Vancouver Island Wolf

Facts about Vancouver Island Wolf. "Scientific name for Vancouver Island Wolf is Canis lupus crassodon. The Vancouver Island Wolf was identified by Dr. E. Raymond Hall in 1932. The Vancouver Island Wolf subspecies is nearly extinct, though the mainland gray wolves are doing fine.

Appearance of Vancouver Island Wolf

The Vancouver Island Wolf was overwhelmingly black and brown with a few patches of white and grey. Pure white specimens have been observed. In general, the Vancouver Island Wolf subspecies is lighter than those on the mainland.

Physical Characteristics

The Vancouver Island Wolf is four to five feet long and two to two and a half feet tall. The Vancouver Island Wolf weighs a hundred to a hundred and twenty pounds. The Vancouver Island Wolf are bigger than domestic dogs, though their tracks are very similar.

Behavior of Vancouver Island Wolf

The Vancouver Island Wolf has historically been very shy of humans, unwilling even to cross populated areas to get to other forested areas. A pack was found in 2014 that seems to be habituated to humans and unafraid of human observers.
The Vancouver Island Wolves are the top predator of its ecosystem. The Vancouver Island Wolf's primary prey consists of deer and elk. The species is blamed for the decline of the Vancouver Island Marmot. This poses an interesting conundrum for conservationists, where one endangered animal is eating another. The Vancouver marmot, though, is being raised in captivity to save the species. The Vancouver Island Wolf started eating Cottontail Rabbits that were introduced to the island in 1964. Vancouver Island Wolves been observed to eat mink, sea lions, seals, raccoons, and otters.
These wolves will eat squirrels and beavers if deer are not readily available. The Vancouver Island Wolf lives in groups from five to twenty. The Vancouver Island Wolves have a much higher population density than those on the mainland due to the abundance of deer in the area.
Vancouver Island Wolves breed in January, much earlier than many of their cohorts.

Habitat and Range of Vancouver Island Wolf

The Vancouver Island Wolf is endemic to Vancouver Island, and most today live on the north end of the island and in Pacific Rim National Park. Vancouver Island Wolves are found around Barkley Sound and Clayoquot Sound. Vancouver Island Wolves originally lived on surrounding islands like Salt Spring Island but disappeared from there by the late 1800s.
Vancouver Island Wolves stick to the forested and semi-forested areas of the island but have been occasionally seen along the coast. They travel on the sand dunes of the shore to get between patches of forest with minimal odds of encountering humans.
Their greatest danger is habitat destruction, not hunting, because they don’t want to cross developed areas. An estimated 150 Vancouver Island Wolves were thought to be in the wild. Several more Vancouver Island Wolves are in the Vancouver Zoo.

Trivia about Vancouver Island Wolf

The Vancouver Island Wolf is endangered, though the Mexican Grey Wolf is considered more endangered.
The Vancouver Island Wolf species was put on the Canadian endangered species list in 1970 but removed in 1977.
Hunting of the Vancouver Island Wolf is permitted. In 2014, the limit was three wolves per hunter.