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Classification |
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Kingdom |
Animals |
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Phylum |
Chordata |
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Class |
Mammals |
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Order |
Carnivores |
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Family |
Canidae |
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Genus |
Canis |
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Species |
Rufus (red wolf)
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Common Names |
Red wolf, swamp wolf.
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Subspecies |
In North America, there are two
subspecies of red wolf. These are as follows:
- Canis Rufus Rufus
- Canis Rufus
Gregoryi
Reference: Dr. L. David
Mech |
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Fur |
Wolves have two fur
coats:
- Undercoat - This coat is thick
like wool and traps air to help keep the wolf
warm
- Overcoat (guard hairs) - These
hairs are coarse and hollow. This gives another layer of
insulation against the cold.
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Fur Color |
Wolves can be white, gray, black,
brown, red, and yellow. Usually, wolves are a combination of
colors. |
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Eye Color |
Most wolves have golden to yellow
eyes. Some wolves have brown eyes and I have even seen some
wolves with green eyes.
Puppies are always born with blue
eyes. |
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Say the Name |
CANIS RUFUS is pronounced like
this.
CAN-NIS
ROOF-US
Click to hear how you say the
name
![]() - CANIS RUFUS(.au) |
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Teeth |
Wolves have big
mouths.
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- Check this guy out. If I
counted right, I would say he has 42 teeth.
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Photo by Monty
Sloan | |
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Wolf Talk |
Wolves make many different sounds.
These are listed below:
- Howling
- Barking
- Growling
- Whining
- Yipping
Check out the wolf talk page
for actual sounds that wolves make:
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Breeding |
Wolves will breed anytime between
January and March. It all depends on where they live. The
further north, the later in the season they breed.
It takes 63 days after breeding to
have puppies. This is the same as the dog. It should be, since
dogs came from wolves.
Check out the puppy page for
more information on breeding:
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Height |
1 1/2 feet at
shoulders |
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Length |
4 to 5 1/2 feet long, tip of nose to
tip of tail. |
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Weight |
40 to 70 pounds |
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Paw |
2 1/2 x 3 1/2
inches |
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Description of the red wolf
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The red wolf is smaller is than the
gray wolf, but larger than the eastern coyote.
So, is the red wolf part
gray wolf and part coyote?
No one really knows the evolution of
the red wolf. It has been noted that, red wolves at the
northern boundary of their range tend to look like gray wolves
and at the southern boundary of their range, tend to look like
coyotes.
Long Legs -
Wolves have very long legs and very
large heads. Their necks are quite small for as big as they
are.
Narrow Shoulders -
They have narrow shoulders and a
narrow rear end. This lets them accelerate fast. Useful when
trying to catch a bite to eat.
Diet -
The red wolf's diet consists
of:
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Deer, rabbit, rat,
raccoon,insects, crustaceans, mollusks,
fruit. |
Range -
The traditional range covered much
of the southeast from Texas to Florida and up to North
Carolina.
Re-introduction -
The red wolf has been re-introduced
into Tennessee and North Carolina. Check out the web for more
information on how these animals are doing. The last I heard
was that populations are growing - YEAH! |
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE RED
WOLF
Check out these
links:
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