About the Eastern WolfDescription: Eastern wolves compared to grey wolves are very small in size. Eastern wolves do not have all black or all white coat but typically have a reddish-brown behind the ears and the lower legs and also a reddish-brown muzzle. The back mainly being black, white, and grey(9).
Size and weight: Male Eastern Wolves are about 80 cm at the shoulders and weigh about 40 kg, while females measure about 75 cm at the shoulders and weigh about 30 kg (5). |
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Behaviour: Eastern wolves are very dependent on the social part of their pack. Wolf packs are quite loyal to each other and will do all they can to ward off any other unwanted wolf packs from their territory. Wolves are mostly active at night but can also be seen during the day(2). There a hierarchy of wolves in a pack with the more dominant wolves carrying their tails high and standing tall while the less dominant wolves will hold their tails down and lower their bodies. Wolves communicate through a variety of body postures, scents, and vocalizations. Usually there is only one mating pair per pack that are the dominant wolves, this pair being the oldest, largest, and strongest. any wolf can become a dominant wolf by starting a new pack, fighting another dominant wolf for the position or by filling the dominant wolf position in another pack(7).
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Status History |
The eastern grey wolf was considered a subspecies of the grey wolf in 1999 and was placed in the data Deficient category. In May 2001 the eastern grey wolf was re-examined and was of special concerns, also being renamed the eastern wolf. The new genetic analysis indicated that the eastern wolf was not a subspecies of the grey wolf. The newest update to the status of the eastern wolf was in May 2015 when it was designated as a threatened species(3).
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