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There are 36 species of Canidae, including dogs, wolves, coyotes, jackals and foxes. Wild canids are found worldwide, except for New Zealand, Madagascar and some other islands. Usually living in packs, they are opportunistic and adaptable, have a slender build, long legs and a long bushy tail. They are threatened by loss of habitat and by human persecution.
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| Grey wolf |
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|  | The grey wolf is the largest wild member of the canid family and the ancestor of the domestic dog. Grey wolves originally had the largest natural distribution of any mammal except human beings, ranging across much of Eurasia from the Arctic to the Mediterranean, and from the far north of the US to the Sierra Madre in Mexico.
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| | Today the grey wolf can only be found in Canada, North Michigan and Wisconsin in the US, in Russia and pockets of eastern Europe. They occupy fragments of their former ranges, often in close proximity to human activity. The last British wolf was killed in Scotland in the 18th century.
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| | There are at least 12 known remaining subspecies throughout North America, Europe and Asia, including the timber wolf, the Rocky Mountain wolf, the Arctic wolf, the Mexican wolf, the Japanese and the Indian wolf.
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| | Wolves have suffered from direct human persecution, habitat loss and diseases spread by domestic dogs. The Spanish/Portuguese sub-population is classified as lower risk, and the Italian sub-population is considered to be vulnerable. The Mexican sub-population are extinct in the wild - numbers dropped to just 10 in the 1990s.
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| | The North American wild wolf population currently exceeds all others with an approximate 50-60,000 wolves in Canada and nearly 11,000 in the US. Many experts predict that the grey wolf population here will soon be fully recovered.
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| | Russia has the world's second largest grey wolf population (45,000) consisting of six subspecies distributed across plains, coniferous forest, tundra, uplands, and high mountains. A small number are protected within nature reserves but the vast majority are threatened by hunting or being poisoned. Some regions even offer bounties, although the federal budget no longer finances such practices.
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| | It is estimated that nearly 15,000 of Russia's wolves are killed annually, for the fur trade and because of human conflict and persecution. Attitudes in Russia toward wolves remain negative, particularly in rural areas, in spite of the fact that wolves are seldom seen or heard.
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| | Elsewhere in the world, mainly because of educational outreach efforts, tolerance of the wolf has grown to the point that protected areas, government-sponsored compensation programmes, and management plans are becoming increasingly common.
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| | Grey wolves live in a packs of up to 20 animals that are usually related to each other. The pack is a tightly knit, highly organised group, led by an alpha wolf (usually female) and travelling, hunting and raising pups together. Wolves feed on large ungulates (hooved animals), beavers, small mammals, domesticated animals and rubbish.
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| | For more information about the grey wolf see Wildfacts.
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| Ethiopian wolf |
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| | The Ethiopian wolf lives in the highlands of Ethiopia. With fewer than 500 adult individuals surviving, it is endangered and now found in just a few mountain ranges.
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| | The largest population is found in the Bale Mountains National Park. Elsewhere, Ethiopian wolves may be on the verge of extinction because remnant wolf populations are too small to be viable.
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| | If wolves come into contact with domestic dogs, they pick up diseases and may cross-breed. Where people encroach on wolf habitat, road traffic accidents and shootings are increasing problems.
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| | Successful conservation must include management of protected areas with improved park patrolling and control of domestic dogs. Community education, and active efforts to monitor and protect remaining populations are needed.
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| | For more information about the Ethiopian wolf see ARKive.
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| Red wolf |
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| | The red wolf is the wolf of the south eastern/south central United States. Its former range extended from Texas to Florida, and at least as far north as Missouri. Three subspecies are recognised: the Florida (extinct by 1930), Mississippi Valley, and Texas red wolf. Named for its rusty-red fur, the red wolf is smaller and more slender than the grey wolf.
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| | Red wolves live in small family packs of 2-8 individuals. Like other wolves, the red wolf suffered terribly from the persecution by humans and the destruction of its habitat and came very close to extinction. By 1970, only a tiny population of this species remained in south-eastern Texas and south-western Louisiana, and the continued existence of the species without human assistance appeared highly unlikely.
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| | In 1977 a breeding programme was started, using 14 red wolves believed to be genetically pure (the species is known to have interbred with coyotes as red wolf numbers declined).
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| | By 1980, the red wolf was considered extinct in the wild. In 1987 the first genuine release of the species happened, in North Carolina. By the following year, the wolves had reproduced and the first wild-born wolves of the recovery programme arrived. Releases have also been made in Florida and in Tennessee. By 1988, there were 80 red wolves in captivity at 8 locations in the United States.
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It is still unclear whether the red wolf of today is a true species, a grey wolf/coyote hybrid, or was a true species that lost its genetic uniqueness long ago due to interbreeding with coyotes.
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Today, the red wolf is still critically endangered. As of 2003, the free-ranging red wolf population numbered around 100 individuals in 20 packs. All of these wolves originate from the 14 animals taken from the wild back in the 70s.
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| | For more information about the red wolf see ARKive.
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