Pies: Female wolves have been known to travel great

Evidence: 61 • authority: 90

The Use of Muskox Kill Sites as Temporary Rendezvous Sites by Arctic Wolves with Pups in Early Winter. Packs of arctic wolves, Canis lupus arctos, travelling with pups were seen in August or September in Polar Bear Pass, Bathurst Island, Northwest Territories, in five of eight years of field observations. One pack with five pups was observed in 1977 over a period of 19 days. The activity of the pack was centred around the sites of two recently killed muskoxen. Adults took pups to a new kill only the day after the kill but did regurgitate meat for them within 2 hours. Adults and pups continued to use kill sites for up to 8 days after depletion of food available at the carcass. Pups were left…

Evidence: 54 • authority: 90

The adaptive value of morphological, behavioural and life‐history traits in reproductive female wolves. Reproduction in social organisms is shaped by numerous morphological, behavioural and life-history traits such as body size, cooperative breeding and age of reproduction, respectively. Little is known, however, about the relative influence of these different types of traits on reproduction, particularly in the context of environmental conditions that determine their adaptive value. Here, we use 14 years of data from a long-term study of wolves (Canis lupus) in Yellowstone National Park, USA, to evaluate the relative effects of different traits and ecological factors on the reproductive pe…

Evidence: 47 • authority: 92

Breeding displacement in gray wolves (Canis lupus): Three males usurp breeding position and pup rearing from a neighboring pack in Yellowstone National Park.. Gray Wolves (Canis lupus) are territorial, group living carnivores that live in packs typically consisting of a dominant breeding pair and their offspring. Breeding tenures are relatively short and competitive, with vacancies usually occurring following a breeder's death, and are often filled by unrelated immigrants or by relatives of the previous breeder. The frequency and conditions of active breeder displacements are poorly understood. Position changes in the dominance hierarchy are common yet rarely documented in detail. We descri…

Evidence: 47 • authority: 92

Do females use their sexual status to gain resource access? Investigating food-for-sex in wolves and dogs.. While food sharing among related individuals can be explained by kin selection, food sharing between unrelated individuals has been more of an evolutionary puzzle. The food-for-sex hypothesis provides an explanation for the occurrence of food sharing among nonkin. However, little is known about the socio-ecological factors that can promote such a commodity exchange. A species mating system is a factor potentially influencing food-for-sex patterns of behavior. Here, we compared wolves, which form pair-bonds, with dogs, which are typically promiscuous in free-ranging contexts, to invest…

Evidence: 47 • authority: 72

The coyote (/kaɪ(j)oʊt(i)/, KY-(y)oh-t(ee)) (Canis latrans) is a species of canine also known as the American jackal, prairie wolf, and brush wolf. It is native to North America, and it is smaller than its close relative, the gray wolf, and slightly smaller than the closely related eastern wolf and red wolf. It fills much of the same ecological niche as the golden jackal does in Eurasia, but the coyote is generally larger. The coyote is listed as least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, due to its wide distribution and abundance throughout North America. The species is versatile, able to adapt to and expand into environments modified by humans; urban coyotes are…

Evidence: 47 • authority: 72

The wolf (Canis lupus; pl.: wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of Canis lupus have been recognized, including the dog and dingo, though grey wolves, as popularly understood, include only naturally occurring wild subspecies. The wolf is the largest wild extant member of the family Canidae, and is further distinguished from other Canis species by its less pointed ears and muzzle, as well as a shorter torso and a longer tail. The wolf is nonetheless related closely enough to smaller Canis species, such as the coyote and the golden jackal, to produce fertile hybrids with them. The wolf's fur is usually…

Evidence: 39 • authority: 90

Regurgitative food transfer among wild wolves. Few studies of monogamous canids have addressed regurgitation in the context of extended parental care and alloparental care within family groups. We studied food transfer by regurgitation in a pack of wolves on Ellesmere Island, North West Territories, Canada, during 6 summers from 1988 through 1996. All adult wolves, including yearlings and a post-reproductive female, regurgitated food. Although individuals regurgitated up to five times per bout, the overall ratio of regurgitations per bout was 1.5. Pups were more likely to receive regurgitations (81%) than the breeding female (14%) or auxiliaries (6%). The breeding male regurgitated mostly t…

Evidence: 39 • authority: 72

The maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus) is a large canine of South America. It is found in Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, and Paraguay, and is almost locally extinct in Uruguay. Its markings resemble those of a red fox but it is neither a fox nor a wolf. It is the only species in the genus Chrysocyon (from Greek χρῡσο-κύων [chrúso-kúōn], "golden dog"). The maned wolf's young pups appear to have darker fur than the bronze, grown ones. It is the largest canine in South America, weighing 20–30 kg (44–66 lb) and up to 110 cm (43 in) at the withers. Its slender legs and dense reddish coat give it a distinctive appearance. The maned wolf is a crepuscular and omnivorous animal adapted to the ope…

Evidence: — • authority: 80

‘Pirate birds’ force other seabirds to regurgitate fish meals. Their thieving ways could spread lethal avian flu

Evidence: — • authority: 72

Single wolves or mated pairs typically have higher success rates in hunting than do large packs; single wolves have occasionally been observed to kill large prey such as moose, bison and muskoxen unaided. This contrasts with the commonly held belief that larger packs benefit from cooperative hunting to bring down large game. The size of a wolf hunting pack is related to the number of pups that survived the previous winter, adult survival, and the rate of dispersing wolves leaving the pack. The optimal pack size for hunting elk is four wolves, and for bison a large pack size is more successful. As well as their physical adaptations for hunting hoofed mammals, wolves possess certain behaviour…

Evidence: — • authority: 92

Mating system of free-ranging domestic dogs and its consequences for dog evolution.. The polygamous mating system of free-ranging domestic dogs (FRDs) contrasts with the social monogamy typical of gray wolves and all other wild canids. The transition to polygamy in dogs could have been initiated by a shift from apex predator to human commensal during the early domestication stages. Here, we test this hypothesis by investigating the characteristics of the FRD mating system that could have been important for domestication. This inference is based on genome-wide Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) data from three geographically distinct populations, including behavioral data for one of them.…

Evidence: — • authority: 92

<i>Thelazia callipaeda</i> infection in Northwestern Spain: what role does the Iberian wolf play?. Thelazia callipaeda is a vector-borne parasite infecting the eyes of domestic and wild animals, as well as humans, across Europe. In Spain, it is endemic in several regions, with high prevalence reported in dogs and cats, but data on wildlife remain scarce. This study investigated the prevalence of T. callipaeda in Iberian wolves ( Canis lupus signatus ) from northwestern Spain and explored epidemiological factors associated with infection. Between 2016 and 2025, 182 wolves from Asturias and Galicia (A Coruña, Lugo, Ourense and Pontevedra) were sampled after necropsy. Eyeworms were…