Wolf

More than thirty subspecies of Canis lupus have been recognized. Wolves are mainly a carnivore and feeds on large wild hooved mammals as well as smaller animals, livestock, carrion, and garbage. The global wild wolf population was estimated to be 300,000 in 2003 and is considered to be of Least Concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

About Wolf in brief

Summary Wolf More than thirty subspecies of Canis lupus have been recognized. The wolf is the largest extant member of Canidae, males averaging 40 kg and females 37 kg. Wolves are mainly a carnivore and feeds on large wild hooved mammals as well as smaller animals, livestock, carrion, and garbage. The global wild wolf population was estimated to be 300,000 in 2003 and is considered to be of Least Concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The banded fur of a wolf is usually mottled white, brown, gray, and black, although subspecies in the arctic region may be nearly all white. Wolf attacks on humans are rare because wolves are relatively few, live away from people, and have developed a fear of humans because of their experiences with hunters, ranchers, and shepherds. In the third edition of Mammal Species of the World published in 2005, Christopher Wozencraft listed 36 wild subspecies under C upus under C. familiaris and two additional subspecies: dingo and dingo halli. Studies using paleogenomic techniques reveal that the wolf and the dog are the sister dog and sister dog, and are the same species of dog. The English name wolf stems from the Old English wulf, which is itself thought to be derived from the Proto-Germanic *wulfaz.

The name gray wolf refers to the grayish colour of the species. In 1758, the Swedish botanist and zoologist Carl Linnaeus published in his Systema Naturae the binomial nomenclature. Under this genus he listed the doglike carnivores including domestic dogs, wolves, and jackals. He classified the domestic dog as Canis familiaris, and the wolf as canis l upus. The name wolf is also the source of the Latin word for the animal Lupus. In pre-Christian times, Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons took on wulf as a prefix or suffix in their names. Examples include Wulfhere, Cynewulf, Cēnwulf, Wulfheard, Earnwulf and Wulfstān Æðelwulf, Wolfhroc, Wolfhetan, Isangrim, Scrutolf, Wolfgang and Wolfdregil. In the 19th century, the name wolf was also used to refer to the African wild dog, Dhole, and a black-backed jackal, which are all species in the genus Canis. It is also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, and is the most common name of the Eurasian wolf subspecies, being the common name for the subspecies being the Eurasiaian wolf and Eurasian gray wolf. It can be found in North America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, and in parts of Africa and the Middle East, such as South Africa and South Africa.