yodels and other vocalizations over the characteristic bark of modern Dog breeds. Carolina Dog comes out of the American Deep South and is thought to be a direct descendant of the ancient Pariah Dogs that accompanied Asians across the Bering Strait land bridge 8,000 years ago.
DISTRIBUTION Exists as commensal and feral populations over much of tropical Asia and on islands as far as New Guinea and historically Polynesia, including Hawaii and New Zealand. The only known secondarily wild population in the Americas, the Carolina Dog, might be extinct, although it was still present at Savannah River Site in South Carolina in 2007. Another wild (presumably secondarily) population, described from mountains of Java as C. f. var. tenggerana, also appears to be extinct. Other primarily wild populations might still exist in remote areas of Southeast Asia or adjacent islands, although no wild (primarily or secondarily) Dogs exist in Indochina.
HABITAT Domesticated.
CONSERVATION STATUS Domesticated and feral. CITES: Not cited. At risk of losing their genetic uniqueness by interbreeding with other Western Dog breeds.
PHOTO CREDITS Sally Wallis, Jagodka, Onetouchspark and Vivienstock (Basenji Dog breed).
CANIS SIMENSIS
BL: 93-101 cm (♂), 84-96 cm (♀). TL: 29-40 cm (♀), 27-30 cm (♀). H: 53-62 cm. W: 14-19 kg (♂), 11-14 kg (♀). SL: 187 cm. SW: 101 cm. DF: 42 (lower third molar being absent occasionally). CN: 78. A medium-sized, slender Canid, with long legs and a long muzzle, resembling a Coyote both in shape and size. Distinctive reddish coat with a white throat, chest and underparts. Distinctive white band around the ventral part of the neck. Sharp boundary between the red coat and white marks. Broad pointed ears, directed forward. Thick bushy tail with a white base and a black tip. No dark patch marking the supracaudal gland. Front paws with 5 toes, including a dewclaw, hind paws with 4. Females are smaller than males, with a paler coat, and 4 pairs of mammae (only 3 pairs are functional). Young have a charcoal-gray coat with a buff patch on the chest and abdomen.
Canis simensis citernii
OTHER NAMES Simien Jackal, Simien Fox, Abyssinian Wolf, Abyssinian Red Fox. French: Loup d’Abyssinie, kebero. German: Äthiopischer Wolf, Äthiopischer Schakal, Semien-Wolf. Spanish: Lobo etíope, caberú, chacal del Semién. Russian: Эфиопский шакал (волк). Amharic: Kai kebero, walgie. Oromo: Jeedala fardaa, arouayé.
TAXONOMY Two subspecies sometimes recognized based on skull morphology: C. s. simensis (NW of the Rift Valley), and C. s. citernii (SE of the Rift Valley; nasal bones longer).
SIMILAR SPECIES Jackals are smaller in size, with relatively shorter legs, and a different brownish to gray coat.
REPRODUCTION Gestation: 60-62 days. Young per birth: 2-6. Weaning: 10 weeks to 6 months. Sexual maturity: 2 years. Life span: 8-10 years. Breeding season: Between August and November, with ♀’s coat turning yellow and woollier, and the tail turning brownish, losing much of its hair. Births occur from October to December. Pups are toothless, with their eyes closed; they emerge from the den after 3 weeks. All members of the pack contribute to protecting and feeding the young, with subordinate ♀ sometimes assisting the dominant ♀ by suckling them.
BEHAVIOR Social behavior: Packs of 2 to 6 animals, up to 20, formed by dispersing ♂ and a few ♀ which, with the exception of the breeding ♀, are reproductively suppressed, with a well established hierarchy, with dominance and subordination displays being common. Diet: Rodents; occasionally mountain nyala calves, hares, hyraxes. Main predators: Spotted hyena, tawny eagle. It hunts alone. Territorial, with stable territories, averaging 6 km2 in size, regularly scent marked. They interact aggressively and vocally with other packs. They rest together in the open at night, and congregate for greetings and border patrols at dawn, noon and evenings. They never sleep in dens, and only use them for nursing pups. They may shelter from rain under overhanging rocks and behind boulders. They have been observed forming temporary associations with troops of grazing gelada baboons.
DISTRIBUTION Native: Ethiopia. Endemic to the Ethiopian highlands, confined to seven isolated mountain ranges. NW of the Rift Valley there are populations in the Simien Mountains, Mount Guna, N Wollo and S Wollo highlands, and Menz. Extinct in Gosh Meda (N Shoa), Mount Choke and Gojjam. SE of the Rift Valley, in the Arsi Mountains (Mount Kaka, Chilalo and Galama range) and in the Bale Mountains, including the Somkaru-Korduro range.
HABITAT Isolated pockets of Afroalpine grasslands and heathlands, from above tree line at about 3,200 m up to 4,500 m (no recent records of the species at altitudes below 3,000 m). They prefer open areas with short herbs and grasses and low vegetation cover where rodents are most abundant, along flat or gently sloping areas with deep soils and poor drainage in parts.
CONSERVATION STATUS Endangered. CITES. Not listed. Estimated population of 300 to 400 individuals. The largest population occurs in the Bale Mountains in S Ethiopia. The population in N Ethiopia (Mount Guna) is functionally extinct. Main threats include loss of habitat due to high-altitude subsistence agriculture, overgrazing of highland pastures by domestic livestock, disease epizootics, road kills and shooting. Protected in Ethiopia.
PHOTO CREDITS Christophe Cerisier, Arco Images, Robert Pickett, Luc Van der Biest, Will Burrard-Lucas, Bale Mountains National Park (Ethiopia).
CANIS LATRANS
BL: 76.2-83.8 cm. TL: 30.5-39.4 cm. H: 50.8-66 cm. W: 10-18 kg. SL: 16.6-17.5 cm. SW: 9.7-10.4 cm. DF: 42. CN: 78. A medium-sized Canid with slender legs, small feet, prominent erect pointed ears, and a narrow pointed muzzle. A large-sized Coyote, with a pale coloration, lighter-colored upper parts, large ears and tail, with heavy and woolly pelage year-round. Upper parts coarsely mixed buffy gray and black above. Summer coat is predominantly gray, and winter coat is usually lighter in winter, although intensity and amount of coloring varies among individuals. Throat with long hairs sparingly tipped with blackish. Muzzle is dull ochraceous buff to pale fulvous, finely sprinkled with gray hairs above. Cheeks and upper lip are white. Back of ears is fulvous to buff. Eyes are yellowish. Underparts are whitish. Legs buffy ochraceous on outer side, whitish on inner side. Tail very bushy, ochraceous on distal two-thirds, black tipped, with a black patch at the base. Females are slightly smaller than males, with 4 pairs of mammae.
OTHER NAMES French: Coyote du Nord. German: Nord-Kojote. Spanish: Coyote del norte. Russian: Северный койот.
TAXONOMY There are at least 19 subspecies traditionally recognized, but their validity has not been confirmed by genetic analysis, and due to their dispersion capacity and inbreeding, it is impractical to use this classification. Includes incolatus, latrans and lestes, which appear to intergrade imperceptibly.
SIMILAR SPECIES Distinguished from Dogs by their habit of carrying their tail low, almost between their hind legs, when running. Coyotes also have more elongate tracks, relatively longer canine teeth, and distinctive cranial features. They differ from Gray Wolves in being much smaller in size, and having smaller feet and skull. Foxes are much smaller.
REPRODUCTION Gestation: 58-65 days. Young per birth: 5-7. Weaning: 35-49 days. Sexual maturity: 10-12 months. Life span: 9 years, 18 years in captivity. Breeding season: From late January to March, with most births occurring from early April to late May. Dens are constructed in rangeland, in protected areas adjacent to farmland, on brushy hillsides, in thickets, and under rock ledges; they may also use abandoned badger, fox, rabbit or woodchuck dens. The young are principally cared for by the ♀, but the ♂ provides some care, and occasionally a nonbreeding sibling may assist. Pups emerge from the den in 2-3 weeks and begin to eat regurgitated food. Young disperse alone or sometimes in groups at 6-8 months of age. Family units may begin to break up as early as August, although they may remain together into November or even later.
BEHAVIOR Social behavior: Solitary; mated pairs during the breeding season; less social than Wolves. Diet: Opportunistic; diet consisting mainly of snowshoe hares, rodents and carrion, but may also eat marmots, muskrats, ground squirrels, fish, insects, ground-nesting birds, fruits, berries, seeds or grasses. When hunting in pairs or in packs, they may go after larger prey such as Dall sheep, caribou and reindeer, especially reindeer calves. Main predators: Wolf, cougar. Most active in the early evening and shortly before dawn; juveniles may be active during the daylight hours. They are highly vocal; the most common call is a long, mournful high-pitched howl that ends in a series of sharp yips and yaps; rarely heard except during the night. Home ranges from 8 to 100 km2; home ranges of ♂ overlap considerably, but those of ♀ do not. Coyotes are absent or scarce where Wolves are abundant, and Foxes are similarly less abundant where Coyotes are numerous.
DISTRIBUTION Native: Canada, USA. They probably arrived in SE Alaska about 100 years ago.
HABITAT Almost any habitat, including urban areas, where prey is readily available. Prefers short- and mixed-grass prairies, open woodlands, brushy or boulder-strewn areas, and aspen parkland, but it has spread into the boreal forest. They may also be seen in urban areas.
CONSERVATION STATUS Least Concern. CITIES: Not listed. Hunting and trapping permitted. Not protected. The reduction of Wolves from many areas of North America, coupled with landclearing activities, has contributed to expanding its range. A small number are trapped commercially each year in Alaska.
PHOTO CREDITS Jessica Ellis/JEllisMedia, Anchorage, AK (USA); Moose Henderson, Yellowstone National Park (USA); Cathy Hart, Denali National Park, AK (USA); Gerry and Darren McKenzie, Elk Island National Park (Canada).
CANIS LATRANS
BL: 76-96 cm. TL: 30.4-38.1 cm. H: 53.3-66 cm. W: 11.3-20 kg (♂), 9.9-17.9 kg (♀). SL: 17.9-19.2 cm. SW: 10.2-10.8 cm. DF: 42. CN: 78. A medium-sized Canid with slender legs, small feet, prominent erect pointed ears, and a narrow pointed muzzle. A medium to large-sized Coyote, rather dark colored, with relatively short ears and a long muzzle. Coat coloration is variable, ranging from dark brown to blond or reddish blond, generally tawny gray brown with black tips. Black color phases have been reported. Upper parts mixed buffy gray and black above. Winter pelage somewhat more buffy. Throat whitish, with long hairs sparingly tipped with blackish, forming a ruff. Cheeks and upper lip are white, muzzle fulvous in color. Small ears, fulvous dorsally. Underparts are whitish. Legs whitish inside, dull fulvous outside. Tail is bushy and drooping, white basally, pale fulvous on distal half and tipped and edged in black. Females are slightly smaller than males, with 4 pairs of mammae.
OTHER NAMES Coywolf. French: Coyote oriental, Coyloup. German: Südost-USA-Kojote, Kojwolf. Spanish: Coyote oriental. Russian: Восточный койот.
TAXONOMY There are at least 19 subspecies traditionally recognized, but their validity has not been confirmed by genetic analysis, and due to their dispersion capacity and inbreeding, it is impractical to use this classification. Includes frustror, thamnos and possibly hybrids between Coyotes and Gray or Eastern Wolves (C. latrans var. or C. latrans × C. lycaon), with additional genetic input from Domestic Dogs. Subspecies appear to intergrade imperceptibly.
REPRODUCTION Gestation: 58-65 days. Young per birth: 5-12, usually 6 (litter size may be directly related to food availability). Weaning: 35-49 days. Sexual maturity: 12 months. Life span: 9 years. Breeding season: From late January to March. Births occur from late April through early May. They only use dens to give birth and nurse their young. They use several dens, with multiple entrances, not only to protect their pups from predators, but also to protect them from fleas and other parasites. Dens may form large underground chambers, up to 1.5-9 m, and usually have a mound of fresh dirt at the the entrance. Dens are hidden in the woods, dug into roots or under trees, occasionally in and around human structures (such as decks, sheds), or abandoned burrows of a badger, woodchuck, Fox or skunk. Both the ♂ and ♀ co-parent the puppies by feeding them regurgitated food. Helpers may also assist with pup rearing. Pups begin to crawl around the den after about 10 days when their eyes first open, and after 3 weeks of age they will venture outside the den to play. Young often disperse at 9-10 months of age.
BEHAVIOR Social behavior: Solitary, mated pairs, or in small packs consisting of one mated pair, their new young, and offspring from the previous season. Diet: Opportunistic, including small and medium-sized mammals (mice, voles, rabbits, woodchucks, fawns), but also larger mammals where available (adult deer); carcasses of deer are the mainstays of the diet; predation on livestock is minimal, and as long as there is wild prey available, livestock is generally avoided; they may feed on insects, persimmons, berries and other wild fruits during summer. Main predators: American black bear, Wolf. Mostly crepuscular and nocturnal, but may be seen during the day. They sometimes travel in large groups but usually hunt in mated pairs. Territorial, advertising their location with urine, feces and glandular markings, and sounds such as howling or yapping, especially during the denning season. They use a complex vocal system.
DISTRIBUTION Native: Canada, USA.
HABITAT Almost all available habitats including prairie, forest, desert, mountain and tropical ecosystems. They are most abundant along forest edges near pastures and crop lands and are often found around clearings where trees have been harvested. Its ability to exploit human resources allows it to occupy urban areas.
CONSERVATION STATUS Least Concern. CITIES: Not listed. They are viewed as a nuisance and often unjustly blamed for livestock losses caused by free-running Dogs. They play a beneficial role in consuming large numbers of rodents and rabbits, scavenging dead animals, and removing diseased and injured animals from deer populations. Not protected by law, may be hunted. Its pelt has been increasing in value.
PHOTO CREDITS Maxime Frechette, Parc Omega (Canada); Lindell Dillon, OK (USA); John Pitcher, MN (USA); Jan Crites, Batavia, IL (USA).
CANIS LATRANS
BL: 73-81.5 cm (♂), 75.5-80.2 cm (♀). TL: 27.5-36.7 cm. H: 45-60.9 cm. W: 6.8-18 kg. SL: 15.9-17.4 cm. SW: 8.3-9.4 cm. DF: 42. CN: 78. A medium-sized Canid with slender legs, small feet, prominent erect pointed ears, and a narrow pointed muzzle. A small to medium-sized Coyote, darker and much more richly colored than Northern Coyotes, with larger ears. General color is buffy ochraceous to drab brown or dusky gray, mixed with black hairs. Summer coat is shorter. Throat is whitish, strongly grizzled with black-tipped hairs, forming a ruff. Underparts are whitish to pale fulvous. Long and slender muzzle, cinnamon rufous in color. Cheeks mixed gray and black. Upper lip and chin are grizzled grayish white. Medium to large-sized ears, fulvous dorsally, white inside. Legs are deep fulvous or rufous, paler inside, and may have black markings on the forelegs. Tail is pale fulvous ventrally, white basally, with a black tip, sometimes contains a tuft of white hairs. Females are slightly smaller than males, with 4 pairs of mammae. Pups are dark brown or gray black.
OTHER NAMES French: Coyote de l’ouest. German: Westlicher Kojote. Spanish: Coyote occidental. Russian: Западный койот.
TAXONOMY There are at least 19 subspecies traditionally recognized, but due to their dispersion capacity and inbreeding, it is impractical to use this classification. Includes clepticus, estor, mearnsi, ochropus, texensis and umpquensis.
REPRODUCTION Gestation: 60-63 days. Young per birth: 5-7. Weaning: 35-49 days. Sexual maturity: 10-12 months, but most ♂ and ♀ breed first in second year. Life span: 10 years. Breeding season: From January or February in the low warm deserts, to March and April at higher altitudes. Most young are born from late April to early May. They are capable of digging their own burrows, but they often enlarge the burrows of woodchucks or badgers to use for their dens. Typically, even when denning in suburban areas, they choose sites where human activity is minimal. Territories frequently contain several den sites, and pups may be moved several times a week to lessen parasites that often infest dens and to avoid discovery by potential enemies. Pups are born blind and cannot open their eyes for about 10 days; they emerge from the den in 3 weeks. By late fall, juveniles may disperse to live independently, although if food resources are adequate, they can remain with their parents through the next year. While the ♀ cares for the new pups, other members of the pack may care for the mother, bringing her food, babysitting and even helping move pups to another den.
BEHAVIOR Social behavior: Solitary, mated pairs, or small family groups; pairs tend to remain together for years. Diet: Opportunist; primarily small mammals (eastern cottontail rabbit, thirteen-lined ground squirrels, white-footed mice, rats, ground squirrels, gophers, prairie dogs, lagomorphs), and carrion, but also takes some insects, reptiles, amphibians, fruits, and occasionally birds, their eggs, and deer fawns. Locally, some may take sheep and domestic fowl. Searches and pounces, stalks and chases, and may dig out prey. Main predators: Cougar. Mostly crepuscular and nocturnal, occasionally diurnal. Hunts either alone, in pairs, or in small family packs. Territorial, actively keeping non-family members outside their territory. Home range size varies depending on food availability. They are capable of running at speeds of up to 65 kmph and they can jump horizontal distances of up to 4 m. They have a good sense of smell, vision and hearing. They can be heard vocalizing (barking and howling) in the evening and night throughout most of the year, but they vocalize less when in the early stages of pup-rearing.
DISTRIBUTION Native: Mexico, USA.
HABITAT They inhabit all life zones of the Desert Southwest from low valley floors to the crest of the highest mountains, but especially open plains, grasslands and high mesas. Their natural habitat is open grassland, but they will move to wherever food is available. Found in agricultural lands, and at the edges, and sometimes well into developed areas including cities.
CONSERVATION STATUS Least Concern. CITIES: Not listed. Widespread. Hunting and trapping permitted. Not protected. They are the primary predator of endangered San Joaquin Kit Foxes and may limit the number and distribution of Gray Foxes in the Santa Monica Mountains.
PHOTO CREDITS Bob Smith Images and Fred LaBounty, Big Bend National Park, TX (USA); Karen McCrorey, Tucson, AZ (USA); John A. Basanese, Paicines, CA (USA); Don McCullough, Bodega Bay, CA (USA).
Mexican and Central American Coyote
CANIS LATRANS
BL: 73.3-82.6 cm. TL: 30.4-38 cm. H: 45.7-60.9 cm. W: 9-25 kg. SL: 16-19.3 cm. SW: 9.8-10.1 cm. DF: 42. CN: 78. A medium-sized Canid with slender legs, small feet, prominent erect pointed ears, and a narrow pointed muzzle. A small-sized Coyote, darker and redder in color, with larger ears and short muzzle. General color is buffy ochraceous to dark rusty rufous, profusely mixed with black hairs. Throat is whitish, strongly marked with black-tipped hairs. Top of the head grizzled grayish and ochraceous, mixed with black hairs between and above eyes. Muzzle is cinnamon rufous, with black hairs on sides of the face. Ears are relatively large, fulvous dorsally. Underparts whitish, strongly suffused with pale fulvous, with numerous black-tipped hairs. Legs are fulvous, whitish on inner side, and may have black markings on the forelegs. Tail overlaid with black and with larger black tip, pale buffy fulvous below, whitish at base. Females have 4 pairs of mammae.
OTHER NAMES French: Coyote d’Amérique centrale, Coyote du Mexique. German: Zentralamerika-Kojote, Mexiko-Kojote. Spanish: Chacal rayado de América central y México. Russian: Центральноамериканский койот.
TAXONOMY There are at least 19 subspecies traditionally recognized, based mostly on size, cranial differences and location, but their validity has not been confirmed by genetic analysis, and due to their dispersion capacity and inbreeding, it is impractical to use this classification. Most subspecies appear to intergrade imperceptibly. Includes cagotis, dickeyi, goldmani, hondurensis, impavidus, jamesi, microdon, peninsulae and vigilis.
REPRODUCTION Gestation: 60-65 days. Young per birth: 3-12. Weaning: 35-49 days. Sexual maturity: 10-12 months. Life span: 6-8 years. Breeding season: From January to March in Mexico, and November to January in Central America. Several ♂ court one ♀ when she comes into estrus, which lasts from 4 to 15 days. ♀ choose one ♂ and normally stay with that ♂ through consecutive litters. Both parents take care of the pups, and the ♂ hunts and brings food to the ♀ during birthing and whelping. Often, older siblings help bring food to the ♀ and pups. Dens are dug or prepared on rocky ledges and brush-covered slopes with good visibility.
BEHAVIOR Social behavior: Solitary, mated pairs, or small family groups, from 2 to 4 animals. Monogamous. Bachelor ♂, nonreproductive ♀, and near-mature young may form loose, temporary associations for social contact or hunting. Diet: Small mammals, arthropods, fruits and carrion (road-killed mammals, birds, reptiles), but they also readily prey upon poultry, calves and small Dogs. In some arid areas lagomorphs are more important, especially during winter, but in grasslands, rodents and prairie dogs and kangaroo rats predominate. Close to human habitation garbage can be the main component of their diet. The endangered pronghorn antelope is rarely preyed on. Inland food scarcity promotes the displacement of Coyotes to coastal areas, where they have been observed in high densities. In the Vizcaino Desert, arthropods are the most frequent prey in the winter. Main predators: Cougar. Mostly crepuscular and nocturnal, occasionally diurnal, and may be seen during the day in the intertidal zone or close to shore. They rest in caves, under fallen trees, or in burrows. Differences in food availability may produce differences in home-range sizes. Adult pairs and groups occupy non-overlapping but contiguous home ranges. They deposit urine scent marks and scats more frequently on the edge than within the interior of their territories. It may compete only to a limited extent with other terrestrial or semi-arboreal carnivores, such as the Gray Fox, hog-nosed skunk, grison, coati, and raccoons, as well as wild cats, such as the jaguarundi and the ocelot. Coyotes vocalize most frequently during the breeding season.
DISTRIBUTION Native: Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Mexico, USA, probably Colombia. It has recently expanded its distribution in Central America from Mexico.
HABITAT Semi-open second-growth forests, agricultural areas, semiarid lowland plains and low mountains, desert plains coastal dunes.
CONSERVATION STATUS Least Concern. CITIES: Not listed.
PHOTO CREDITS José Luis Ruiz, Zoo San Juan de Aragon (Mexico); Gerardo Marrón, Guerrero Negro, Baja California (Mexico); Lindell Dillon, Rio Grande, TX (USA); David Rodríguez Arias, La Brisa, Alajuela (Costa Rica).
CANIS LUPASTER LUPASTER
BL: 72.2-93 cm. TL: 29-34 cm. H: 38-40 cm. W: 10-15 kg. SL: 16.3 cm. SW: 8.9 cm. DF: 42. CN: 78. A medium-sized Canid, stoutly built, similar to a small Wolf. Coat is shaggy, grayish brown to yellowish gray in color, with a grizzled appearance, which tends to collect in streaks and spots, with a mane of longer hairs along the back. Underparts, inside of legs, throat, and margins of the mouth are whitish. Muzzle, backs of the ears and the outer surfaces of limbs are reddish yellow. Head is like that of a Domestic Dog with a distinct and rather slender muzzle. Ears are erect, relatively small, slightly pointed, covered in much shorter hair and are rufous behind. Legs long and slender, buffish with a black stripe along the back of the foreleg. Tail relatively short, bushy, black along the top, black tipped, not touching the ground, normally held below the line of the back.
OTHER NAMES Egyptian Wolf, Sudan Golden Wolf, Variegated Wolf, Nubian Wolf, Dwarf Wolf, Algerian Golden Jackal, Morocco Wolf. French: Loup africain. German: Nordafrikanischer Goldwolf, Ägyptischer Goldwolf. Spanish: Lobo dorado egipcio, lobo dorado jaspeado. Russian: Североафриканский (золотистый) волк. Arabic: Ibn awi.
TAXONOMY At least three subspecies are traditionally recognized: C. l. lupaster, C. l. anthus, and C. l. bea, but recent genetic studies do not support distinctions between them. Formerly considered an African variant of the Eurasian Golden Jackal (C. aureus lupaster) or a subspecies of Gray Wolf (C. lupus lupaster), but molecular studies have demonstrated that it is distinct and more closely related to Gray Wolves and Coyotes. Considered a synonym of C. anthus.
SIMILAR SPECIES Syrian Golden Jackal (C. aureus syriacus) is smaller and more richly colored. Arabian Wolf (C. lupus arabs) is larger, with shorter coat and head less heavily furred, lighter in color, and with comparatively larger ears, longer limbed, and eyes wider set. Feral Domestic Dogs tend to have shorter coats, be stockier, much more rufous with white patches, though extremely variable, have larger ears, and the tail is not normally black tipped and is often carried high above the level of the back.
REPRODUCTION Gestation: 60 days. Young per birth: 4-5, up to 8. Weaning: 56-70 days. Sexual maturity: Probably 12 months. Life span: 14 years. Breeding season: Early spring, with most births occurring from March to May.
BEHAVIOR Social behavior: Sociable, in packs or more often pairs. Diet: Very varied; omnivorous and opportunistic, feeding on insects, snails, fish, chickens, young goats and sheep, as well as melons, watermelons, corn, small mammals (hares, rats, ground squirrels, cane rats), ground-nesting birds (francolins, bustards), lizards and snakes, and carrion; it has the habit of carrying off putrid or otherwise seemingly inedible items. Main predators: Spotted hyena. Largely nocturnal, especially where disturbed, but also reported active at dusk. Dens in natural caves, tombs or dense scrub. Hearing and scent excellent, sight good. Very vocal, with a characteristic howl often followed by a short yelp delivered just after sunset and before dawn. Barks when excited, growls when annoyed, and female reported to utter a “chak-chak” with closed mouth as warning to pups.
DISTRIBUTION Native: Algeria, Central African Republic, Djibouti, DR Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, Western Sahara. In Egypt, from the Western Desert, including Siwa, Dakhla, and Kharga E to North Sinai, the Delta, Cairo and environs, including Gebel Asfar and Dahsur, Wadi Natrum, Fayoum, the Nile Valley S to Lake Nasser.
HABITAT Agricultural areas, wasteland, and desert margins, rocky areas, and cliffs. Not a desert animal except for semi-arid northern coastal desert in Egypt. Up to 3,800 m in the Bale Mountains of Ethiopia.
CONSERVATION STATUS Not recognized by IUCN. CITES: Not listed. Widespread but probably declining in areas where it competes with feral Dogs, although some authors consider this subspecies to be Critically Endangered.
PHOTO CREDITS Mark Piazzi, Rift Valley (Ethiopia), Ken Behrens (Ethiopia); Stuart Reeds, Afar (Ethiopia).
CANIS LUPASTER ANTHUS
(PROVISIONAL/SPECIES UNCERTAIN)
BL: 72-94 cm. TL: 25.4 cm. H: 40-45 cm. W: 7-15 kg. DF: 42. CN: 78. A medium-sized Canid, stoutly built, similar to a small Wolf. The largest subspecies of African Golden Wolf, with longer ears, a shorter tail and a Dog-like head. Coat is deep gray in color, grizzled with yellow. Neck is grayish fawn, with gray predominating especially on the cheeks and below the ears. Underparts, inside of legs, throat, and margins of the mouth are whitish. Nose and forehead are grayish buff. Upper muzzle, limbs, back of the ears and tail are pure fawn in color. Head is Dog-like. Limbs are long and slender. Tail is relatively short, less hairy, with long hairs beneath and toward the tip buff, black tipped.
OTHER NAMES Senegalese Golden Jackal. French: Loup africain, chacal du Sénégal. German: Senegal-Goldwolf. Spanish: Lobo dorado de Senegal. Russian: Западноафриканский (Сенегальский) золотистый волк.
TAXONOMY Considered a subspecies of African Golden Wolf (C. lupaster). Formerly considered an African variant of the Eurasian Golden Jackal (C. aureus anthus) or a subspecies of Gray Wolf (C. lupus lupaster). Molecular studies have demonstrated that African Wolves are more closely related to Gray Wolves and Coyotes, and appear to have separated from their Eurasian cousins over a million years ago, being sufficiently genetically distinct to be placed in a separate species. Includes dorsalis. Recent genetic studies do not support distinctions between subspecies of African Golden Wolves.
SIMILAR SPECIES Egyptian Wolf (C. lupaster lupaster) is slightly smaller, has shorter ears, has a black ring round the neck, and a stippled arrangement of black points on the back, smaller ears, a hairy and longer tail, and the head is less Dog-like. It is not known if both subspecies are present in Senegal, if hybridization occurs among them, or if they represent different species.
REPRODUCTION Gestation: 63 days. Young per birth: 1-9. Weaning: 56-70 days. Sexual maturity: Probably 12 months. Life span: 14 years. Breeding season: Unknown, but probably from October to December, with most births from December to March. Young are born in dens, which can take the form of existing earthen burrows of aardvark or warthogs, or rivulets, gullies, road embankments, drainage pipes and other man-made structures. Both parents and offspring from previous litters provision and guard the new pups.
BEHAVIOR Social behavior: Breeding pairs. Diet: Omnivorous and opportunistic foragers, feeding on invertebrates, fruits, reptiles, rodents (gerbils, mole rats), birds and small ungulates; human refuse is also consumed, and they also scavenge the carcasses of larger herbivores. They may prey on domestic livestock. Main predators: Spotted hyena. Active at all hours of the day, particularly during cloudy weather, mainly in the early morning and late afternoon. Nocturnal in areas of human habitation. Territorial. They frequently groom one another, particularly during courtship. Nibbling of the face and neck is observed during greeting ceremonies. When fighting, it slams its opponents with its hips, and bites and shakes the shoulder. Vocalizations include howls, barks, growls, whines and cackles. These howls are used to repel intruders and attract family members. On capturing large prey, it makes no attempt to kill it; instead it rips open the belly and eats the entrails. Small prey is typically killed by shaking, though snakes may be eaten alive from the tail end. It often caches food. It is fiercely intolerant of other scavengers, having been known to dominate vultures.
DISTRIBUTION Native: Senegal. There is no confirmed record from Gambia.
HABITAT A wide variety of habitats, but typically prefers semi-desert, short to medium grasslands and savannas.
CONSERVATION STATUS Not evaluated. CITES: Not listed. No reliable population estimates are available.
PHOTO CREDITS Cécile Bloch (Senegal).
CANIS LUPASTER BEA
(PROVISIONAL/SPECIES UNCERTAIN)
BL: 64-85 cm. TL: 20-27.5 cm. H: 40-42 cm. W: 6-10 kg. SL: 14 cm. SW: 7.7 cm. DF: 42. CN: 78. A medium-sized Canid, similar to a small Wolf. The smallest subspecies of African Golden Wolf. Coat is sandy or yellow brown in color. Back often has black, white and brown streaks of hair and may even have a dark saddle. Underparts and throat are whitish or pale buff. Relatively long muzzle. Backs of the ears are bright ochraceous. Legs are long and reddish in color, and forelegs have a black stripe in front. Tail is bushy, with the lower half being black. Females are slightly smaller than males, with 4 pairs of nipples. Young lack the black lining on the back and are lighter colored.
OTHER NAMES Serengeti Golden Wolf. French: Chacal commun. German: Serengeti-Goldwolf. Spanish: Lobo dorado del Serengueti. Russian: Восточноафриканский (Кенийский) золотистый волк. Swahili: Bweha wa mbuga.
TAXONOMY Considered a subspecies of African Wolf (C. lupaster), but recent genetic studies do not support distinctions between them. Formerly considered an African variant of the Eurasian Golden Jackal (C. aureus bea) or a subspecies of Gray Wolf (C. lupus lupaster).
SIMILAR SPECIES Side-Striped Jackal (Lupulella adustus) has shorter ears, a pale side stripe and a white-tipped tail. Black-Backed Jackal (Lupulella mesomelas) has a distinct black line separating the back from the flanks. Some individuals in Serengeti National Park may have a black saddle, but it is more patchy and has more diffuse color separation between the back and flanks. Others may have black hair on the sides, which produces a side-striped effect similar to that of the Side-Striped Jackal. Egyptian Wolf (C. l. lupaster) is larger and has a darker coloration.
REPRODUCTION Gestation: 63 days. Young per birth: 1-9. Weaning: 56-70 days. Sexual maturity: Probably 12 months. Life span: 14 years. Breeding season: From October to December, with most births from December to March. Young are born in dens and both parents and offspring from previous litters provision and guard the new pups.
BEHAVIOR Social behavior: Long-term monogamous pairs and small groups averaging 3 individuals. Diet: Omnivorous and opportunistic foragers, feeding on invertebrates, fruits, reptiles, rodents (gerbils, mole rats), birds and small ungulates; human refuse and carrion are also consumed. They may prey on domestic livestock. Main predators: Spotted hyena. Active at all hours of the day, particularly during cloudy weather, mainly in the early morning and late afternoon. Nocturnal in areas of human habitation. Pairs defend year-round territories of 0.5-7 km2 in size, but will go beyond these boundaries to gain access to fresh carcasses. They can trot for long distances in search of food, and are reported to have the ability to forgo water, obtaining much of their moisture requirements from their food. Densities range between 0.5 and 1 animal per km2. Mated pairs will hunt cooperatively which permits them to harvest much larger prey (Thomson gazelles). In some areas, particularly where food resources are clumped, aggregations may occur. Single individuals typically hunt smaller prey such as rodents and birds, using their hearing to locate rodents in the grass and then pouncing on them by leaping through the air, or digging out gerbils from their burrows.
DISTRIBUTION Native: Kenya, Tanzania. Found throughout Kenya. In Tanzania, they are restricted to a small section of N Tanzania, between the central Serengeti and the W slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro. In Uganda and Rwanda they are presumably vagrants.
HABITAT Restricted to arid, open grasslands and open bushland. They are rare on the long-grass plains. Highly adaptable to human landscapes and frequently found around villages.
CONSERVATION STATUS Not evaluated. CITES: Not listed. No reliable population estimates are available. Population on the S plains in Serengeti National Park has declined by 60% since the early 1970s.
PHOTO CREDITS Sandy Young, Munib Chaudry, Ngorongoro Crater (Tanzania); Chris Wallace, Alicia Wirz and Terje Kristoffersen, Serengeti (Tanzania).
CANIS AUREUS AUREUS
BL: 71-81.5 cm (♂), 69.1-74.5 cm (♀). TL: 19.5-23 cm. H: 38-43 cm. W: 7-9 kg (♂), 6.3-9.9 kg (♀). SL: 15.6 cm. SW: 8.9 cm. DF: 42. CN: 78. A medium-sized Canid, with a relatively short body, long legs, coarse and harsh fur, furry tail, short and rounded ears. Muzzle is blunter and broader than in Fox, but more pointed than in Wolf. Winter coat is dull grayish straw with reddish-rusty shades, interspersed with black hairs on the back, and straw-ocher flanks. Summer coat is redder, shorter and coarser. Head, back of ears and sides of legs are reddish rust in color. Inside of ears is dirty strawish white. Underside, throat, inside of forelimbs and the area around eyes and lips are whitish. Flanks well differentiated from back by a more grayish-ocher shade. Lips and rhinarium are black. Medium-sized, bushy tail, dull gray, with a black tip. Round pupils. Females slightly smaller than males, with 4 pairs of mammae. Young are covered with dark sooty-brown hairs.
OTHER NAMES Asian Jackal, Middle Eastern Golden Jackal. French: Chacal doré. German: Persischer Goldschakal, Gewöhnlicher Goldschakal. Spanish: Chacal dorado persa. Russian: Персидский (обыкновенный) шакал. Persian: Shakhal, shoghál. Arabic: Ibn awa.
TAXONOMY Considered as a subspecies of C. aureus (Golden Jackal). As many as 13 subspecies are distinguished across the range (Wilson and Reeder, 2005). However, there is much variation and populations need to be re-evaluated using modern molecular techniques. The African subspecies have been reclassified as African Golden Wolves (C. anthus). Includes hadramauticus (Arabian Golden Jackal, from Saudi Arabia).
SIMILAR SPECIES Wolf is larger, with a longer and less bushy tail.
REPRODUCTION Gestation: 63 days. Young per birth: 1-6. Weaning: 50-90 days. Sexual maturity: 12 months. Life span: Unknown. Breeding season: Late winter or early spring in Pakistan. In Central Asia, they do not dig burrows, but construct lairs in dense tugai thickets, under tree roots or directly in dense thickets, in long grass plumes, shrubs and reed openings. Pups are born with shut eyelids and soft fur; at the age of 1 month, their fur is shed and replaced with a new reddish-colored pelt with black speckles. Their eyes typically open after 8–11 days, with the ears erecting after 10–13 days. The eruption of adult dentition is completed after 5 months.
BEHAVIOR Social behavior: Solitary or mated pairs. Diet: Small mammals, including gerbils, lizards, snakes, fish and muskrats, but also eat the fruits of wild stony olives, mulberries and dried apricots, as well as watermelons, muskmelons, tomatoes and grapes, and invertebrates, like mollusks and insects. Near the Vakhsh River, the spring diet consists almost exclusively of plant bulbs and the roots of wild sugarcane, while in winter it feeds on the fruit stones of wild stony olives. Relatively little information is available about its ecology. Mainly nocturnal and crepuscular, but occasionally seen during the day. Though solitary in hunting, they are social, and when first emerging to hunt at evening time they will give a chorus of shrill wails and yapping barks, quickly evoking a wailing chorus response by other individuals.
DISTRIBUTION Native: Afghanistan, Bahrain, India, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen. Widespread in Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and N Saudi Arabia. On the Arabian Peninsula it is restricted to a small part of E Saudi Arabia in the Hofuf area and around Al Asfah Lake, with one record from N Saudi Arabia. There have also been some records from N Kuwait, Qatar, Yemen and United Arab Emirates. Jackals from the Arabian Peninsula are sometimes assigned to syriacus subspecies, while those from Gujarat (India), Pakistan and Afghanistan are sometimes assigned to indicus subspecies.
HABITAT Lake sides, reeds, marshes and agricultural areas, up to 2,150 m. It can be found near human settlements. They avoid very steep mountain tracks, and higher elevations.
CONSERVATION STATUS Least Concern. CITES: Appendix III (India). There are no reliable estimates of population size. It conflicts with man in some areas, as it may eat some agricultural crops. However, its role in containing the rodent pest populations in agricultural crop areas cannot be ignored. It is also a useful scavenger, especially following the depletion of vulture populations in some areas.
PHOTO CREDITS Fariborz Heidari, Fars (Iran); Manan Patel, Julian Thomas, Mustansir Lokhandwala, Gir Forest (India).
CANIS AUREUS MOREOTICUS
BL: 74-84 cm. TL: 20-24 cm. H: 44.5-50 cm. W: 10-13 kg (♂), 6.5-7.8 kg (♀). SL: 15.3 cm. SW: 8.2 cm. DF: 42. CN: 78. A medium-sized Canid, with relatively long legs. The largest subspecies of Eurasian Jackal. Coat color variable seasonally, but usually reddish, golden brown and silverish. Individual variation in body color and especially in head and throat markings is quite common. Pelage on the back is often a mixture of black, brown, and white hairs. Underparts, throat, inside of forelimbs and the area around eyes and lips are lighter pale ginger to cream. Inside of ears is dirty strawish white. Tail is bushy with a tan to black tip. The naked lips and rhinarium are black. Round pupils. Females slightly smaller than males, with 4 pairs of mammae.
OTHER NAMES Caucasian Jackal. French: Chacal doré. German: Europäischer Goldschakal, Schilfwolf. Spanish: Chacal europeo. Russian: Европейский шакал.
TAXONOMY Considered a subspecies of C. aureus (Golden Jackal).
REPRODUCTION Gestation: 63 days. Young per birth: 1-6. Weaning: 50-70 weeks. Sexual maturity: 11 months, but most likely to postpone reproduction and stay with the parental pair as helpers for at least a year. Life span: Unknown. Breeding season: Begins in early February, and occasionally late January during warm winters, to April. They usually give birth in burrows dug with the assistance of ♂, or they occupy derelict Fox or badger dens. The burrow is located either in thick shrubs, on the slopes of gullies or on flat surfaces. Burrows are simple structures with a single opening, 2 m long, while the nest chamber occurs at a depth of 1-1.4 m. Litters are sometimes located within the hollows of fallen trees, tree roots and under stones on river banks. Pups are usually born from late March to late April. Courtship rituals are remarkably long, lasting 26-28 days, during which the breeding pair remains almost constantly together. Pups begin to eat solid food at the age of 15-20 days.
BEHAVIOR Social behavior: Solitary or small groups of 5-7 individuals. Diet: Omnivorous, opportunistic forager, and not a persistent hunter; it primarily hunts hares and mouse-like rodents, as well as pheasants, francolins, ducks, coots, moorhens and passerines; it also eats fruits (fig, grape vine) and vegetables, insects, and birds and their eggs. Main predators: Wolf, Dog. It rarely hunts in groups, though packs of 8-12 Jackals consisting of more than one family have been observed in summer in Transcaucasia. Mated pairs hold territories. Mainly nocturnal, but may be seen during daylight hours in areas of low human disturbance. During the night they become very bold and approach human settlements. Its characteristic howling is a regular nighttime sound.
DISTRIBUTION Native: Albania, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Croatia, Estonia, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Moldova, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Turkey, Ukraine. Its current European range mostly encompasses the Balkans, where habitat loss and mass poisoning caused it to become extinct in many areas during the 1960s. It has recolonized its former territories in Bulgaria, and subsequently expanded its range into Romania and Serbia. They further expanded into Italy, Slovenia, Austria, Hungary and Slovakia during the 1980s. Recently, an isolated population was confirmed in W Estonia, much farther N than their common range. Whether they are an introduced population or a natural migration is yet unknown.
HABITAT Cultivated areas and wetlands in lower elevations, with adequate cover to be used for hiding and breeding, up to 1,050 m. They prefer to be close to human settlements where there are scavenging opportunities.
CONSERVATION STATUS Least Concern. CITES: Not listed. Regional status: Near Threatened (European Union), declared an alien, potentially invasive species in all Baltic States. Estimated population of 20,000-30,000, but there is a general lack of current information on density and population trends. The absence of its natural predator, the Wolf, is likely to influence expansion positively.
PHOTO CREDITS Carlo Galliani (Bulgaria); Uros Poteko (Slovenia); Lajos Endredi.
CANIS AUREUS SYRIACUS
BL: 60-90 cm. TL: 20-30 cm. H: 44.5 cm. W: 8.8 kg (♂), 7.3 kg (♀). DF: 42. CN: 78. A medium-sized Canid, with relatively short body and long legs. A small subspecies of Eurasian Jackal. Fur is rather short and coarse, longer and grayer in winter. Coat color variable, usually reddish to golden brown, black yellowish to mottled gray dorsally, with a darker band running along the back from the nose to the tip of the tail, wider on the back, extending onto the lateral surfaces. Head and sides of legs are tawny red. Underside, throat and the area around eyes and lips are white to withish yellow. There are 2 dark bands across the lower throat and upper breast. Lips and rhinarium are black. Backs of ears are brown. Round pupils. Tail is relatively short, usually with a black tip. Females slightly smaller than males, with 4 pairs of mammae.
OTHER NAMES Palestine Golden Jackal. French: Chacal doré. German: Syrischer Goldschakal. Spanish: Chacal dorado sirio. Russian: Сирийский золотистый шакал. Hebrew: Tahn. Arabic: Wa wie.
TAXONOMY Considered a subspecies of C. aureus (Golden Jackal). Includes palaestina.
SIMILAR SPECIES It is larger than the Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes palaestina and arabica), with its relatively smaller, rufous ears and shorter, black-tipped tail. It is similar to a small Dog in appearance. Persian Wolf (C. lupus pallipes) is larger, with relatively larger legs and tail.
REPRODUCTION Gestation: 60-63 days. Young per birth: 1-6. Weaning: 50-90 days. Sexual maturity: 12 months. Life span: 14 years. Breeding season: February and March in Israel. Precopulatory behavior extends over a 4 months, and copulation takes place for about a week. Both parents take care of the young and regurgitate partially digested food; the ♂ will feed the ♀ during the first week or two after birth. The young, even after they are sexually mature, may stay with their parents and help to raise the next litter.
BEHAVIOR Social behavior: Solitary or small family groups, composed of mated pairs and their young adult offspring who are helping with the next litter; it is not clear yet whether the Jackals remain paired for many years. Diet: Omnivores and opportunistic, preying on small mammals and insects; they also feed on chicken carcasses, vegetables, fruit and garbage. In contrast with other subspecies, domestic ungulates (cattle and goats) are the main food of Jackals in this area. Main predators: Wolf. It remains in well-protected areas during the day and forages in more open areas at night. Occasionally, they may be active during the daytime, especially in the evenings or mornings. They scent mark their territory. Densities near human settlements may be greater. Jackals have been reported to carry a large proportion of the pathogens found in Domestic Dogs. Home ranges in Israel from 0.02 to 0.17 km2, depending on food resources (smaller home ranges near villages). Its voice is a long howl followed by a series of yelping notes, usually emitted just after dark or at dawn.
DISTRIBUTION Native: Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria. Found in Syria (Al Bilaas, Tadmor, Bab Janné, and lawit Mountains), Lebanon, Israel (N half to just S of Beersheba, but does not penetrate the desert), W Jordan, and extreme W and N Iraq (Rutba and Hussaiba). Boundaries with the Persian Jackal (C. aureus aureus) to the S and E are unclear.
HABITAT Adapted to a wide range of habitats: open areas with scattered trees and bushes, grass and copses, riparian areas, cultivated land, around orange groves, marshes, mountains and arid lands. It tends to invade rural and suburban areas, where it may come into contact with Domestic Dogs.
CONSERVATION STATUS Least Concern. CITES: Not listed. In the last few years, they have become overabundant in Israel, posing a possible threat to biodiversity in their native habitat. Its current status is difficult to ascertain, due to possible hybridization with Domestic Dogs and African Golden Wolves.
PHOTO CREDITS Jan Rillich, Yarkon Park (Israel), Gabriel Enrique Levitzky, Ashkelon (Israel).
CANIS AUREUS INDICUS
BL: 74.2-84 cm (♂), 74-80 cm (♀). TL: 22.3-26.4 cm. H: 38-43 cm. W: 7.6-10.8 kg (♂), 6.5-7.8 kg (♀). SL: 15.5 cm. SW: 9.1 cm. DF: 42. CN: 78. A medium-sized Canid, larger in size and with a darker and richer coat color than western subspecies (aureus). Scraggy, buff-gray coat, interspersed with black hair especially on the back. Coat color can vary seasonally from pale cream to tawny. Head and sides of legs are tawny red. Underside, throat and the area around eyes and lips are deep rich tan to buff. Lips and rhinarium are black. Medium-sized, bushy tail with a black tip. Backs of ears are brownish buff with an indistinct darker border and are upright pointed. Size similar in males and females, with females having 4 pairs of mammae.
OTHER NAMES Indian Golden Jackal, Himalayan Golden Jackal. French: Chacal de l’Inde. German: Indischer Goldschakal, Himalaya-Goldschakal. Spanish: Chacal indio. Russian: Индийский (североиндийский) золотистый шакал. Hindi: Gidad, siyar, srugal. Kashmiri: Gidah, shal.
TAXONOMY Considered a subspecies of C. aureus (Golden Jackal). Golden Jackal can breed with Domestic Dog in captivity, and anecdotal accounts exist of Indian feral Dogs that are strikingly similar to Jackals, but molecular studies have not detected evidence of hybridization in India.
SIMILAR SPECIES Wolf is similar in general appearance, but larger in size, with relatively larger legs, head and muzzle, and has a denser coat. Indian Fox is smaller.
REPRODUCTION Gestation: 63 days. Young per birth: 1-5. Weaning: 50-90 days. Sexual maturity: 12 months. Life span: 14 years. Breeding season: Throughout the year in India but in Pakistan during the spring and summer months. ♀ excavate a separate den before giving birth to young. Litters are born in the second week of April with up to 5 young per litter. The adult ♂ is an attentive mate and guards the entrance to the breeding burrow when the young are newly born and later on also assists in regurgitating food at the entrance of the den.
BEHAVIOR Social behavior: Solitary, in pairs, or in small groups of 3-5 comprising ♀ and their offspring of previous litter. Diet: Omnivorous and opportunistic forager and its diet varies according to season and habitat, and includes carcasses of domestic stock and ungulates (chital, buffalo, sambar), small mammals (rodents), poultry and wild birds. In agricultural landscapes, diet consists mainly of crops such as coarse grains (millets), fruits and sugarcane. Main predators: Tiger, leopard, Wolf. Normally hunt singly, but they are social in habit and invariably call to each other as they emerge in the early evening, each individual joining in an answering of yelping and barking. They emit a long, drawn-out wail followed by 3 to 5 rapidly repeated and high-pitched yelps which are taken up by other individuals within hearing. ♂ regularly scent mark their territory by depositing urine on conspicuous bushes and clumps of grass.
DISTRIBUTION Native: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan. Found throughout India except the high Himalayas.
HABITAT Dry open country, forests, hillsides, scrub, grasslands, plains and deserts. It generally avoids extensive natural forest. It may be seen near cultivation (melon and sugarcane fields), and visit villages and small towns in search of food. Though they do not penetrate into higher mountain regions, they may be found in most of the broader Himalayan valleys, in central, E and W Nepal, in Nepal (Patukhali), Bhutan, and Pakistan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa). The subspecific status of Jackals from Gujarat and Balochistan is unknown.
CONSERVATION STATUS Least Concern. CITES: Appendix III (in India). Regional status: Near Threatened (Pakistan). Locally common in Nepal and India. Perceived as an agricultural pest in Bangladesh. Estimated population of 80,000 for the Indian subcontinent. Considered an agricultural pest in certain parts due to its habit of eating sugarcane and chewing drip irrigation pipes. Dogs are considered a threat, both in terms of direct predation risk and pathogen spillover.
PHOTO CREDITS Graham Ekins, Ranthambhore Reserve (India), M. S. Ranganathan, Bob Hawley, Suryanarayan Ganesh, Pench Tiger Reserve (India); Malay Nandy, Kanha (India).
CANIS AUREUS NARIA
BL: 70.6-76.7 cm (♂), 61.5-72.1 cm (♀). TL: 20.8-23.5 cm. H: 38-43 cm. W: 5.4-8.6 kg. DF: 42. CN: 78. A medium-sized Canid, smaller than the northern Indian subspecies (indicus), with a shorter, smoother and not as shaggy coat, darker on the back, being black and speckled with white. Molting occurs earlier in the season than in northern Indian Jackals, and the pelt generally does not lighten in color. Underside is more pigmented on the chin, hind throat, chest and forebelly, while the limbs are rusty ochraceous or rich tan. Medium-sized, dark bushy tail, with a black tip. Females are slightly smaller than males, with 4 pairs of mammae.
OTHER NAMES Southern Indian Jackal, Black-Backed Jackal. French: Chacal du Sri Lanka. German: Sri-Lanka-Goldschakal, Südindien-Goldschakal. Spanish: Chacal de Sri Lanka. Russian: Цейлонский (южноиндийский) золотистый шакал. Hindi: Gidad, siyar, srugal. Tamil: Narie. Sinhalese: Hiwala.
TAXONOMY Considered a subspecies of C. aureus (Golden Jackal). Includes lanka (Sri Lanka). Jackals in Sri Lanka have a rooted lobe on the inner side of the third upper premolar, and are slightly larger.
SIMILAR SPECIES Indian Jackal (C. a. indicus) is larger, with a longer coat, and a lighter-colored back.
REPRODUCTION Gestation: 60-63 days. Young per birth: 1-6. Weaning: 50-90 days. Sexual maturity: 12 months. Life span: Unknown. When ♀ comes into estrus, ♂-♀ pair engages in many dominance interactions, with tail raised and much growling and whimpering, and there may also be aggressive interactions with other members of the group.
BEHAVIOR Social behavior: Small groups of 8-12 animals, comprising a mated pair with young from different years. Diet: Omnivorous and opportunistic foragers, hunting small animals, and occasionally the young of larger mammals, and will take fruits to supplement their otherwise carnivorous diet. Their preference for small prey can bring them into conflict with poultry farmers. Scavenging provides only a relatively small part of their diet. Monogamous pairs, with a breeding pair establishing a territory and maintaining it through frequent scent marking and prominent dung middens. Pairs also howl together, often at night, to mark their territory. They hunt in pairs or small family groups. Upon capturing large pray, they make no attempt to kill it, but rip open its belly and eat the entrails. Small prey is typically killed by shaking, though snakes may be eaten alive from the tail end. They are in the habit of hiding food, building a store which helps them to eat when food is scarce. In areas with access to beach land, it is said that they also dig turtle nests looking for tasty eggs to feed on. Active during the day and at night, and it is not unusual to see them in the open during the hottest hours of the day in areas protected from hunting. They are able to regurgitate the meal, especially if they have pups or if a ♂ is feeding his mate shortly after birth.
DISTRIBUTION Native: Sri Lanka. Endemic to Sri Lanka (E, N-central, N and W provinces).
HABITAT Forests, grasslands, mangrove, urban and semi-urban areas. Tolerates human presence more readily than the Wolf and thus is often seen around human settlements.
CONSERVATION STATUS Least Concern. CITES: Appendix III (India). In Sri Lanka the population is stable, but conflict with humans and Dogs are on the increase. Jackals fall victim to snares intended for other wild animals, and are directly persecuted by farmers defending livestock. In addition, they also become the targeted victims of poisoned cattle carcasses meant for leopards.
PHOTO CREDITS Charles Gibson, Bundala (Sri Lanka); Mystrg, Yala National Park (Sri Lanka); Gaurika Wijeratne and Priyantha de Alwis, Kumana National Park (Sri Lanka).
CANIS AUREUS CRUESEMANNI
B: 79 cm. TL: 24 cm. H: 38-43 cm. W: 10.3 kg. DF: 42. CN: 78. A medium-sized Canid, smaller than the northern Indian subspecies (indicus). A small-sized subspecies of Eurasian Jackal. Coat is fulvous brown grizzled with blackish and whitish on the dorsum and flanks, with paler underparts. The dorsal grizzling is often patterned to give an evident saddle mark across the back. Plain rich sandy-rufous limbs, forehead and backs of the ears, all contrasting with the dorsum. Tail is relatively short, thick, plume shaped and usually held hanging down, rufous buff in color, darkening gradually to the rear.
OTHER NAMES Siamese Jackal, Southeast Asian Golden Jackal. French: Chacal doré d’Asie du sud-est. German: Indochina-Goldschakal, Siam-Goldschakal. Spanish: Chacal dorado del sudeste asiático. Russian: Сиамский (индокитайский) шакал. Thai: Sòo-nák jîng-jòk.
TAXONOMY Considered a subspecies of C. aureus (Golden Jackal). Its status as a separate subspecies has been disputed as its classification is based mostly on observations of captive animals.
SIMILAR SPECIES Dholes have a rich red pelage, lacking any silvery grizzling, and have a different structure and size. Domestic Dogs may have a similar color, but usually lack the rich sandy-rufous color of limbs, forehead and backs of the ears, all contrasting with the dorsum, and the tail is usually thinner with sparser hair and often is held curved with the tip pointing upward.
REPRODUCTION Gestation: 60-63 days. Young per birth: 1-6. Weaning: Probably 50-90 days. Sexual maturity: 12 months. Life span: Unknown. Breeding season: Probably in February, with most births in April. Usually both parents share duties in caring for the young, and both regurgitate food for the pups. There is little specific information for this subspecies.
BEHAVIOR Social behavior: Mated pairs with family groups consistently of young from different years. Diet: Opportunistic omnivores and scavengers: small mammals, including small ungulates, birds, amphibians, reptiles, fruits, animal carcasses; during the dry season termites may become the main source of food. Main predators: Leopard, Dhole. Active by both day and night, but becomes more nocturnal in areas of human activity. Mainly solitary. A ♂ and ♀ will den and hunt together after mating and rearing their young. Another trait is to enter villages or camps to scavenge garbage, and to take chickens and ducks. They even raid crops such as sugarcane. Home ranges from 2 to 60 km2, smaller near villages, and larger in natural areas where no anthropogenic food sources are available.
DISTRIBUTION Native: India, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and probably marginally in Cambodia and Vietnam. This subspecies is found from Laos, Thailand and Myanmar to E India. Widespread in Thailand N of the Isthmus of Kra, except possibly in the NE Khorat Plateau and the central valley of the Chao Phraya. It occurs in Khao Nang wildlife research center, Thung Yai and Huai Kha Khaeng wildlife sanctuary in W Thailand. In Laos it is found in Phou Xiangthong National Biodiversity Conservation Area, Dong Khanthung Protected Forest, and Pha Taem Protected Forest Complex. This species appears to be present but not common in N Myanmar; however, its status and distribution remain uncertain. Boundaries with the Indian Jackal (C. a. indicus) to the W (Assam, in E India) are unclear.
HABITAT Evergreen forests. Also in forested, mangrove, agricultural, rural and semi-urban habitats.
CONSERVATION STATUS Least Concern. CITES: Not included. Population estimates for this subspecies are not available. Indiscriminate killing by farmers and unrestrained shooting has caused their extirpation in many areas of N Thailand. Feral Dogs often kill Jackals in some areas of Thailand with high Dog densities. In reduced, fragmented Jackal populations, hybridization with Dogs and inbreeding among themselves may threaten the genetic integrity of this subspecies. The pelt is of little economic value.
PHOTO CREDITS Jirawat Srikong, Gary Kinard, Kaeng Krachan National Park (Thailand).
CUON ALPINUS ALPINUS, FUMOSUS AND HESPERIUS
BL: 88-135.5 cm. TL: 32-50 cm. H: 50 cm. W: 15-20 kg (♂), 10-13 kg (♀). SL: 17.4 cm. SW: 10.3 cm. DF: 40. CN: 78. A large-sized Canid. The largest subspecies of Dhole. Coat color is bright red to yellowish red. Winter coat is luxuriant and woolly, white underfur, and a larger mane. Summer coat is coarser and leaner. Back may be darker. Tail is bushy and darker, with a black tip. Undersides, chest and foreneck are whitish to pale ginger colored. Muzzle is brown, relatively short, relatively convex in profile. Ears triangular, with rounded tips. Eyes are amber. Toes are red, brown or white. The foretoe pads are joined at the base, near the main pad, unlike in most Domestic Dogs. Little sexual dimorphism. Females have 6 to 8 pairs of mammae. Young are blackish brown, gradually changing to red.
Cuon alpinus fumosus
Cuon alpinus hesperius
OTHER NAMES Siberian Dhole, East Asian Dhole, Ussuri Dhole, Alpine Wolf, Tien Shan Dhole (hesperius). French: Dhole de Sibérie, chien sauvage d’Asie. German: Alpenwolf, Nördlicher Rothund, Westlicher Rothund. Spanish: Cuón siberiano, dole, perro rojo, perro jaro, perro salvaje asiático. Russian: Северный красный волк: дальневосточный (alpinus), западнокитайский (fumosus), тяньшанский (hesperius). Chinese: Nyar.
TAXONOMY As many as 11 subspecies of this taxon have been described (Ginsberg and Macdonald, 1990), but their validity is doubtful. Based on genetic studies, two phylogeographic groups are recognized: a northern-Dhole group, historically occurring throughout East Asia to as far S as the Himalayan Mountains and the Yangtze River, which includes C. a. alpinus, C. a. fumosus, C. a. hesperius, C. a. primaevus and C. a. laniger; and a southern-Dhole group which includes C. a. lepturus, C. a. dukhumensis, C. a. adjustus, C. a. infuscus, C. a. sumatrensis and C. a. javanicus. Further research is needed to clarify the differences between N and S Dholes, especially because conservation efforts would need to employ different strategies for the two groups, as they occupy vastly different habitats and prey on different species. C. a. alpinus includes antiquus. C. a. hesperius includes jason.
REPRODUCTION Gestation: 60-63 days. Young per birth: 1-12. Weaning: 42-58 days. Sexual maturity: 12 months. Life span: 15 years in captivity. Breeding season: November to April. They do not engage in a copulatory tie when mating. Mating is not as restricted to certain individuals as it is in Wolf packs. ♀ are seasonally polyestrous, with a cycle of around 4-6 weeks. Other adults will help to feed the young of the dominant pair. At 10 days their body weight has doubled. By 8 weeks, young are less quarrelsome and aggressive, and more vigilant. At 3 months litters go on hunts, though the pack may not be fully mobile until 8 months. Young reach full adult size at 15 months.
BEHAVIOR Social behavior: Extended-family packs of 5-12 individuals. Diet: Hypercarnivory: small to medium-sized ungulates. Highly social. It is fond of water. It has some extraordinary vocal calls. Growl-barks and other noises alert pack-mates to danger. Calls also act as threats to scare off enemies. Its best-known sound is its strange whistle, which is used for contact within the pack.
DISTRIBUTION Native: China. Regionally extinct: Mongolia, North Korea, Russia, Singapore, South Korea. Historically, they occurred throughout South and East Asia, to as far N as the S parts of the Russian Federation, including the Amur region and upper Lena River N of Lake Baikal, and as far E as North Korea. They have disappeared from most of their historic range, and most remaining populations are fragmented and appear to be declining. In the 1980s they still occurred on Mount Pakdoo in NE North Korea, near the Chinese border, but they were likely extirpated at that time.
HABITAT Habitat generalist, from open country to dense forests and thick scrub jungles, avoiding desert regions.
CONSERVATION STATUS Endangered. CITES: Appendix II. Population for all subspecies is estimated at less than 2,500 animals. Habitat loss and the elimination of prey species pose the greatest threats to its survival. In recent years, sightings of Dholes have been exceedingly rare in China.
PHOTO CREDITS Rickard Beldt, Kolmården Wildlife Park (Sweden); Paul Horvat and Frida Bredesen, Parken Zoo (Sweden); Klaus Rudloff, Magdeburg Zoo (Germany).
CUON ALPINUS PRIMAEVUS AND LANIGER
BL: 91-98 cm (♂), 91.4-96 cm (♀). TL: 34.2-47 cm. H: 61 cm. W: 15.8 kg (♂), 10-13 kg (♀). SL: 18.8 cm. SW: 11 cm. DF: 40. CN: 78. A large-sized Canid. Similar to the Indian Dhole, but winter coat is longer and more luxuriant, with underwool, with the hair on the paws overlapping and largely concealing the pads, deeper red in color with a yellowish tinge, and darker at the neck. Kashmir Dhole is yellowish gray in color, paler than other subspecies. Sides of the neck whitish gray, ears and crown buff, muzzle and forelegs ochraceous buff, the hind legs paler, paws whitish buff, undersides whitish. Ears triangular, with rounded tips, whitish or buff inside. Short muzzle, convex, blackish. Eyes are amber. Legs are shorter in some alpine regions, paws with long white or reddish-brown fur. Tail same color as body, black distally.
Cuon alpinus laniger
OTHER NAMES French: Dhole du Cachemire, dhole de l’Himalaya. German: Himalaya-Rothund, Kaschmir-Rothund. Spanish: Cuón del Himalaya. Russian: Гималайский красный волк (primaevus), кашмирский красный волк (laniger). Nepali: Bankukur, bwaso. Kashmiri: Jungli-kuta, ram-hun, ban-kuta, bhansa. Tibetan: Phara.
TAXONOMY Considered a subspecies of Dhole (C. alpinus). These subspecies are included in the northern-Dhole group.
SIMILAR SPECIES Gray Wolf (Canis lupus chanco) is notably larger and more stoutly built, with a distinctive grayish coat, ears pointed, penis more visible from side, and proportionally longer jaw relative to head length.
REPRODUCTION Gestation: 60-70 days. Young per birth: 2-6. Weaning: 42-58 days. Sexual maturity: 12 months. Breeding season: November to December, with most births occurring in January and February. Young are born in caves or under rocks.
BEHAVIOR Social behavior: Permanent communities, called clans, consisting of 2-11 members. Diet: Hypercarnivorous: blue sheep, serow, sambar, musk deer, tahr, wild pig, pikas, livestock, including cattle and Dogs; they may occasionally consume fruit, grass and other vegetation. They are not scavengers. They hunt during dawn or dusk in sites of minimum human disturbance. Rarely will they seek out domesticated animals as prey but due to increasing interaction with domesticated animals in pasture lands and these being easier to prey on than wild animals, their attacks on livestock have increased. They hunt in groups and locate prey by sight rather than by scent. They do not bark, but have a variety of calls including whistles, clucks, mewing and screaming. Dholes mark their path by dropping feces on regular spots.
DISTRIBUTION Native: Bhutan, China, India, Nepal. C. a. primaevus is found in the Himalayan region of Nepal, in the W (Rara and Khaptad National Parks, Dhorpatan Hunting Reserve) and extreme E parts of the country (Kanchenjunga Conservation Area). In S Nepal, they are found throughout much of the Terai Arc Landscape, including Chitwan and Bardia National Parks, and Parsa and Shuklaphanta Wildlife Reserves. It may occur in most protected areas in Bhutan, after being nearly extirpated in the 1980s. This subspecies has also been recently reported from Sikkim. C. a. laniger is found in NW India (Jammu and Kashmir), SW China and S Tibet.
HABITAT Forested areas, but can also be found on steppes and even on rocky slopes in the foothills of mountains, between 1,900 and 4,350 m. They may follow ridgelines of mountains along human and grazing trails. They avoid barren land, and habitat under anthropogenic pressure.
CONSERVATION STATUS Endangered. CITES: Appendix II. In Nepal, they are regarded as vermin due to their livestock killing behavior and were heavily persecuted in the past by poisoning and/or shooting, which led to a dramatic decline of the population. Habitat fragmentation due to slash/burn practice, forest products collection, and human-Dhole conflict are current threats. These subspecies are considered rare with a current population estimate of less than 500 individuals; however, this figure needs verification.
PHOTO CREDITS Based on camera traps from Kanchenjunga Conservation Area and Chitwan National Park (Nepal), and Khangchendzonga Biosphere Reserve, Sikkim (India); Frida Bredesen; Julie Winkelman; Dr. Ajay Kumar Singh; Sergey Chichagov.
CUON ALPINUS LEPTURUS
BL: 91-98 cm (♂), 91.4 cm (♀). TL: 34.2-47 cm. H: 61 cm. W: 15.8 kg (♂), 10-13 kg (♀). SL: 17.9 cm. SW: 11.1 cm. DF: 40. CN: 78. A large-sized Canid, with a short rostrum. Coat is uniformly reddish in color, with thick underfur. Back sometimes darker to a varying extent by blackening of the tips of the hairs. Undersides, inside of limbs and neck from white to pale reddish, nearly matching the upper side. Summer coat is short, sleek and thin, with little or no underwool. Winter coat is longer and rougher, moderately thickened with underwool. Ears triangular, with rounded tips, about half the length of the face, whitish or buff inside. Short muzzle, convex, typically blackish, with black facial vibrissae. Eyes are amber. Outer side of the legs often with buff or white on the paws. Tail like the body, but black at least in its terminal half. Little sexual dimorphism. Females with 6 to 8 pairs of mammae.
OTHER NAMES Kiangsi Dhole. French: Dhole de Chine, cuon de Chine, chien sauvage de Chine. German: Kiangsi-Rothund. Spanish: Cuón chino, dole, perro rojo, perro jaro, perro salvaje chino. Russian: Среднекитайский красный волк. Chinese: Nyar.
TAXONOMY Considered a subspecies of Dhole (C. alpinus). This subspecies is included in the southern-Dhole group. Includes clamitans.
REPRODUCTION Gestation: 60-63 days. Young per birth: 1-12. Weaning: 42-58 days. Sexual maturity: 12 months. Life span: 15 years in captivity. Breeding season: November to April. They do not engage in a copulatory tie when mating. Mating is not as restricted to certain individuals as it is in Wolf packs. ♀ are seasonally polyestrous, with a cycle of around 4-6 weeks. Other adults will help to feed the young of the dominant pair.
BEHAVIOR Social behavior: Extended-family packs of 5-12 individuals, up to 25, with more ♂ than ♀, and usually just 1 breeding ♀. Large packs of over 40 may result from the temporary fusion of neighboring packs. Older Dholes sometimes vanish from the group. Diet: Hypercarnivory: wild boar, muntjac, sambar deer, wild sheep, wild goats, small deer, rodents and lagomorphs. Highly social and cooperative animal, with a strict social hierarchy. Dispersal is ♀-biased. Members over-mark each other’s waste, creating individual latrines in the home range. These latrines serve intra-group communication. They are fond of water, and may be seen in shallow pools of water. Like Domestic Dogs, they wag their tail. They can also leap at least 2.3 m. It has some extraordinary vocal calls. It can make a high-pitched scream, mew, hiss, squeak, yelp, chatter, and can cluck like a chicken. Growl-barks and other noises alert pack-mates to danger; the large range of calls like these may have evolved to warn companions of different dangers—human, tiger, etc. Calls also act as threats to scare off enemies. Its best-known sound is its strange whistle, likened by early naturalists to the sound obtained when air is blown over an empty cartridge. These calls are used for contact within the pack. The repetitive whistles are so distinct that individual Dholes can be identified by them, and the source is easily located. Whistles travel well at ground level due to their frequency and structure.
DISTRIBUTION Native: China. Found in S China, S of the Yangtze River, although its current distribution is not well known (Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hubei and Jiangxi).
HABITAT Dry tropical deciduous forests, moist deciduous forests, evergreen forests, semi-evergreen forests, dry thorn forests, grassland, scrub forest mosaics and alpine steppe (2,100 m). They have not been reported from desert regions.
CONSERVATION STATUS Endangered. CITES: Appendix II. Protected in China. In the early 20th century the winter fur was prized by the Chinese, but currently their fur is not considered overly valuable. The most significant threat is habitat loss and degradation. They have been intentionally extirpated from some protected areas in SE China in an attempt to boost ungulate numbers. They are now very rare and have disappeared from most parts of S China. In view of their isolation, few, if any, remaining populations can be viable.
PHOTO CREDITS Sergey Chichagov, Riga Zoo (Latvia); Corinne Puch, Neunkirchen Zoo (Germany).
CUON ALPINUS INFUSCUS AND ADJUSTUS
BL: 91-98 cm (♂), 91.4 cm (♀). TL: 34.2-47 cm. H: 61 cm. W: 15.8 kg (♂), 10-13 kg (♀). SL: 17.1 cm. SW: 10.4 cm. DF: 40. CN: 78. A large-sized Canid. A medium-sized subspecies of Dhole, similar to the Indian Dhole, with a more rusty-red to uniformly brown color. Coat is short, with no underwool. Undersides are buffy grayish white. Winter coat is shorter and scantier than in northern subspecies. Back uniformly red or sometimes darker to a varying extent by blackening of the tips of the hairs. Undersides, inside of limbs, neck and front paws are lighter in color, buffy white to reddish, nearly matching the upper side. Ears triangular, with rounded tips, whitish or buff inside. Short muzzle, convex. Eyes are amber. Tail like the body, but black at least in its terminal half. Little sexual dimorphism. Females with 6 to 8 pairs of mammae.
Cuon alpinus adjustus
OTHER NAMES Nilgiri Dhole, Burma Dhole. French: Dhole du Tenasserim, dhole de Birmanie. German: Indochina-Rothund, Burma-Rothund. Spanish: Cuón de Indochina, perro rojo. Russian: Индокитайский красный волк (infuscus), бирманский красный волк (adjustus). Malay: Sirgala Aijing-kutar. Thai: Maa paa. Burmese: Tan-kwe.
TAXONOMY Considered a subspecies of Dhole (C. alpinus). These subspecies are included in the southern-Dhole group. C. a. rutilans is considered a synonym of adjustus.
SIMILAR SPECIES Dingo has a less bushy tail, which bends forward toward the head when held upright, the penis is more visible from side, ears are pointed, and jaw is proportionally longer relative to head length. Golden jackal is notably smaller, with proportionally shorter tail to body, coat yellowish brown and always grizzled, face thin and ears pointed, and a distinctive fast trotting gait. Gray Wolf is notably larger, with a distinctive grayish coat, ears pointed, penis more visible from side, and proportionally longer jaw relative to head length.
REPRODUCTION Gestation: 60-63 days. Young per birth: 1-12. Weaning: 42-58 days. Sexual maturity: 12 months. Life span: 15 years in captivity. Pups are born from November to March.
BEHAVIOR Social behavior: Extended-family packs of 5-12 individuals, up to 25, with more ♂ than ♀, and usually just 1 breeding ♀. Diet: An exclusively carnivorous diet (hypercarnivory); medium-sized to small ungulates (muntjac, sambar, wild pig, hog deer, serow). Crepuscular and diurnal. Highly social and co-operative animal. Home ranges from 12 to 49.5 km2 in Thailand. Members over-mark each other’s waste, creating individual latrines in the home range. These latrines serve intra-group communication. They are fond of water, and may be seen in shallow pools of water. Like Domestic Dogs, the Dhole wags its tail. They can also leap at least 2.3 m. They have some extraordinary vocal calls: high-pitched scream, mew, hiss, squeak, yelp, chatter and cluck. Its best-known sound is its strange whistle, likened by early naturalists to the sound obtained when air is blown over an empty cartridge. These calls are used for contact within the pack. The repetitive whistles are so distinct that individual Dholes can be identified by them, and the source is easily located. Whistles travel well at ground level due to their frequency and structure.
DISTRIBUTION Native: Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand. Possibly extinct: Vietnam. Found in E Bangladesh (Chittagong Hill Tracts and Sylhet districts), NE India (Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura), N and W-central Myanmar, Thailand, N and central Laos and S China (Yunnan).
HABITAT Primary, secondary and degraded forms of tropical dry and moist deciduous forests, although some individuals may be observed hunting in grasslands.
CONSERVATION STATUS Endangered. CITES: Appendix II. The size of subpopulations of Dholes has not been reported, but they occur at low densities.
PHOTO CREDITS Arterra, Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary (Thailand); Wildlife Alliance, Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Center (Thailand); Rapeepong Puttakumwong (Thailand).
CUON ALPINUS DUKHUNENSIS
BL: 91-97.8 cm (♂), 91.4 cm (♀). TL: 34.2-47 cm. H: 61 cm. W: 15-20 kg (♂), 10-13 kg (♀). SL: 17.9 cm. SW: 10.9 cm. DF: 40. CN: 78. A large-sized Canid, with a short muzzle. A small subspecies of Dhole, with a short coat. Coat is uniformly reddish in color, less intense and with a tawnier or yellower tinge than in northern and Indonesian subspecies. Undersides, inside of limbs and neck from white to pale reddish, nearly matching the upper side. Summer coat is short, sleek and thin, with little or no underwool. Winter coat is longer and rougher, moderately thickened with underwool. Ears triangular, with rounded tips, about half the length of the face, whitish or buff inside. Short muzzle, convex, typically blackish, with black facial vibrissae. Eyes are amber. Outer side of the legs often with buff or white on the paws. Tail like the body, but black at least in its terminal half. Little sexual dimorphism, with females slightly smaller than males, and 6 to 8 pairs of mammae.
OTHER NAMES Tenasserim Dhole. French: Dhole de l’Inde, chien sauvage de l’Inde. German: Dekkan-Rothund. Spanish: Cuón indio. Russian: Индийский красный волк. Hindi: Son-Kutta, Jangli. Tamil: Vatai-Karau. Ho: Tani. Kodava: Kennai. Marathi: Kolasra. Gujarati: Earam-naiko. Malayalam: Hahmasai-kuta, kotsun, kolsa, kolarsi.
TAXONOMY Considered a subspecies of Dhole (C. alpinus). This subspecies is included in the southern-Dhole group, which is further divided into two distinct phylogeographical groupings, one extending from S, central and N India (S of the Ganges) into Myanmar, and the other extending from India N of the Ganges into NE India, Myanmar, Thailand and the Malaysian Peninsula.
REPRODUCTION Gestation: 63 days. Young per birth: 1-12. Weaning: 56 days. Sexual maturity: 12 months. Life span: 15 years in captivity. Breeding season: November to April, with most births in December in India. Dens are earthen burrows, or are constructed among rocks and boulder structures, in rocky caverns, or close to streambeds. Unlike some other Canids, it does not engage in a copulatory tie when mating. Also, mating is not as restricted to certain individuals as it is in Wolf packs, in which usually only the dominant pair can breed.
BEHAVIOR Social behavior: Permanent groups (clans), consisting of 8-15 members, often contain more ♂ than ♀, with usually just 1 breeding ♀. Occasionally, large groups of over 40 animals have been seen, possibly arising from the temporary fusion of neighboring packs. Diet: Hypercarnivorous with diet based primarily on small to medium-sized ungulates. Smaller species, such as civets, other small carnivores, and hares, are also consumed opportunistically. Bimodal or diurnal in habit, occasionally nocturnal. Highly social and cooperative. It regularly hunts in packs. Communal hunting is particularly important during the breeding season when pack members return to the den to regurgitate food for the mother and pups. Sometimes, they prefer to hunt individually or in pairs, focusing on smaller prey such as hares. They have an excellent sense of smell and sight allowing them to locate their prey easily. Home range sizes from 20 to 100 km2. Territories are marked by latrines at trail and road intersections where all pack members defecate. Good swimmers, sometimes drive their prey into water. They possess a highly developed vocal communication system. Densities vary considerably, even between years in the same area, and are based upon food resources, disease outbreaks and poaching by humans.
DISTRIBUTION Native: India. Endemic to India, S of the Ganges. Found in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Goa, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Rajasthan, and Tamil Nadu. Very little is known about its distribution, but surveys indicate serious decline and fragmentation of the former range. The best remaining populations are probably to be found in central and S India, and the Western Ghats currently support a healthy metapopulation.
HABITAT Forest areas (reserve forests, degraded and multi-use forests) in India, up to at least 2,400 m. Not found in deserts, coasts, hilly terrain and mangroves. They avoid areas with human disturbance.
CONSERVATION STATUS Endangered. CITES: Appendix II. Protected in India. Treated as vermin and hunted across the India until they were protected in 1972. Threats include possible pathogen spillover such as canine distemper virus from Domestic Dogs.
PHOTO CREDITS Hira Punjabi, Nagarhole (India), Daniel Goeleven, Tadoba (India), Anil Varma and Michael Francis, Tadoba Andhari (India); Aravind Venkatraman, Bandipur (India).
CUON ALPINUS SUMATRENSIS AND JAVANICUS
BL: 80-91.4 cm (♂), 91.4 cm (♀). TL: 29.2-34.3 cm. H: 61 cm. W: 15.8 kg (♂), 10-13 kg (♀). SL: 15.7 cm. SW: 9.7 cm. DF: 40. CN: 78. A large-sized Canid. The smallest subspecies of Dhole, slender, with a short bright red coat and dark vibrissae. Coat is foxy ferruginous red to tawny brown, with lighter shades on the belly and inner sides of the legs. Back sometimes darker to a varying extent by blackening of the tips of the hairs. Undersides, inside of limbs and neck from white to pale reddish, nearly matching the upper side. Ears triangular, with rounded tips, about half the length of the face, whitish or buff inside. Short muzzle, convex, typically blackish, with black facial vibrissae. Eyes are amber. Outer side of the legs often with buff or white on the paws. Tail like the body, but black at least in its terminal half. Little sexual dimorphism. Females with 6-7 pairs of mammae.
Cuon alpinus javanicus
OTHER NAMES Sumatran Dhole, Javan Dhole. French: Dhole de Sumatra, cuon de Sumatra. German: Sumatra-Rothund, Java-Rothund. Spanish: Cuón de Sumatra. Russian: Суматранский красный волк (sumatrensis), яванский красный волк (javanicus). Indonesian: Ajag, Anjing Hutan. Malay: Sirgala, Aijing-kutar.
TAXONOMY Considered a subspecies of Dhole (C. alpinus). Included in the southern-Dhole group. They could have originated from individuals introduced from India, although further studies are needed to confirm these findings. C. a. javanicus (Javan Dhole) is sometimes considered a synonym of C. a. sumatrensis, although the subspecific status of Dholes in Indonesia is unclear and requires further study.
REPRODUCTION Gestation: 60-63 days. Young per birth: 1-12. Weaning: 42-58 days. Sexual maturity: 12 months. Life span: 15 years in captivity. Breeding season: Mainly between January and May in E Java. Dens are constructed under rocks with one or multiple entrances, strategically placed to access water resources and prey; they may use porcupine dens.
BEHAVIOR Social behavior: Groups consisting of 5-12 animals. Occasionally it can live alone, as found in Gunung Leuser National Park. In tropical evergreen forests of Southeast Asia, they form smaller packs and presumably have smaller litters, probably due to the low prey biomass and small size of ungulate prey in these habitats. Diet: Almost exclusively carnivorous (hypercarnivory), ranging from small rodents and hares to large-sized ungulates (banteng, buffalo, rusa deer). Crepuscular and diurnal activity, but they may also hunt at night.
DISTRIBUTION Native: Indonesia (Sumatra and Java). Historically, they occurred throughout both Sumatra and Java; however, their current distribution on both islands is fragmented and greatly reduced. On Sumatra, they are found along the Barisan Mountain range, from the N to S parts of the island (Gunung Leuser, Kerinci Seblat and Bukit Barisan Selatan National Parks). Dholes are also found in several protected areas in lowland forests in the E-central part of the island (Tesso Nilo and Bukit Tigapuluh National Parks, Harapan Rainforest and Batang Hari Protection Forest). On Java, Dholes are found in national parks only in the extreme W (Gunung Gede Pangrango, Ujung Kulon and Gunung Halimum Salak National Parks) and E (Baluran National Park and Alas Purwo National Park) parts of the island. They are likely extirpated in other regions of the island.
HABITAT Habitat generalist, occurring in a wide variety of vegetation types, including primary, secondary and degraded forms of tropical dry and moist deciduous forests. They avoid human-disturbed habitats.
CONSERVATION STATUS Endangered. CITES: Appendix II. Status is unknown, but probably less than 250 individuals. It is the most threatened subspecies of Dhole.
PHOTO CREDITS Yusuf Ijsseldijk, Baluran National Park, E Java (Indonesia); Vladimir Cech, based on pictures from Baluran National Park, E Java (Indonesia).
LUPULELLA MESOMELAS MESOMELAS
BL: 69-81.2 cm (♂), 67.3-71.1 cm (♀). TL: 25-40 cm. H: 38-48 cm. W: 6.4-11.4 kg (♂), 5.4-10.0 kg (♀). SL: 14.5 cm. SW: 8.6 cm. DF: 42. CN: 78. A medium-sized, slender, long-legged Canid, with large ears. Pelage color is reddish brown to tan, redder on flanks and legs, with a distinctive well-defined black saddle, intermixed with silvery hair, extending from shoulders posteriorly to base of tail, narrowing toward lumbar region to a point at crown of tail. Lips and throat, chest, and inside of limbs are white. Winter coat of male adults may develop a reddish to an almost deep russet red color. Pointed, Fox-like muzzle. Erect and pointed ears. Tail is bushy and has a black tip, with black and white fur covering the basal third, and a distinctive black subcaudal marking. Females are slightly smaller and less richly colored than males, especially during the winter, with 3 to 4 pairs of mammae. Young are lead gray with an indistinct saddle.
OTHER NAMES Red Jackal. French: Chacal à chabraque. German: Südafrokanischer Schabrackenschakal. Spanish: Chacal de lomo negro de sudáfrica. Russian: Южноафриканский (капский) чепрачный шакал. Afrikaans: Rooijakkals.
SUBSPECIES Two subspecies of L. mesomelas (Black-Backed Jackal) are recognized: L. m mesomelas (Cape Black-Backed Jackal), and L. m. schmidti (East African Black-Backed Jackal). Some genetic studies suggest that they may be two distinct species. Previously included in the genus Canis. Includes achrotes, arenarum and variegatoides.
REPRODUCTION Gestation: 60 days. Young per birth: 1-9. Weaning: 56-63 days. Sexual maturity: 11 months. Life span: 7 years, 14 years in captivity. Mating season: From late May to August. Most births occur from July to October. Pups are born in underground burrows dug by other species. Both ♂ and ♀ bring food to the young, often assisted by helpers. The young start to forage with their parents when they are about 14 weeks old; at this stage they no longer use the den.
BEHAVIOR Social behavior: Primarily monogamous, in small family groups with an alpha pair. Solitary individuals may be beta members of the pack, young dispersers, or older post-breeding Jackals. Large aggregations can occur at particularly rich food resources. Diet: Small mammals, reptiles, birds, carrion and fruit. Also young and adult ungulates (“hider” species that hide their young in thick vegetation). They also prey on livestock (young sheep and goats), although wild prey is preferred. Main predators: Leopards, spotted hyena, other large carnivores. Mainly nocturnal but seen regularly during the day. Territorial, using feces and urine to demarcate their territorial boundaries. Home-range size from 0.32 to 21.5 km2. Ranges are generally defended and mutually exclusive for pairs, except in some areas such as Cape Cross Seal Reserve, where they are territorial only during the breeding season. Mated pairs will often cooperate in the capture of prey. Much more vocal than East African subspecies: a high-pitched, whining howl is used to communicate with group members, and may also function in territorial advertisement; an alarm call, consisting of an explosive yelp followed by a series of shorter high-pitched yelps, is used when disturbed.
DISTRIBUTION Native: Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zimbabwe. The Mozambique or Rhodesian Gap (from the Zambezi to Tanzania) separates the subspecies. The range of this subspecies extends from the Cape of Good Hope N to Angola, Zimbabwe and S Mozambique. It was absent from the highveld of Transvaal until 1950.
HABITAT A wide variety of habitats including arid coastal desert, montane grassland, open savanna, woodland savanna mosaics and farmland. They prefer open habitats and tend to avoid dense vegetation. In KwaZulu-Natal, in the Drakensberg, and in localities receiving more than 2,000 mm of rainfall, they are recorded from sea level to more than 3,000 m in altitude.
CONSERVATION STATUS Least Concern. CITES: Not listed. Regional status: Least Concern (South Africa). It has no legal protection except for protected areas. In Namibia and South Africa, they are common in protected areas where suitable habitat occurs. They occur in many livestock producing areas, where they are considered vermin, but despite strenuous control measures in many farming areas of S Africa remain they relatively abundant.
PHOTO CREDITS Adrian Assalve and Joe McKenna, Chobe (Botswana), Anneska Van Der Spoel (South Africa); Smellme, Nicola Massier and Rob Sall, Etosha (Namibia).
East African Black-Backed Jackal
LUPULELLA MESOMELAS SCHMIDTI
BL: 63-81 cm. TL: 20-24 cm. H: 45-50 cm. W: 6.8-13.6 kg. SL: 14.3 cm. SW 8.5 cm. DF: 42. CN: 78. A medium-sized, slender, long-legged Canid, with large ears. Slightly larger, less sexually dimorphic, and less rufous in color than South African subspecies. Pelage color is reddish brown to tan, redder on flanks and legs, with a distinctive well-defined black saddle, intermixed with silvery hair, extending from shoulders posteriorly to base of tail, narrowing toward lumbar region to a point at crown of tail. Lips and throat, chest, and inside of limbs are white. Head is light gray with reddish tinges. Pointed, Fox-like muzzle. Erect and pointed ears, tawny on the back. Tail is bushy and has a black tip, with black-and-white fur covering the basal third, and a distinctive black subcaudal marking. Females are slightly smaller and less richly colored than males, especially during the winter. Young are lead gray with an indistinct saddle.
OTHER NAMES Northern Black-Backed Jackal, Silver-Backed Jackal, Red Jackal. French: Chacal à chabraque d’Afrique Orientale. German: Ostafrikanischer Schabrackenschakal. Spanish: Chacal de lomo negro de África oriental. Russian: Восточноафриканский чепрачный шакал. Somali: Dauò dulmadù, dauà, dawa’o. Swahili: Bweha nyekundu.
SUBSPECIES Considered a subspecies of L. mesomelas (Black-Backed Jackal). Some genetic studies suggest that this may be a distinct species. Includes elgonae and mcmillani.
SIMILAR SPECIES Side-Striped Jackal has a white-tipped tail, gray on the back extends to the lower flanks, lacks the rich reddish color of the flanks and limbs, and has a more Dog-like face. Golden Jackal may have a less prominent black saddle, lacking the sharp contrast between the saddle and the flank, with a more patchy patterning, and body color is usually golden sand to fawn, not russet red.
REPRODUCTION Gestation: 60 days. Young per birth: 1-9. Weaning: 56-63 days. Sexual maturity: 11 months. Life span: 7 years, 14 years in captivity. Mating season: From late May to August. Most births occur from July to October. Pups are born in modified termitaria, disused burrows of aardvark or, less frequently, caves or other crevices, often with multiple entrances; they may dig their own dens. Parents and helpers feed pups by regurgitation. They are born blind, open their eyes at days 8–10, emerge from the den at 3 weeks, and are independent of the den at 14 weeks. They are able to hunt on their own at 6 months of age. Juveniles disperse at 1 year of age, although some may remain within their natal territory to act as helpers.
BEHAVIOR Social behavior: Life-long monogamous pairs, with 1-2 offspring from previous years. Diet: Opportunistic, generalist feeders. Diet varies according to food availability, including small to medium-sized mammals (murids, springhares, young ungulates), reptiles, birds and eggs, carrion and human refuse, invertebrates and plant matter. Main predators: Leopard, spotted hyena. Mostly nocturnal and crepuscular, although activity periods frequently extend into the day. Territorial, with home ranges from 0.7 to 3.5 km2 in size. They are more aggressive and more common at large carnivore kills than other species of Jackal. Much less vocal than South African subspecies, probably to limit competition with the sympatric African Wolf; they do not howl, and instead vocalize with yaps interspersed with howls.
DISTRIBUTION Native: Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda. It was once found as far N as Egypt, but the arrival of the African Wolf caused its range to shift southward. It is entirely absent from Zambia and it is absent through much of central and equatorial Africa.
HABITAT A wide variety of habitats including grassland, woodland savanna mosaics and farmland, although they avoid dense vegetation. They have also been recorded from the alpine zone of Mount Kenya at 3,660 m. When sympatric with African Wolf and Side-Striped Jackal, they use open grassland or wooded savanna.
CONSERVATION STATUS Least Concern. CITES: Not included. No legal protection except for protected areas. It is known to occur in many protected areas throughout its range, including Masai Mara (Kenya), Serengeti National Park, and Selous Game Reserve (Tanzania).
PHOTO CREDITS MHGallery, Ngorongoro (Tanzania), Russell Pringle, Masai Mara (Kenya); Amrishwad, Tarangire (Tanzania); Michael Lane and Greg Christensen, Mara (Tanzania).
LUPULELLA ADUSTUS ADUSTUS
BL: 66-77.5 cm (♂), 69-77 cm (♀). TL: 30.5-41 cm. H: 35-50 cm. W: 7.3-12.1 kg (♂), 7.2-10 kg (♀). SL: 15.3 cm. SW: 8.3 cm. DF: 42. CN: 78. A medium-sized, Dog-like Canid. The largest subspecies of Side-Striped Jackal, with a long, white-tipped tail. Pelage is tan to buff gray, with a darker back, and a more or less definite white or buff-colored side stripe, running from shoulder to hip with a black margin below. Undersides and throat are cream colored. Doglike face, with a long and narrow muzzle. Ears are relatively small, gray to dark brown on the back. Legs are light gray brown, more buffy than the body. Tail is bushy, mostly black, with a distinctive white tip. Markings are less well defined in juveniles. Females are slightly smaller than males, and have 2 pairs of mammae.
OTHER NAMES Western Side-Striped Jackal. French: Chacal à flancs rayés. German: Gewöhnlicher Streifenschakal. Spanish: Chacal rayado. Russian: Западноафриканский полосатый шакал. Afrikaans: Witkwasjakkals. Xhosa: Udyakalashe. Zulu: Impungushe.
SUBSPECIES Three subspecies traditionally recognized (Kingdon, 1997): L. a. adustus, L. a. kaffensis and L. a. lateralis. Previously included in the genus Canis. It has been proposed to be included under Schaeffia, as it seems not to form a monophyletic group with the Black-Backed Jackal. Includes hulubi and wunderlich. Consensus is lacking regarding the number of subspecies, and differences may be a consequence of individual variation.
SIMILAR SPECIES Black-Backed Jackal is slightly smaller and lighter, with larger and pointed ears, a shorter more Fox-like tail, and it is more colorful, with a distinct dark saddle and a rich reddish color on the flanks and limbs.
REPRODUCTION Gestation: 57-64 days. Young per birth: 4-6. Weaning: 42-70 days. Sexual maturity: 9 months. Life span: 12 years in captivity. Breeding season: June to November in South Africa and Zimbabwe. Most births occur during August to January. Excavated termitaria and old aardvark burrows are commonly used as dens. ♀ with suckling young are sensitive to disturbance and they will carry the whole litter, one by one, to a new den if disturbed. Pups are blind at birth and open their eyes at 10 days. Both parents care for the pups and carry food in the mouth or regurgitate it. Young disperse at 11 months.
BEHAVIOR Social behavior: Monogamous pairs, although they are not always seen together, and usually forage alone; family groups with up to 7 individuals, comprising a breeding pair and their young, can occasionally be seen. Diet: Omnivorous, including fruits, seeds, small rodents, hares, gazelle fawns, invertebrates and carrion; it is less predatory than the Black-Backed Jackal and seldom targets large prey. Certain fruits may be taken almost exclusively when in season. Main predators: Leopard, spotted hyena, lion; young may be preyed on by eagles. Active at night, but also seen at dusk and in the early morning. They shelter in heavy undergrowth, in holes in the ground, or crevices among rocks. If alarmed, they generally flee to cover. When disturbed, they often adopt a nervous-looking zig-zagging, possibly in an attempt to identify the disturbance by smell. Probably highly territorial. Home range size of 0.2 km2 in Zimbabwe. Vocalizations include barks, growls, yaps, crackles, whines, screams, a croaking distress call and a hooting howl.
DISTRIBUTION Native: Angola, Botswana, Congo, DR Congo, Gabon, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia, Zimbabwe. NW KwaZulu-Natal marks its most southerly occurrence.
HABITAT Broad-leaved deciduous woodland, woodland savanna, and forest mosaics, all with a good water supply. They may occur near rural dwellings and farm buildings, and penetrate urban areas. They avoid very open grassland, thickly wooded areas and arid zones, and are not found in forest.
CONSERVATION STATUS Least Concern. CITES: Not listed. Regional status: Near Threatened (South Africa). Threats include Canid diseases, collisions with vehicles, and killings by poultry farmers. There is little evidence of extensive predation on stock. Population appears to be stable, but is rarely seen, due to its nocturnal and secretive habits.
PHOTO CREDITS Leon Molenaar, Willie van Schalkwyk, Kruger National Park (South Africa); Chris Fourie (South Africa); David Schenfeld, North-West (Botswana).
Equatorial Africa Side-Striped Jackal
LUPULELLA ADUSTUS LATERALIS
BL: 69-77 cm. TL: 30-41 cm. H: 45-50 cm. W: 7.3-12 kg (♂), 7.3-10 kg (♀). SL: 15.2 cm. SW: 8.0 cm. DF: 42. CN: 78. A medium-sized, Dog-like Canid. A small-sized subspecies of Side-Striped Jackal, with a long, white-tipped tail. Pelage is tan to dull gray in color, with a darker back, and a distinctive white or buff-colored side stripe, running from shoulder to hip, with a black margin below. Undersides, throat and chest are white, dark gray basally on the belly. Dog-like face, with a long and narrow muzzle. Ears are relatively small, dull light brown on the back. Legs are lighter than the body, ochraceous buff in color, and forelegs may have a black stripe from the shoulder to the knee. Tail is relatively long, mostly black with a distinctive white tip, although it may be mostly white with a black tip as in West Equatorial Africa. Markings are less well defined in juveniles. Females are slightly smaller than males, and have 2 pairs of mammae.
OTHER NAMES East African Side-Striped Jackal, Elgon Side-Striped Jackal. French: Chacal à flancs rayés. German: Äquatorialafrika-Streifenschakal. Spanish: Chacal rayado. Russian: Восточноафриканский (центральноафриканский) полосатый шакал. Swahili: Bweha miraba. Nde: Ikhanka, igowa, ipungutjha enemida.
SUBSPECIES Considered a subspecies of L. adustus (Side-Striped Jackal). Includes centralis (from Cameroon and central Africa), mcmillani (Kenya) and notatus (Loita Side-Striped Jackal, from SW Kenya and Uganda, small race with white underparts, white-tipped tail and a conspicuous black side stripe). Consensus is lacking regarding the validity of subspecies of L. adustus, and differences may be a consequence of individual variation.
SIMILAR SPECIES Distinguished from the Black-Backed Jackal and the African Golden Wolf by its white-tipped tail, the Dog-like face, the smaller rounder ears, and its vocalizations (a series of yaps, rather than drawn-out howls).
REPRODUCTION Gestation: 57-64 days. Young per birth: 4-6. Weaning: 42-70 days. Sexual maturity: 9 months. Life span: 10 years in captivity. Breeding season: June to July, but some mating may take place throughout the year. Most births occur during August to November. Excavated termitaria and old aardvark burrows are commonly used as dens. Both parents care for the pups and carry food in the mouth or regurgitate it. Young disperse at 11 months.
BEHAVIOR Social behavior: Monogamous, territorial pairs, although individuals often forage alone. Family groups with up to 7 individuals, comprising a breeding pair and their young, can occasionally be seen. Diet: Omnivorous, including fruits, seeds, small rodents, hares, gazelle fawns, invertebrates and carrion. Main predators: Leopard, hyena, eagles. Typically more nocturnal and secretive than other Jackals, although diurnal sightings are not infrequent. It is more solitary and more nocturnal than the Black-Backed Jackal. Home range sizes of between 12 and 20 km2. They mark their territories with scats and urine. Although it is larger than its Black-Backed relative, the Side-Striped Jackal is dominant and usually wins during disputes over food.
DISTRIBUTION Native: Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, DR Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia. It apparently occupies the “tropical fox” niche in central Africa.
HABITAT A wide range of habitats, from bushland, wooded grassland, woodland, farmland and mountains up to 2,700 m. In areas of sympatry with Black-Backed Jackals and African Golden Wolves, they usually occupy areas of denser vegetation, whereas the other species tend to favor more open habitats.
CONSERVATION STATUS Least Concern. CITES: Not listed. No legal protection outside protected areas. Threats include Canid diseases, such as rabies and canine distemper virus, collisions with vehicles, and sometimes retribution killings by poultry farmers. Nothing is known about population trends.
PHOTO CREDITS John Warburton-Lee, Masai Mara (Kenya); Malcolm Schuyl, South Luangwa (Zambia); Gerhard Borstlap, Royal Zambezi (Zambia), Geir Tore Gravdal, Serengeti (Tanzania); Ken Behrens, Murchison Falls (Uganda).
LUPULELLA ADUSTUS KAFFENSIS
BL: 60-72 cm. TL: 27.6-32.5 cm. H: 35-50 cm. W: 9 kg (♂), 8.3 kg (♀). SL: 14.6 cm. SW: 7.9 cm. DF: 42. CN: 78. A medium-sized, Dog-like Canid. The smallest subspecies of Side-Striped Jackal, darker in color, with a smaller tail, lacking the distinctive white tip. Coat is grizzled grayish yellow to reddish brown in color, with a strong admixture of black on back. White stripe on side is usually inconspicuous or absent entirely. Undersides and throat are ochraceous rufous. Head is reddish brown. Dog-like face, with a long, narrow, dark gray muzzle, with black nose. Ears are relatively small, rounded, blackish gray behind. Legs are light gray brown to bright red brown, black lined on their upper parts, hindquarters being especially deep and rich in coloring. Tail is short, bushy, mostly black, without the distinctive white tip of other subspecies. Females are slightly smaller than males, and have 2 pairs of mammae.
OTHER NAMES Abyssinian Side-Striped Jackal. French: Chacal à flancs rayés. German: Kafue-Streifenschakal. Spanish: Chacal rayado. Russian: Абиссинский полосатый шакал. Amharic: Bula kebero.
SUBSPECIES Considered a subspecies of L. adustus (Side-Striped Jackal). Probably includes bweha (found W Kenya and South Sudan, a small reddish race, with a short black-tipped tail and darker legs and underparts), elgonae (Kenya, Uganda), and namrui (Sudan).
SIMILAR SPECIES Difficult to distinguish in the field from the African Golden Wolf (C. anthus), as this subspecies lacks the white tail-tip and conspicuous pale lateral stripe that characterize South African forms. However, L. adustus ears are rounded and not pointed out as they are in C. anthus, being in addition of the same grizzled gray-brown color as the head, while in C. anthus ears are ginger or foxy red, strongly contrasting with the rest of the head color. The Ethiopian Wolf (C. simensis) is larger, with longer legs, has a distinctive reddish coat, white underparts, throat, chest and tail markings.
REPRODUCTION Gestation: 57-64 days. Young per birth: 4-6. Weaning: 42-70 days. Sexual maturity: 9 months. Life span: 10 years in captivity. Breeding season: Unknown. There is no specific information for this subspecies, but it is probably similar to other subspecies of Side Striped Jackal.
BEHAVIOR Social behavior: Monogamous pairs, although they are not always seen together, and usually forage alone; family groups with up to 7 individuals, comprising a breeding pair and their young, can occasionally be seen. Diet: Omnivorous, including fruits, seeds, small rodents, hares, gazelle fawns, invertebrates and carrion. Main predators: Leopard, hyena, eagles. Nocturnal at lowland locations, with some dawn and dusk activity. However, it may be diurnal as a local adaptive response to preying on the high-altitude rodent community (e.g. Arvicanthis species), which is, by and large, the most abundant food and has a marked diurnal activity. It is unknown if there is some competitive overlap between this Jackal and the Ethiopian Wolf were they are sympatric. It shows a remarkable adaptation and tolerance to human and cattle presence in the daytime.
DISTRIBUTION Native: Ethiopia, Somalia, probably Kenya, Uganda, and South Sudan. In Ethiopia it is a very rarely recorded subspecies, probably due to identification difficulties. It has been recorded in the Abune Yosef massif, in the Zigit area, between 3,550 and 3,900 m elevation, in Muja village (2,830 m), near Bilbala village (2,146 m), in Senkele Wildlife Sanctuary, in Nachisar National Park, and in Bale Mountains National Park. It has not been detected in the Simien Mountains. Subspecific status of Side-Striped Jackals from NE Uganda, South Sudan and W Kenya, which also lack the white-tipped tail, is not well known, but they may also belong to this subspecies.
HABITAT Open plain and moderately grazed mosaic of grass steppe, Senecio grasslands and giant lobelias, up to 3,900 m, well above level of the Afroalpine ecosystem. In Ethiopia, it is perhaps more commonly associated with forested habitats than Canis aureus.
CONSERVATION STATUS Least Concern. CITES: Not listed. Considered rare throughout its range.
PHOTO CREDITS Ariadne Van Zandbergen and Jurriaan Persyn, Kidepo National Park (Uganda); Michael Kragh, Kalabi (Uganda).
LYCAON PICTUS PICTUS
BL: 95-120 cm. TL: 32-42 cm. H: 75-85 cm. W: 30 kg (♂), 24 kg (♀). SL: 21.1 cm. SW: 15 cm. DF: 42. CN: 78. A very large-sized but lightly built Canid, with long and slim legs, large rounded ears, and a heavy muzzle. The only Canid not having dewclaws on the forelimbs. Largest subspecies of African Wild Dog, more colorful than the East African subspecies. Coat is short on the legs and body and longer around the neck, giving a shaggy appearance. Coloration is distinctive but highly variable, with a combination of irregular black, yellow-brown, and white blotches on the back, sides and legs. Coloration is unique, and can be used to identify individual animals. Yellow-brown head with a black mask, black ears, and a black line following the vertical center line of the forehead, and a white tip to the tail. Females slightly smaller than males, with 6-7 pairs of mammae.
OTHER NAMES Cape Hunting Dog, South African Painted Dog. French: Lycaon. German: Südafrikanischer Wildhund. Spanish: Licaón, perro salvaje sudafricano, perro cazador del Cabo. Russian: Капская (южноафриканская) гиеновая собака. Afrikaans: Wildehond.
TAXONOMY Five subspecies traditionally recognized (Wilson and Reeder, 2005): L. p. pictus, L. p. lupinos, L. p. somalicus, L. p. sharicus, and L. p. manguensis. Although S and E populations are genetically and morphologically distinct, there are probably no geographically distinct subspecies. Includes cacondae, fuchsi, gobabis, krebsi, lalandei, tricolor, typicus, venatica, windhorni and zuluensis.
SIMILAR SPECIES E African populations are duller in coloration. Specimens from the Cape have a large amount of orange-yellow fur overlapping the black, partially yellow backs of the ears, mostly yellow underparts, and a number of whitish hairs on the throat mane. In Mozambique are distinguished by the almost equal development of yellow and black, as well as having less white fur than the Cape form.
REPRODUCTION Gestation: 70 days. Young per birth: 8-12. Weaning: 35-91 days. Sexual maturity: 18-21 months. Life span: 6-11 years. Breeding season: March to September; pups are born from late May to early June. All pack members help to care for the pups. The denning period lasts about 12 weeks, and the mother is confined to the den, relying on other pack members to feed her by regurgitation at this time.
BEHAVIOR Social behavior: Packs averaging 8 adults and yearlings, but may be as small as a pair, or over 30. A typical pack consists of a dominant ♂ and ♀ that dominate breeding, their siblings and several related pairs of subordinate ♀ and ♂. Diet: The most carnivorous of the Canids: small to medium-sized antelopes in the area (steenbok, duiker); also species as small as hares, and as large as kudu and wildebeest. Packs will chase larger species but rarely kill them. Scavenging of carrion is rare. Main predators: Lion, spotted hyena; intraspecific conflicts between neighboring packs is also a large source of mortality. Highly social; hunting, breeding and dispersing in close cooperation with other pack members. Cursorial predators, chasing prey to exhaustion at speeds of up to 65 kmph. They can maintain 45 kmph for 5 km. Home range sizes from 560 to 3,000 km2, with significant home range overlap between packs, excluding a core breeding area that each pack defends vigorously. They have a complex communication system incorporating olfactory, visual and auditory systems.
DISTRIBUTION Native: Angola, Botswana, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe. Probably extinct: Mozambique, Swaziland. There are viable populations left in Kruger and Hwange National Parks (South Africa), Zambezi National Park (Zimbabwe) and Okavango region (Botswana).
HABITAT Short-grass plains, semi-desert, bushy savannas and upland forest. They prefer thicker bush. Most desert populations are now extirpated.
CONSERVATION STATUS Endangered. CITES: Not listed. Estimated population of 2,700 animals. Habitat fragmentation is the main threat, resulting in human-wildlife conflict and transmission of infectious disease. Nearly all individuals held in captivity have a S African origin.
PHOTO CREDITS Régis Julié, Motswari (South Africa); Eric Isselee; Arno Meintjes, Kruger (South Africa); Frank Warwick and Ryan Kilpatrick, Madikwe (South Africa).
LYCAON PICTUS LUPINUS AND SOMALICUS
BL: 95 cm. TL: 23-30 cm. H: 65 cm. W: 18 kg (♂), 17 kg (♀). SL: 17.5 cm. SW: 12.5 cm. DF: 42. CN: 78. A very large-sized but lightly built Canid, with long, slim legs, large rounded ears, and a heavy muzzle. The only Canid not having dewclaws on the forelimbs. Smaller and less colorful than the South African subspecies. Coat is short on the legs and body and longer around the neck, giving a shaggy appearance. Extremely dark coloring, the yellow being reduced to a minimum, but highly variable. White spots rarely present on the upper surface. Underparts marbled black and white, without yellow, the 2 colors sharply defined from each other. Yellow-brown head with a black muzzle, black ears, and a black line following the vertical center line of the forehead, and a white tip to the tail. Tail yellow proximally, black mesially, and white terminally. Females slightly smaller than males, with 6-7 pairs of mammae.
Lycaon pictus somalicus
OTHER NAMES African Wild Dog, African Hunting Dog, African Painted Dog, Somali Wild Dog. French: Lycaon, chien sauvage d’Afrique, chien-hyène, cynhyène, loup peint, chien chasseur. German: Ostafrikanischer Wildhund, Hyänenhund, Picassohund. Spanish: Licaón, perro salvaje africano, lobo pintado, perro hiena. Russian: Восточноафриканская гиеновая собака. Afrikaans: Wildehond.
TAXONOMY Recent research shows an apparent gene flow between E and S Wild Dogs, so the existence of separate subspecies is no longer considered likely; however, it is possible that N, central, and W populations may be more distinct, but these populations are rare and difficult to study. L. p. lupinus includes dieseneri, gansseri, hennigi, kondoae, lademanni, langheldi, prageri, richteri, ruwanae, ssongese, stierlingi, styxi, taborae and wintgensi. L. p. somalicus includes luchsingeri, ruppelli, takanus and zedlitzi.
REPRODUCTION Gestation: 70 days. Young per birth: 6-16. Weaning: 91 days. Sexual maturity: 18-21 months. Life span: 6-11 years. Breeding season: Births occur any time of year, with a peak between March and June. Most packs hold a single breeding ♀, though subordinates of both sexes sometimes produce offspring that are raised, particularly in large packs. Cooperative breeding, in which adults of both sexes provide alloparental care by guarding and feeding pups. Juveniles are fully independent at 16-24 months but remain with their pack; ♀ are more likely to disperse, usually leaving in a subgroup with their sisters once they reach 2 years old.
BEHAVIOR Social behavior: Packs from 3 to 20 adults, up to 44 including yearlings and pups. Diet: Medium-sized ungulates, particularly gazelles and impala, but prey may range in size from hares and dik diks to kudu and even eland; they seldom kill livestock. Main predators: Lion, spotted hyena. Highly social, pack members seldom quarrel with one another, and serious fights are rare; they share food. It is a cooperative hunter, with several individuals literally tearing apart their prey on the run. Predominantly diurnal. Home ranges average 600-800 km2. They are most reliably sought during denning season, in June and July, when pack members seldom range far from the denned pups.
DISTRIBUTION Native: Ethiopia, Kenya, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania. Possibly extinct: Uganda, Burundi, Eritrea, Rwanda. Once widespread through most of Africa, now extinct from many countries it was once present in.
HABITAT Habitat generalists, wooded savanna, short grasslands, montane forest and mangroves. They avoid areas of high prey density, apparently because larger carnivores prefer such areas.
CONSERVATION STATUS Endangered. CITES: Not listed. Tanzania holds critically important populations, harboring around 20% of the global population, including the world’s second and third largest populations in the Selous and Ruaha ecosystems, thought to number 800 and 500 adults respectively. Persecution, habitat loss and disease are the main threats.
PHOTO CREDITS Panoramic Images and Carl Jennings, Selous (Tanzania); LHildDVM, Tsavo West (Kenya); Hank Halsey, Ol Pejeta (Kenya).
West, Central and North African Wild Dog
LYCAON PICTUS MANGUENSIS AND SHARICUS
BL: 71-80 cm. TL: 29-33.5 cm. H: 60 cm. W: 18 kg. SL: 17.5 cm. SW: 12.6 cm. DF: 42. CN: 78. A very large-sized but lightly built Canid, with long, slim legs, large rounded ears, and a heavy muzzle. The only Canid not having dewclaws on the forelimbs. There are few reported sightings of these subspecies. Coat is short on the legs and body and longer around the neck. Coloring is variable, from brownish black to yellow brown, with white and yellow blotches on the back, sides and legs. Underparts are black to yellowish brown, with indistinct yellowish and white blotches. Head is large, yellow brown in color, with a black short powerful muzzle, and a black line following the vertical center line of the forehead. Big rounded ears, black outside. Dark ring around the eyes. Lower limbs usually white, with dark spots. White-tipped tail. Females with 6-7 pairs of mammae.
Lycaon pictus sharicus
OTHER NAMES Manga Hunting Dog, Mischlich’s Hunting Dog, Chadian Wild Dog, Shari Hunting Dog, Central Hunting Dog, Ebermaier’s Hunting Dog. French: Lycaon. German: Westafrikaner Wildhund, Zentralafrikanischen Wildhund, Hyänenhund, Picassohund. Spanish: Licaón de África occidental y central. Russian: Западноафриканская (manguensis), Центральноафриканская (sharicus) гиеновая собака.
TAXONOMY Considered a subspecies of African Wild Dog (L. pictus). These populations are very scarce and difficult to study, but they may be distinct from E and S Wild Dogs. Includes mischlichi and ebermaieri.
REPRODUCTION Gestation: 70 days. Young per birth: 8-12. Weaning: 91 days. Sexual maturity: 18-21 months. Life span: Unknown. Breeding season: At the beginning of the dry season, end of October, beginning of November, in Cameroon.
BEHAVIOR Social behavior: Solitary or small packs up to 15 in N Cameroon, including yearlings and pups. Diet: Medium to large-sized ungulates (kob, waterbuck, roan antelope, hartebeest, duiker, oribi), livestock. Main predators: Lion, spotted hyena. They are active mainly during the early morning or late evening, and hide in cooler holes during the hot midday. It has been reported that they sleep on the cold sand in the dry season and it seems that they make long daily movements after rains. They hunt in one area for some time before they move to other places, being forced to make large movements to make further kills. Lion distribution may have a strong influence on their migrating behavior. If they are found in large packs, they do not show fear toward human presence, but solitary animals avoid humans.
DISTRIBUTION Native: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Niger, Senegal. Possibly extinct: Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, DR Congo, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Nigeria. Regionally extinct: Egypt, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Libya, Mauritania, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Togo. Formerly distributed throughout sub-Saharan Africa, they have now disappeared from much of their former range. Only two small subpopulations of West African Wild Dog (manguensis) survive in the Niokolo-Koba National Park (Senegal) and in the W Transfontier Park and in Pendjari Biosphere Reserve (Benin, Burkina Faso and Niger), although it is unlikely that a viable population still exists in these areas. The only country in N Africa in which they may still persist is Algeria, but there is no information on their current status, and this subpopulation does not exceed 50 individuals. Small subpopulations of Central African Wild Dog (sharicus) occur in Bamingui-Bangoran, Chinko, Zemongo Faunal Reserve, and Manovo-Gounda-St. Floris National Park (Central African Republic), Faro and Benoue National Parks (N Cameroon), and probably also in Bahr Salamat, Siniaka-Minia Faunal Reserves (Chad), and in Sudan.
HABITAT Wooded savanna, short grasslands, montane forest and mangroves.
CONSERVATION STATUS Critically Endangered. CITES: Not listed. West African population is currently estimated at just 70 individuals, and continues to decline as a result of ongoing habitat fragmentation, conflict with human activities, and infectious disease. Its social organization renders it susceptible to inbreeding depression at low population densities and this also may have contributed to the extinction of populations isolated in protected parks and reserves. Central African population was estimated at just 291 individuals in 2012.
PHOTO CREDITS Based on photos from Chinko Nature Reserve (CAR); Arnoud Quanjer, Andrew Allport and Stuart G. Porter.
