Wolf (Canis lupus)

[Wolverine]

(01-01-2019, 05:21 AM)Shadow Wrote:

(01-01-2019, 05:04 AM)Wolverine Wrote:

(01-01-2019, 04:55 AM)Shadow Wrote:

(01-01-2019, 04:38 AM)Wolverine Wrote:

(01-01-2019, 03:41 AM)Shadow Wrote: At this point I found some sites giving to wolves in Finland female average weightto be 32-35 kg (70,5-77 lbs) and to males 40 kg (88 lbs), but I couldn´t find to what that information is based. I will look closer with better time.

According to this source the average height of Scandinavian male wolf is 45 kg:
https://www.wildsweden.com/about/facts-about-wolves/


 I think this is the most precise data, since the males from South Europe are bit smaller than those from Northern Europe and their average is 40 kg.

So comparison of different subspecies should be:

1. Arabian wolf (the smallest) - average male - 20,41 kg
2. Indian wolf - average 25 to 28 kg
2. Wolves from Southern Europe - 38-40 kg
3. Northern Europe - 45 kg
4. West Canadian and Yellowstone wolves - 51 kg

I'm originally from South-East Europe (Bulgaria) when I came to Canada noticed that Canadian wolves are significantly larger, exactly their paws when I saw their traces in the snowy Rocky mountains was shocked ... huge beasts...

Also there are some differences in the coloration between European and North American wolves. While in the majority of Europe wolves are brown or brownish North American wolves are often black, grey or white, few of them are really brownish. Term "grey wolf" actually comes from America and its not very suitable for European wolves. Of course all polar wolves are white.

For example such coloration is hard to be found in Europe and is typical for Western Canada:

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

While typical European wolf look like this:

*This image is copyright of its original author

Happy New Year by the way!

That 45 kg for males can be quite ok, I am not sure how accurate statistics there are. For instance Swedish site gives size range 35-55 kg and here in Finland have been bigger, I remember one shot wolf, which was told to be 65 kg and bigger have been observed as far as I know. We have that situation, that some packs come and go between Russia and Finland too. And even though we have big forests all over Finland, naturally in Russia there is so much more space for these animals.

Do you have any personal experience with wolves?

I live in area, where wolves are seen time to time. This year 2-3 times within 2-3 kilometers from my house. But there is no pack hunting in nearby forests, but time to time some wolves have been passing by, usually lonely ones. Wild animals are easy to see here and I often see those, but bears, wolves and lynxes are very difficult to spot :)

Wolves and brown bears are shy and doesn't like people around, while coyotes and black bears could be spotted much easily, I mean in Canada.
Only efficient way to spot wolf pack is by using large quantities of slaughterhouse meat and place it on the surface of frozen lake (for good visibility) during the winter. I twice participated in such an adventure in British Columbia renting a professional trapper from Yukon for 3-4 days.

The method is following. You need a big frozen lake many miles long in remote forested area. The forest ranger find a fresh wolf fingerprints, get a several hundred kilograms of smelly residual meat from slaughterhouse (because such a meat doesn't cost any money) and spread it with snowmobile on at least 5-6 places on the length of the lake on many miles from each other. Than in the next days you approach the lake with truck early morning or before darkness from the opposite side of the lake and wait when the wolves will come (if they come). One night a pack come only 80 meters away from us and was howling nearly a hour, illusive and amazing sound. 

This is the location of Chilcotin mountain range, Western Canada:

*This image is copyright of its original author

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