The northwestern wolf (''Canis lupus occidentalis''), also known as the Mackenzie Valley wolf, Alaskan timber wolf, or Canadian timber wolf, is a subspecies of gray wolf in western

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

. Arguably the largest gray wolf subspecies in the world, it ranges from

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

, the upper Mackenzie River Valley; southward throughout the western Canadian provinces, aside from prairie landscapes in its southern portions, as well as the

Northwestern United States The Northwestern United States, also known as the American Northwest or simply the Northwest, is an informal geographic region of the United States. The region consistently includes the states of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming ...

.Mech, L. David (1981), ''The wolf: The Ecology and Behaviour of an Endangered Species'', University of Minnesota Press, p. 352,

Taxonomy

This wolf is recognized as a subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' in the taxonomic authority ''

Mammal Species of the World ''Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference'' is a standard reference work in mammalogy giving descriptions and Bibliographic database, bibliographic data for the known species of mammals. It is now in its third edition, ...

'' (2005). The subspecies was first written of by Scottish naturalist Sir John Richardson in 1829. He chose to give it the name ''occidentalis'' in reference to its geographic location rather than label it by its color, as it was too variable to warrant such.Richardson, J. (1829
''Fauna boreali-americana, or, The zoology of the northern parts of British America''
London : J. Murray

tc. TC, T.C., Tc, Tc, tc, tC, or .tc may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * Theodore "T.C." Calvin, a character on the TV series '' Magnum, P.I.'' and its reboot * Tom Caron, American television host for New England Sports Netw ...

pp. 60–65 According to one source,

phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics () is the study of the evolutionary history of life using observable characteristics of organisms (or genes), which is known as phylogenetic inference. It infers the relationship among organisms based on empirical dat ...

analyses of North American gray wolves show that there are three

clade In biology, a clade (), also known as a Monophyly, monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach t ...

s corresponding to ''C. l. occidentalis'', '' C. l. nubilus'' and '' C. l. baileyi'', each one representing a separate invasion into North America from distinct Eurasian ancestors. ''C. l. occidentalis'', the most northwestern subspecies, is descended from the last gray wolves to colonize North America. It likely crossed into North America through the

Bering land bridge Beringia is defined today as the land and maritime area bounded on the west by the Lena River in Russia; on the east by the Mackenzie River in Canada; on the north by 72° north latitude in the Chukchi Sea; and on the south by the tip of the ...

after the last ice age, displacing ''C. l. nubilus'' populations as it advanced, a process which has continued until present times. Along with '' C. l. nubilus'', ''C. l. occidentalis'' is the most widespread member of the four gray wolf subspecies in North America, with at least six different

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are a ...

John Campbell Merriam John Campbell Merriam (October 20, 1869 – October 30, 1945) was an American paleontologist, educator, and conservationist. The first vertebrate paleontologist on the West Coast of the United States, he is best known for his taxonomy of ve ...

named the wolves of the

La Brea Tar Pits La Brea Tar Pits comprise an active Paleontological site, paleontological research site in urban Los Angeles. Hancock Park was formed around a group of tar pits where natural Bitumen, asphalt (also called asphaltum, bitumen, or pitch; ''brea'' ...

''Canis milleri'' and ''Canis occidentalis furlongi'', though further studies suggest that ''C. milleri'' was a synonym of ''C. o. furlongi''. However,

MSW3 ''Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference'' is a standard reference work in mammalogy giving descriptions and bibliographic data for the known species of mammals. It is now in its third edition, published in late 2005, ...

recognizes neither of these proposed taxons at all, and instead classifies "''occidentalis''" as a subspecies.

Description

Northwestern wolves are one of the largest subspecies of wolves. In

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, Canada, five adult females averaged 42.5 kg or 93.6 lbs with a range of 85 lbs to 100 lbs (38.6 - 45.4 kg) and ten adult males averaged 112.2 lbs or 51.7 kg with a range of 105 lbs to 135 lbs (47.6 - 61.2 kg), with a weight range for all adults of 38.6 kg to 61.2 kg (85 – 135 lbs). In

Yellowstone National Park Yellowstone National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States located in the northwest corner of Wyoming, with small portions extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U ...

, adult females were average about 40 kg (90 lbs) and adult males average about 50 kg (110 lbs), with a mean adult body mass in winter of . More recent studies have reported the average range of height and weight in the north-west of the United States, both sexes were between tall at the shoulder. Here the weight of males was reported at between , while the females were reported at . The Northwestern wolf is also one of the longest wolf subspecies, as its length usually ranges from 5 to 6 ft (152–183 cm) and can reach as long as 7 ft (213 cm). In comparison, the mean adult weights of its nearest rivals in size, the

Eurasian wolf The Eurasian wolf (''Canis lupus lupus''), also known as the common wolf,Mech, L. David (1981), ''The Wolf: The Ecology and Behaviour of an Endangered Species'', University of Minnesota Press, p. 354, is a subspecies of grey wolf native to Euro ...

(''C. l. lupus'') and the Interior Alaskan wolf (''C. l. pambasileus''), was reported as and , respectively.Heptner, V. G. & Naumov, N. P. (1998)
Mammals of the Soviet Union Vol.II Part 1a, SIRENIA AND CARNIVORA (Sea cows; wolves and Bears)
', Science Publishers, Inc. USA., pp. 184–187, Sir John Richardson described the northwestern wolf as having a more robust build than the Eurasian wolf, with a larger, rounder head and a thicker, more obtuse muzzle. Its ears are also shorter, and its fur bushier.

Reintroduction

, artificially relocated northwestern wolves have been well-documented feeding on

elk The elk (: ''elk'' or ''elks''; ''Cervus canadensis'') or wapiti, is the second largest species within the deer family, Cervidae, and one of the largest terrestrial mammals in its native range of North America and Central and East Asia. ...

. They usually stampede the herd using pack teamwork to separate the younger elk from the adults. They also will charge young calves separated from their parents. Winter-weakened or sick elk also play an important part of Yellowstone wolf diets, and it is estimated that over 50 percent of winter-weakened or sick elk in Yellowstone are killed by wolves. Of these, about 12 percent of carcasses were scavenged by other predators, including

raven A raven is any of several large-bodied passerine bird species in the genus '' Corvus''. These species do not form a single taxonomic group within the genus. There is no consistent distinction between crows and ravens; the two names are assigne ...

bald eagle The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche ...

s, black bears,

grizzly bear The grizzly bear (''Ursus arctos horribilis''), also known as the North American brown bear or simply grizzly, is a population or subspecies of the brown bear inhabiting North America. In addition to the mainland grizzly (''Ursus arctos horr ...

s, and

coyote The coyote (''Canis latrans''), also known as the American jackal, prairie wolf, or brush wolf, is a species of canis, canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the Wolf, gray wolf, and slightly smaller than the c ...

s. In the same national park, wolves also prey on

bison A bison (: bison) is a large bovine in the genus ''Bison'' (from Greek, meaning 'wild ox') within the tribe Bovini. Two extant taxon, extant and numerous extinction, extinct species are recognised. Of the two surviving species, the American ...

, though such attacks usually involve sick animals or calves because healthy, adult bison can easily kill wolves with their hooves. Wolves are present in Canadian and British safari parks including

Longleat Longleat is a stately home about west of Warminster in Wiltshire, England. A leading and early example of the Elizabethan prodigy house, it is a Grade I listed building and the seat of the Marquesses of Bath. Longleat is set in of parkl ...

, Woburn, and Parc Omega.

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3116028 Subspecies of Canis lupus Carnivorans of North America Mammals of Canada Mammals of the United States Wolves Wolves in the United States Fauna of the Northwestern United States Fauna of Alaska Mammals described in 1829