Posted on 06/23/2016 12:21:58 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Wildlife experts are keeping their fingers crossed this morning. They are hoping new evidence proves a wolf is living in Northern California. The information, which is not yet conclusive, shows photos from four trail cameras in Lassen County. Wildlife experts aren't sure if it's a wolf, dog, or wolf-dog hybrid. Gray wolves are native to California but were driven extinction in the state by the mid-1920's.
It is definitely gray.
Maybe they outta use color cameras.
Why would you assume two relatively unknown, rare breeds versus typical wolf/dog crosses? I would imagine there are more people breeding those, but guess you never know.
Looks like a fat coyote to me. I have seen plenty of both here in Wisconisn.
Yeh its always so great when the wolves come back. (sarc)
I’m crossing my fingers, too!
Go to San Francisco, Wolfie!
It looks too massive and muscular to be Canis latrans [Coyote], but the angle makes it impossible for me to be sure.
As I recall from my zoology days (when Canis lupus study was my favorite hobby), the wolf - versus the coyote or dog - not only has a more powerful muzzle with a pronounced stop, but has 55% side skull slope angles (from down vertical) versus 45% for other canids, producing a more massive, powerful head with a larger brain cavity.
The best way to identify a true wolf, therefore, might be a frontal head shot, showing both muzzle and skull.
From my past readings, dogs of similar size fear wolves, but wolves do not fear dogs.
I read once of a scientific team on an island off the western Canadian coast studying the indigenous pack (since they knew they were never confusing the members of the sea-locked pack with any other wolves). The wolves were very shy of the humans and posed no threat to them whatsoever, but the big huskies were always afraid. One night, the pack attacked the dogs in their pen; one male wolf was seen loping away at a brisk rate, carrying a husky of similar size in its jaws, with the dog’s body completely off the ground. The dogs, despite their size and numbers, were essentially helpless prey.
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