What is Canis rufus?

Answer 1

the canis rufus is.......Range and Habitat

The red wolf used to occur in the southern United States, from Texas to Florida. They have since been hunted to extinction in the wild. The last remaining wild population of red wolves are a reintroduced population in North Carolina.

Physical Appearance

Red wolves are much smaller than their grey cousins. Their coloring is generally a cinnamon and tawny mixture, with black and grey hairs scattered throughout. Melanistic (dark black) red wolves have also been seen, and these tended to be common in Florida. The red wolf has a longer, more slender skull than the grey wolf, and a more prominent sagittal crest (raised area of bone at the back of the skull used for anchoring the jaw muscles in larger carnivores.). It's canine teeth are also longer and more slender.

The red wolf is not a sub-species of grey wolf, but a species of wolf all its own. Red wolves have been believed to be a cross between grey wolves and coyotes, but most scientists now believe it is a separate species. Proving this will be hard, since wolves and coyotes are so similar genetically. Plus, many scientists have discovered that the coyote has interbred with the red wolf in the past 100 years, which causes them to question the purity of the red wolf genes in newer generations. The red wolf looks like such a perfect blend of coyote and grey wolf that it is believed to be just that by many people. A lot of people question its purity, and if it is not pure why it is worth saving at all. The people working with captive breeding programmes believe it is worth saving because, even if it is a hybrid, it fills an important niche in the southeastern United States ecosystem.

Based on the studies of Nowak (1979, 1992), fossil evidence had proven that red wolves have existed in North America 750,000 years ago. Canis lupus did not arise until several thousands of years later, and tended to stay further north, and Canis latrans had not entered the southeastern region until very recently, about 10,000 years ago. Some scientists believe that the reason that the red wolf and the coyote look so much alike may be because they evolved from a single canid that split into the coyotes and the red wolves.

Diet

The red wolf feeds mainly on small and medium sized game animals. They will eat grouse, raccoons, rodents, feral pigs, rabbits, and hares. They will also prey on young white-tailed deer.

Reproduction and Social Behavior

Red wolves have a social structure similar to gray wolves, which is unexpected, since coyotes and grey wolves that hunt mainly small game tend to be loners or live in very small family groups. But the red wolf actually stays together in packs that consist of an alpha pair and their offspring, which may stay to help the parents raise the next generation. They had large territories, of about 20 - 100 square miles. They mark off and defend their territory. Red wolves tend to be more secretive and nocturnal than grey wolves. Little else is known about the habits of red wolves in the wild, because by the time scientists wanted to study them, in the 1960's, there were too few wolves left to study. The red wolves that were left were struggling to survive in unnatural habitats. Most of what is known about the red wolf today comes from the studies of the captive raised wolves reintroduced to the wild.

Threats

Hybridization with coyotes, hookworm and trapping are all threats to the red wolf population. There are fewer than 100 individuals left in the United States, both in the wild and in captive breeding programs. In 1980, the red wolf was declared extinct in the wild. Breeding programs in zoos are now trying hard to breed pure red wolves and establish a species population strong enough to release. Many have been released into the southern United States. However, even with the mild success of the breeding programs, the red wolf is still at danger. Most of the wolf's territory is occupied by coyotes, with which they can and will interbreed, thus diluting the gene pool even more. With the genetic diversity being so low, the remaining red wolves are inbreeding, which is causing even more problems. Without a varied stock, the species will undoubtedly become extinct.

Subspecies

* Canis rufus rufus -- once ranged central and coastal Texas and southern Louisiana, but was extirpated from these areas. This is the subspecies, however, that has been bred in captivity and released into North Carolina. * Canis rufus floridanus-- Maine and Ohio to Florida and Alabama; now extinct. * Canis rufus gregoryi -- also known as the swamp wolf, which was found from southwestern Indiana, southern Missouri, and eastern Oklahoma to southern Mississippi, central Louisiana, and the Big Thicket area of Texas. This subspecies is now believed extinct in the wild, but may be represented in captivity or the reintroduced population in North Carolina. Subspecies information from: International Wolf Center.

Print References

* Alderton, David. Foxes, Wolves and Wild Dogs of the World. Blandford Press: United Kingdom, 1998. * Nowak, Ronald. Walker's Carnivores of the World. The Johns Hopkins University Press: Baltimore, 2005. Online References

* Animal Diversity Web: Red Wolf * Canid News: Conserving the Red Wolf * Canid News: Hybridization: the Double-edged Threat * Canid News: Red Wolves: to Conserve or not to Conserve * IUCN Red List of Threatened Species - Canis rufus * IUCN/SSC Canid Specialist Group: Red Wolf * Mammals of Texas Online: Red Wolf * Wolf Song Alaska: Red Wolf