First up is a Timber Wolf (Gray Wolf) - The male stands 3 foot at the shoulder with the average weight being 100 lbs., but can be as much as 175 lbs. Their powerful jaws are built to crush the bones of its prey. They have the biting capacity of 1500 pounds per square inch. There are 5 subspecies of gray wolf and 7 to 12 in Eurasia, the arctic wolf is among these.
Subspecies are often difficult to distinguish from one another because they have been known to interbreed in areas where their geographic ranges overlap. Earlier in the century these animals were labeled as troublesome livestock killers and were wiped out in Yellowstone Park. In 1995 Canadian grays were reintroduced to repopulate the park and today the reintroduction stands as a huge success.
Second, would be a Red wolf - This wolf is a much smaller wolf, standing 16 inches high at the shoulder and weighing 40 to 80 lbs. Their faces are much narrower, with larger ears and shorter coats. Their colors range from reddish to black. The red wolf was declared extinct in the wild, there were none in Canada or Mexico that could be transferred to the U.S., but there were a few in captivity that were bred and introduced onto public land with the help of the Fish and Wildlife Service, with success. Since that time the wolves have spread onto private land, and have once again come under attack by wolf protesters.
Mexican Gray Wolf - Smaller than the timber wolf, weighing 60 to 90 lbs. Until recently, the Mexican Wolf no longer resided in the wild in the United States. Hunted to near extinction here, they only survived in programs managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), until March 1997 when eleven Mexican wolves were released into the wild in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest.
On August 7, 1998 Wolf #174 was found mortally wounded by a mountain lion. Wolf #174 was the first Mexican wolf to give birth in the wild in 50 years. The male wolf and pup are being monitored, in the wild, to be certain the pup is being cared for.
Coyote (prairie wolf) - This wolf is smaller and more delicately built, standing 16 to 20 inches from the shoulder. The males weigh 27 to 33 lbs. with colors ranging from gray to tan with rust. The coyote is not an endangered species, but are considered dangerous to livestock and killed by the thousands each year.
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