Buffalo Wolf

V

verg

Member
I remember as a kid reading an article and looking at a picture of a wolf called a buffalo wolf. The picture was of a tame one that was staning on hind legs with front paws over the owner's shoulders. It was enormous..I thought it said something like 6-7 feet on hind legs and they averaged 150lbs. I can't remember details being it has been so many years ago but...thought it said something like it lived in my area of the dakotas and its main prey was the buffalo. I am wondering if anyone has ever heard of these..if they were just a member of the grey wolf family, or a different species??? I just remember it saying that the species is extinct now but they were the largest of the wolf family.
Probably saw this 25 years ago...so just can't remember exactly but I do remember being in awe at its size. Anyone have any info on a Buffalo wolf?
 
If i'm right its just another name for the gray wolf that lived on the great plains with the buffalo witch they did prey on mostly buffalo.
 
I believe there's only two species of wolves on the North American contentant....the red wolf & the grey wolf.

The "Mexican Wolf" is also a figment of some treehugger's imagination. There is no such thing, and the wolves they are releasing are so crossbred with domestic dogs that there is NO pure wolf DNA in them.

The red wolf is rapidly becoming extinct as well....Not from hunting, but it's willingness to crossbreed with coyotes.
Perhaps the Eastern U.S. will see that red wolf genetics filter through to the coyote population & have bigger coyotes...??

Barry
 
I always understood the wolves that roamed the plains were larger too. And, for the very reason of hunting bison. But, that's only what I've heard. No idea if that's true or not.
 
There are 23 subspecies of the gray wolf and 3 subspecies of the red wolf....the buffalo wolf was medium size..the mexican wolf is the smallest in size of the gray wolf.
 
Quote:
There are 23 subspecies of the gray wolf and 3 subspecies of the red wolf....the buffalo wolf was medium size..the mexican wolf is the smallest in size of the gray wolf.




Not trying to bust on you but I was wondering where you found that info so I could look it up. Thanks.
 
Rockinbbar~ not sure were you got that there are only two spec. of wolves in north america but that is not at all true. I have been hunting the alaskan yukon timber wolves for the the last three years and they dwarf anything found in the lower 48 by on average 50+ lbs. Check out some pics from last season. Just search "Wolf Tripple" by rogue_bow from 07-08 in the search if you want ta see some true monsters. I have a pic in that post of a grey color phaze alaskan yukon timber wolf that messeared 84.5 inches unskinned more along the scale of what you all are talking about and well worth persuing for the true at heart predator hunter.!
 
Quote:
Rockinbbar~ not sure were you got that there are only two spec. of wolves in north america but that is not at all true. I have been hunting the alaskan yukon timber wolves for the the last three years and they dwarf anything found in the lower 48 by on average 50+ lbs. Check out some pics from last season. Just search "Wolf Tripple" by rogue_bow from 07-08 in the search if you want ta see some true monsters. I have a pic in that post of a grey color phaze alaskan yukon timber wolf that messeared 84.5 inches unskinned more along the scale of what you all are talking about and well worth persuing for the true at heart predator hunter.!



True enough.....the part about educating oneself about the game they are actually hunting.

The link above this post might dispell a few myths. (Thanks Skeet)

I shoot coyotes in mountainous terrain that can weigh twice what the coyotes on the desert floor will weigh. It doesn't make them a different species of coyote. (The guys in AZ sometimes have trouble believeing coyotes over 40 pounds)

In my younger years I guided in Wyoming & indeed saw large wolves there. Mostly the black ones were called "timber wolves" by the locals. It tends to confuse.

Basically, with the Red Wolf out of circulation, when people are talking about wolves nowadays, no matter where they are, it's grey wolves they are talking about, whether they know it or not. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Thanks for the input.

Barry
 
Not trying to bust on you but I was wondering where you found that info so I could look it up. Thanks.

The Wolves of North America Part II by Stanley P. Young
 
There are around Seven distinct species of wolf and a further seventeen or so sub-species of the grey wolf, making a total of 24 species. Here is a list of the species and sub-species of wolves that can be found worldwide:

Gray Wolf - the most common species, normally referred to simply as "wolf". There are several sub-species of this breed. These are:
** Arctic Wolf - This species is not endangered but is on the lower concern list.
Arabian Wolf - This species is critically endangered.
Eastern Timber Wolf - This species is endangered.
Eurasian Wolf - This species is not endangered but is on the lower concern list.
Mexican Wolf - This species is critically endangered.
Italian Wolf - Although this species is not engendered it is listed as Vulnerable.
Mackenzie Valley Wolf - Also known as the Rocky Mountain Wolf, Alaskan Timber Wolf or Canadian Timber Wolf. This species is not endangered but is on the lower concern list.
Russian Wolf - This species is not endangered but is on the lower concern list.
Iberian Wolf - This species is one step away from being classed as vulnerable. They are listed as Conservation dependent, meaning that with out the conservation efforts they would become endangered very quickly.
Great Plains Wolf - Also known as the Buffalo Wolf. This species is not endangered but is on the lower concern list.
Tundra Wolf - This species is not endangered but is on the lower concern list.
Southern-East Asian Wolf - also known as the Turkish or Iranian wolf. This species in endangered.
Caspian Sea Wolf - This species is endangered.
Dingo - This species is listed as vulnerable.
Vancouver Island Wolf - This species is endangered.
Egyptian Jackal - Also a sub-species of the Jackal. This species is critically endangered.
Himalayan Wolf - disputed as a sub-species of the grey wolf and was thought to belong to the Tibetan wolf species. Now, this species is critically endangered.

Red Wolf - Found in eastern USA. This species is critically endangered.
Prairie wolf - also known as coyote. This species is not endangered but is on the lower concern list.
Eastern Canadian Wolf - a newly recognised species, thought to be a relation of both the prairie wolf and the gray wolf, and is something classified as a Grey wolf sub-species. This species is endangered.
Ethiopian Wolf - A wolf that very closely resembles a fox. This species is endangered.
Indian Wolf - Another recently recognise species, thought originally to be a sub-species of Southern-East Asian Wolf, now known to be a species in its own right.
Maned Wolf - Found exclusively in South America. This species is critically endangered.
There are also several species of wolf that are now extinct. These include:


Hokkaido Wolf - One of the two Japanese wolf species. Confirmed extinct in 1889.
Honshū Wolf - The second of the Japanese wolf species, also extinct. Confirmed to be extinct in 1905.
Dire Wolf - A prehistoric wolf. Estimated to have become extinct around 10,000 years ago.
Newfoundland Wolf - A sub-species of the grey wolf, now extinct. Confirmed to be extinct in 1911
 
After doing a little research of my own here is what I came up with and why. There are currently only 2 species of wolves in North America: the grey ( Canus lupus ) and red ( Canis rufus ). I say currently because some wolves have become extinct and this post will be long enough without debating extinct species.
This brings us to subspecies. Subspecies are not scientifically classified as seperate and distinct species and therefore we can't list them that way either. The best way to distinguish a species or a subspecies is the scientific name. For example, the grey wolf is Canis lupus whereas the Mexican is listed as Canis lupus baileyi . The additional name for the Mexican denotes that it is a subspecies of the grey wolf species.
Let's look at each species. The red wolf has virtually cross-bred itself out of existence. If not for a captive breeding program, it would certainly be extinct by now. Since the scientific community still recognizes it's existence, so will I.
The grey wolf is the most widely distributed wolf not only in North America, but throughout the world. Except the red wolf, any and all wolves in North America are grey wolves. Again, there are a number of SUBspecies of grey wolves but the scientific community does not recognize them as seperate and distinct species, hence the subspecies designation. The scientific community only recognizes the North American greys as a single species so we must classify them this way as well.
Please remember that I based this post on my own research of reputable sources including websites dedicated to studying and preserving wolves. I understand that it may be difficult for some people to lump Arctic wolves in with Mexican Greys but I am referring strictly to species, not subspecies. A look at subspecies would reveal numerous distinctions among the grey wolves and, as Barry mentioned earlier, regional names can add to the confusion. Hope you find this info helpful.
 
huh...when i was in school
actually there was 3 denotes after species
(and all are still recognized and utilized differently by different scientists depending on community)
often accepted was
genus then species then subspecies then variety then race
anything down from species can form an often rare or even substantially common morph (subspecies, variety, race) thru intersexual adaptation which may result in a life more suited to specific localized circumstances
that is why (unless you are a member of said specialized science community or working on a specific project etc) you're identification often stops at species and any denote after that can be skipped...ie, genus, species then race is perfectly acceptable

maybe that will make this conversation easier

barry is absolutely right
red and gray, the rest are a result of morphology
that morphology can (in some instances) substantially alter the appearance of the original species (although it is still the same species)
and that is why dna is such an incredible discovery of our time

guero
 


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