Instruct: Given a question, retrieve documents that can help answer the question.
Query: What is the scientific name of the red wolf?
The red wolf's taxonomic status is the subject of ongoing debate. In 1851 the naturalists John James Audubon and John Bachman recognized "Canis lupus rufus" in the southern and southeastern United States. In 1937 the zoologist Edward Alphonso Goldman proposed this wolf to be a new species "Canis rufus". In 1967, the zoologists Barbara Lawrence and William H. Bossert rebutted Goldman's classification as being too heavily based on probable hybrid specimens. In the third edition of "Mammal Species of the World" published in 2005, the mammalogist W. Christopher Wozencraft listed the red wolf as a hybrid of the gray wolf and the coyote, but due to its uncertain status compromised by recognizing it as a subspecies of the grey wolf "Canis lupus rufus". Since the early 1980s, genetic analysis has been used to debate whether the red wolf is a species or a wolf/coyote hybrid. Commencing in 2016, two studies using whole genome sequencing indicate that North American gray wolves and wolf-like canids were the result of ancient and complex gray wolf and coyote mixing, with the red wolf possessing 60% coyote ancestry and 40% wolf ancestry.
In 2012, the Southern Environmental Law Center filed a lawsuit against the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission for jeopardizing the existence of the wild red wolf population by allowing nighttime hunting of coyotes in the five-county restoration area in eastern North Carolina. A 2014 court-approved settlement agreement was reached that banned nighttime hunting of coyotes and requires permitting and reporting coyote hunting. In response to the settlement, the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission adopted a resolution requesting the USFWS to remove all wild red wolves from private lands, terminate recovery efforts, and declare red wolves extinct in the wild. This resolution came in the wake of a 2014 programmatic review of the red wolf conservation program conducted by The Wildlife Management Institute. The Wildlife Management Institute indicated the reintroduction of the red wolf was an incredible achievement. The report indicated that red wolves could be released and survive in the wild, but that illegal killing of red wolves threatens the long-term persistence of the population. The report stated that the USFWS needed to update its red wolf recovery plan, thoroughly evaluate its strategy for preventing coyote hybridization and increase its public outreach. Since the programmatic review, the USFWS ceased implementing the red wolf adaptive management plan that was responsible for preventing red wolf hybridization with coyotes and allowed the release of captive-born red wolves into the wild population. Since then, the wild population has decreased from 100–115 red wolves to 50–65. Despite the controversy over the red wolf's status as a unique taxon as well as the USFWS' apparent disinterest towards wolf conservation in the wild, the vast majority of public comments (including NC residents) submitted to the USFWS in 2017 over their new wolf management plan were in favor of the original wild conservation plan.
In 2015, the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada changed its designation of the eastern wolf from "Canis lupus lycaon" to "Canis cf lycaon" ("Canis" species believed to be "lycaon") and a species at risk. Later that year, a study compared the DNA sequences using 127,000 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (mutations) of wolves and coyotes. The study indicated that eastern wolves were a distinct genomic cluster, which did not exclude a possibility that a gray wolf x eastern wolf hybrid ("C. l. lycaon") historically inhabited the same area as the eastern wolf. The study did not include red wolves.
Since 1987, red wolves have been released into northeastern North Carolina, where they roam 1.7 million acres. These lands span five counties (Dare, Hyde, Tyrrell, Washington, and Beaufort) and include three national wildlife refuges, a U.S. Air Force bombing range, and private land. The red wolf recovery program is unique for a large carnivore reintroduction in that more than half of the land used for reintroduction lies on private property. Approximately are federal and state lands, and are private lands.
Beginning in 1991, red wolves were also released into the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in eastern Tennessee. However, due to exposure to environmental disease (parvovirus), parasites, and competition (with coyotes as well as intraspecific aggression), the red wolf was unable to successfully establish a wild population in the park. Low prey density was also a problem, forcing the wolves to leave the park boundaries in pursuit of food in lower elevations. In 1998, the FWS removed the remaining red wolves in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, relocating them to Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge in eastern North Carolina. Other red wolves have been released on the coastal islands in Florida, Mississippi, and South Carolina as part of the captive breeding management plan. St. Vincent Island in Florida is currently the only active island propagation site.
The gray wolf is the largest wild member of the canid family, with males averaging , and females . It is the most specialized member of its genus in the direction of carnivory and hunting large game. Although they primarily target ungulates, wolves are at times versatile in their diet; for example, those in the Mediterranean region largely subsist on garbage and domestic animals. They have powerful jaws and teeth and powerful bodies capable of great endurance, and often run in large packs. Nevertheless, they tend to fear and avoid human beings, especially in North America. Wolves vary in temperament and their reaction to humans. Those with little prior experience with humans, and those positively conditioned through feeding, may lack fear. Wolves living in open areas, for example the North American Great Plains, historically showed little fear before the advent of firearms in the 19th Century, and would follow human hunters to feed on their kills, particularly bison. In contrast, forest-dwelling wolves in North America were noted for shyness. Wolf biologist L. David Mech hypothesized in 1998 that wolves generally avoid humans because of fear instilled by hunting. Mech also noted that humans' upright posture is unlike wolves' other prey, and similar to some postures of bears, which wolves usually avoid. Mech speculated that attacks are preceded by habituation to humans, while a successful outcome for the wolf may lead to repeated behavior, as documented especially in India.
The northern regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan are important strongholds for the wolf. It has been estimated that there are about 300 wolves in approximately of Jammu and Kashmir in northern India, and 50 more in Himachal Pradesh. Hindus traditionally considered the hunting of wolves, even dangerous ones, as taboo, for fear of causing a bad harvest. The Santals, however, considered them fair game, as with every other forest-dwelling animal. During British rule in India, wolves were not considered game species, and were killed primarily in response to them attacking game herds, livestock, and people. In 1876, in the North-West Provinces and Bihar State, 2,825 wolves were killed in response to 721 fatal attacks on humans. Two years later, 2,600 wolves were killed in response to attacks leaving 624 humans dead. By the 1920s, wolf extermination remained a priority in the NWP and Awadh. Overall, over 100,000 wolves were killed for bounties in British India between 1871 and 1916. In modern India, the Indian wolf is distributed across the states of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. As of 2004, it is estimated that there are around 2000–3000 Indian wolves in the country. They are mainly found outside of protected reserves and feed mainly on domestic animals, such as goats or sheep. However, in areas where natural prey is still abundant, for example in Velavadar National Park or Panna Tiger Reserve, natural prey species are still preferred. Although protected since 1972, Indian wolves are classed as Endangered, with many populations lingering in low numbers or living in areas increasingly used by humans. Although present in Nepal and Bhutan, there is no information of wolves occurring there.
Wild wolves are sometimes kept as exotic pets, and in some rarer occasions, as working animals. Although closely related to domesticated dogs, wolves do not show the same tractability as dogs in living alongside humans, and generally, much more work is required in order to obtain the same amount of reliability. Wolves also need much more space than dogs, about 25 to 40 square kilometres (10 to 15 sq mi) so they can exercise.
Several hunters of the USFWS kept wolf pups as pets, with the best results occurring when they were caught just after their eyes began opening. In contrast, pups taken at 3–4 weeks of age proved unmanageable, with only one in 11 of such pups becoming tame, despite one month of eight hours per day of socialization with people. However, John James Audubon recorded an instance of a wolf being trained to hunt deer in Kentucky, and Henry Wharton Shoemaker published a similar account of settlers in western and central Pennsylvania using wolves as hunting dogs. Buffon wrote in his "Natural History" of tamed wolves in Persia being trained to perform dances and tricks.
Over the decades since wolves have been present in the region, there have been hundreds of confirmed incidents of livestock depredation, though such predation represents a minute proportion of a wolf’s diet on a per wolf basis. While the majority of wolves ignore livestock entirely, a few wolves or wolf packs will become chronic livestock hunters, and most of these have been killed to protect livestock. Since the year Defenders of Wildlife implemented their compensation fund, they have allocated over $1,400,000 to private owners for proven and probable livestock depredation by wolves. Opponents argue that the Yellowstone reintroductions were unnecessary, as American wolves were never in danger of biological extinction since wolves still persisted in Canada. Opponents have also stated that wolves are of little commercial benefit, as cost estimates on wolf recovery are from $200,000 to $1 million per wolf. But the Lamar Valley is one of the best places in the world to observe wolves, and tourism based on wolves is booming. The growing wolf-viewing outfitting trend contrasts with declines for big game hunters. National Park Service Biologist Wayne Brewster informed guides and outfitters living north of Yellowstone National Park, to expect a fifty percent (50%) drop in harvestable game when wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park. This was confirmed when in 2006, the Yellowstone elk herd had in fact shrunk to 50% since the mid 1990s though researchers documented that most of the elk that fell prey to wolves were very old, diseased, or very young. Two 30-day periods of tracking radio collared wolves showed that 77–97% of prey species documented by wolves in the park were elk. Outside the park, numerous hunting outfitters have closed due to the concomitant 90% reduction in elk permits. Defenders of Wildlife transitioned from paying compensation to helping ranchers utilize nonlethal methods to better protect livestock from wolf predation. These methods include carcass removal to reduce attractants to scavengers, increased human presence near livestock, lighting, herd management, livestock guard dogs, and other measures (see http://www.defenders.org/sites/default/files/publications/livestock_and_wolves.pdf for more information).
The wolf pack howls on average for 85 seconds. It is usually started by a single wolf, after which other wolves may join in. The pack leader, the alpha wolf, usually uses a lower-pitched howl and howls more frequently than wolves standing on the lower rungs of the pack's hierarchy. Although some functions of the howling are still unknown by scientists, they believe that wolves may howl to scare off other wolf packs from their territory and to gather their own pack, as wolves possess perfect hearing and their howling can be heard for up to in the forest and in open space. Researchers have found a relationship between the number of times a wolf howls and the strength of their relationship with other pack members. According to Friederike Range, co-director of the University of Vienna's Wolf Science Center, "the strength of the relationship between wolves predicted how many times a wolf howled."
The golden jackal ("Canis aureus") is a wolf-like canid that is native to Southeast Europe, Southwest Asia, South Asia, and regions of Southeast Asia. Compared with the Arabian wolf, which is the smallest of the gray wolves ("Canis lupus"), the jackal is smaller and possesses shorter legs, a shorter tail, a more elongated torso, a less-prominent forehead, and a narrower and more pointed muzzle. The golden jackal's coat can vary in color from a pale creamy yellow in summer to a dark tawny beige in winter. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List due to its widespread distribution and high density in areas with plenty of available food and optimum shelter.
The red deer, one of five native deer species, is the biggest non-marine mammal in Wales. Fallow, muntjac roe and sika deer can also be found. Polecats and pine martens are very rarely seen. Other mammals include badgers, foxes, hares, hedgehogs, otters, rabbits, stoats, weasels, red squirrels, and 13 species of bat.
The Arctic wolf is relatively unafraid of people, and can be coaxed to approach people in some areas. The wolves on Ellesmere Island do not fear humans, which is thought to be due to them seeing humans so little, and they will approach humans cautiously, curiously and closely. Otto Sverdrup wrote that during the Fram expedition, a pair of wolves shadowed one of his teammates, who kept them at a distance by waving his ski pole. In 1977, a pair of scientists were approached by six wolves on Ellesmere Island, with one animal leaping at one of the scientists and grazing a cheek. A number of incidents involving aggressive wolves have occurred in Alert, Nunavut, where the wolves have lived in close proximity to the local weather station for decades and became habituated to humans. One of these wolves attacked 3 people, was shot, and tested positive for rabies.
The Arctic fox ("Vulpes lagopus"), are also known as the white fox, polar fox, or snow fox, that is a small fox native to the Arctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere and common throughout the Arctic tundra biome. It is well adapted to living in cold environments, and is best known for its thick, warm fur that is also used as camouflage. On average, Arctic foxes only live 3–4 years in the wild. Its body length ranges from , with a generally rounded body shape to minimize the escape of body heat.
Some wildlife centers housing captive wolves prohibit handlers from entering wolf enclosures if they happen to have a cold or other vulnerability which the wolves can detect. Captive wolves are generally shy and avoid eye contact with humans other than their owner, as well as not listening to any commands made by any other humans. They usually vacate rooms or hide when a new person enters the establishment. Even seemingly friendly wolves need to be treated with caution, as captive wolves tend to view and treat people as other wolves, and will thus bite or dominate people in the same situation in which they would other wolves. Ordinary pet food is inadequate, as an adult wolf needs 1–2.5 kg (2–5 lbs) of meat daily along with bones, skin and fur to meet its nutritional requirements. Wolves may defend their food against people, and react violently to people trying to remove it. The exercise needs of a wolf exceed the average dog's demand. Because of this, captive wolves typically do not cope well in urban areas. Due to their talent at observational learning, adult captive wolves can quickly work out how to escape confinement, and require constant reinforcement by caretakers or owners, which makes raising wolves difficult for people who raise their pets in an even, rather than subordinate, environment.
In "Rawhide Kid" #27 (April 1962), writer Stan Lee and artists Jack Kirby and Dick Ayers introduced an Apache warrior named Red Wolf. This character appeared in the issue's second story, "The Girl, the Gunman, and the Apaches!". Red Wolf and other Apaches attacked a covered wagon and brought back a blonde woman to their camp, and encountered her rescuer, the Rawhide Kid.
The golden jackal is similar to the gray wolf but is distinguished by its smaller size, lighter weight, more elongated torso, less-prominent forehead, shorter legs and tail, and a muzzle that is narrower and more pointed. The legs are long in relation to its body, and the feet are slender with small pads. Males measure in body length and females . Males weigh and females weigh . The shoulder height is for both. In comparison, the smallest wolf is the Arabian wolf ("Canis lupus arabs"), which weighs on average .
William Talltrees is a man born in modern times, born in Wolf Point, Montana. He was the son of Rebecca and Thomas Talltrees, a Cheyenne tribal leader, and grew up hearing tales of the legendary Red Wolf. William witnessed his father being intimidated into selling his property to corrupt businessman Cornelius van Lunt and his enfoncer Jason Birch; that night, van Lunt's henchmen killed William's family. William swore vengeance, finding and donning the ceremonial garb of Red Wolf. Owayodata visited him and imbued the young man with his spiritual legacy, granting him superhuman powers. The new Red Wolf found a wolf cub that he named Lobo and trained to be his companion. Following the two criminals back to New York, he was able to gain vengeance on them with the aid of the Avengers.
Generally speaking, on the basis of their experience, tame wolves are strictly "one-man dogs". They may be confiding and playful with the man who raised them, or even with his whole family, if fed and cared for by them, but they are suspicious and timid in the presence of strangers. They invariably retain certain reactions of wolf nature, as for instance, an incorrigible desire to kill chickens or other small livestock whenever opportunity arises.
Some pet wolves are euthanised or might be released into the wild where they are likely to starve or be killed by resident wolf packs in regions where they are still present. Abandoned or escaped captive wolves can be more destructive and pose a greater danger to humans and livestock than wild wolves, seeing as their habituation to humans causes them to lose their natural shyness. The Wolf of Gysinge is thought to have been one such animal. Keeping these animals at home can be a bad idea, as they are very destructive.
The wolves in "Wolf's Rain" use illusions to give themselves a human appearance, enabling them to blend into the human world and escape detection. The wolves always retain their true nature, neither thinking nor acting as the true humans in the world do.The characters of "Wolf's Rain" have received praise and criticism from several publications for anime, manga, and other media. "Sci Fi Weekly"'s Tasha Robinson initially found the interactions between the wolves to be tiresome and repetitive. However, they praised the series for having the wolves clearly act as wolves, noting that "lot of the series' most interesting dynamics come from wolves behaving like wolves in human environments —breaking up into packs (complete with obvious hierarchies), challenging each other for dominance, only incidental respect towards humans, fighting to defend their turf and so forth."
In the late 19th Century, sheep farmers in Kerr County, Texas stated that the coyotes in the region were larger than normal coyotes, and they believed that they were a gray wolf and coyote cross. In 1970, the wolf mammalogist L. David Mech proposed that the red wolf was a hybrid of the gray wolf and coyote, and suggested that it should be taxonomically recognized as "C. lupus × C. latrans". However, a 1971 study compared the cerebellum within the brain of 6 "Canis" species and found that the cerebellum of the red wolf indicated a distinct species, was closest to that of the gray wolf, but in contrast indicated some characteristics that were more primitive than those found in any of the other "Canis" species. In 2014, a three dimensional morphometrics study of "Canis" species accepted only 6 red wolf specimens for analysis from those on offer due to the impact of hybridization on the others.
In the story "Red Wolf Stalks the Stars!" published in "Hercules" vol. 2, #2-4 (April–June 1984), written and pencilled by Bob Layton, the Greek-demigod superhero Hercules adventured with a character named Red Wolf (Rojahn Smythe) in an alternate reality during the 24th century. This Red Wolf has no known connection to the Native American superheroes. The character had come about, Layton later said, when Marvel editor-in-chief Jim Shooter declined to commission a Red Wolf miniseries by Layton, who explained "Red Wolf was another one of those forgotten characters I spoke about — like Hercules. I really wanted to do something fun with that character."
Yellow Wolf admitted to going by two names, of which Yellow Wolf was not the one he preferred. The name came out of a vision, but it was also one that white men called him. The Yellow Wolf was a wyakin for him. He talked to McWhorter, about his vision quest as a boy of 13. In it, he saw a vision of a yellow wolf. "It was a Spirit of a wolf that appeared to me. Yellow like in color, it sort of floated in the air. Like a human being it talked to me, and gave me its power...That was how I got named Yellow Wolf. Named for that vision-wolf appearing to me. It was yellow-colored, and gave me the power of the wolf." But even though he went by the name, he said that Yellow Wolf was not what he was normally called among his people. He was known more for that among whites. "The whites call me Yellow Wolf, but I take that as a nick-name. My true name is different, and is after the Spirit which gave me promise of its power as a warrior. I am Heinmot Hihhih, which means White Thunder (or White Lightning). Yellow Wolf is not my own chosen name."
In recent history, the taxonomic status of the red wolf has been widely debated. Mech (1970) suggested that red wolves may be fertile hybrid offspring from gray wolf ("Canis lupus") and coyote ("C. latrans") interbreeding. Wayne and Jenks (1991) and Roy et al. (1994b, 1996) supported this suggestion with genetic analysis. Phillips and Henry (1992) present logic supporting the contention that the red wolf is a subspecies of gray wolf. However, recent genetic and morphological evidence suggests that the red wolf is a unique taxon. Wilson et al. (2000) report that gray wolves ("Canis lupus lycaon") in southern Ontario appear genetically very similar to the red wolf and that these two canids may be subspecies of one another and not a subspecies of gray wolf. Wilson et al. (2000) propose that red wolves and "C. lupus lycaon" should be a separate species, "C. lycaon", with their minor differences acknowledged via subspecies designation. North American wolf biologists and geneticists also concluded that "C. rufus" and "C. lupus lycaon" were genetically more similar to each other than either was to "C. lupus" or "C. latrans" (B.T. Kelly unpubl.). In 2002 orphometric analyses of skulls also indicate that the red wolf is likely not to be a gray wolf–coyote hybrid (Nowak 2002). Therefore, while the red wolf's taxonomic status remains unclear, there is mounting evidence to support "C. rufus" as a unique canid taxon.