The Eastern wolf is also known as the Timber wolf, the Eastern timber wolf, and the Algonquin wolf.
This animal is endemic to the Great Lakes region and the Southeastern part of Canada.
It is widely regarded as a peculiar subspecies or distinct species of the Gray wolf. Its biological name is Canis Lupus Lycaon.
According to several studies on the animal, it has been discovered to be a hybrid of ancient and modern genetic pooling between the gray wolf and the coyote.
Other studies claim that all populations of the eastern wolf and coyotes were initially distinguished from the same ancestor over a million years ago.
It is also speculated that the eastern wolf might be the same species or a close relative to the red wolf of the Southeast U.S.A.
It is regarded as a peculiar wolf breed and deemed worthy of conservation.
The eastern wolf is of two types: the Great Lakes wolf (the larger eastern wolf), usually found in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, southeast Manitoba, and Northern Ontario.
The second type is the Algonquin wolf, generally found in eastern Canada, particularly central Ontario and southwest Quebec.
There is some mixing and overlap of the two forms in northwest and northeast Ontario.
Scientific Classification
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Chordata |
| Class | Mammalia |
| Order | Carnivora |
| Family | Canidae |
| Genus | Canis |
| Species | C. lupus |
| Subspecies | C. l. lycaon |
Description
The height of the eastern wolf ranges from 66-81 centimeters, and they are 91-160 centimeters long. They can run as fast as 64 kilometers per hour. As the wolf gets older, it grows longer black hairs.
Its fur is dark greyish-brown mixed with yellowish-brown color. The tail, nape, and shoulder areas are greyish-black. The chest region is reddish, and the flank region is creamy.
Just like its ancestor, the red wolf, the eastern wolf’s size is somewhere between the Coyote and the gray wolf. The females are lighter than the males at 23.9kg, while the males weigh an average of 30.3kg.
The eastern wolf has an average life cycle of 6 to 8 years, with a maximum of 15 years. Their size is influenced by their adaptation to an environment filled with medium-sized prey.
Size and Characteristics
The eastern wolves, like other wolves, are social animals. They breed, live, and hunt in packs. These packs are very territorial, so be careful to avoid crossing paths.
Only lone wolves often stray into the territories of other packs. Their territories are quite sizeable. An average pack’s territory can be a landmass of 110-186 kilometers.
The eastern wolf also has an age of dispersal much earlier than the gray wolves. The young ones disperse at 15 weeks.
They live in family packs, usually of an unrelated pair and their offsprings from previous litters. A pack’s numerical strength ranges from 3-6 wolves.
The eastern wolves have various ways of communicating with each other. They convey their messages through specific body language, scent, and different vocalizations. Among these vocalizations, howling is the most popular one.
This sound is very common with wolves; they use it to keep the pack or family together. Due to the size of the territory a pack dominates, it is expected that they stray from each other at one point or another.
Their howling sounds can cover and be heard from long distances. In open terrains, they could be heard from miles away. The eastern wolves have been known to react to howls made by humans from about 3 miles away.
Diet
Eastern wolves, like other wolves, are carnivorous animals. Their primary prey is the white-tailed deer. They also prey on the moose and beaver.
Habitat
The eastern wolves are forest animals. They live in deciduous and mixed forests in the South. In the North, they live in mixed and coniferous forests.
Offspring
Breeding season for the eastern wolves occurs between middle to late February, during which the dominant pair mates. The female wolf gives birth to an average of 5 cubs around April to May.
Conservation
Their conservation status is said to be threatened. They have a population of fewer than 500 wolves in the wild.
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